Gervonta Davis very nearly lost his undefeated record on Saturday night thanks to one risky and bizarre move.
The lightweight superstar was struggling to establish himself in his fight with Lamont Roach Jr on Saturday night as they pushed through to the ninth round. Just moments into the round, Roach landed an errant jab and ‘Tank’ opted to take a knee, which should have been ruled a knockdown.
Referee Steve Willis opted against scoring it, despite the fact that the rules seem to indicate that it could have been a knockdown. And when the scorecards eventually read in favor of a draw, Roach was infuriated knowing he was one point from a stunning upset.
Gervonta Davis explains why he took a knee in Lamont Roach Jr draw
Gervonta Davis’ decision to take a knee seemed bizarre in the moment, as did his almost immediate run into the corner to have his face wiped. At first, it looked as though he had perhaps forgotten his mouthpiece, but it turns out the reason was even more outlandish.
In actual fact, during the week he had been given hair braiding, and he says that the grease from the job was getting in his eyes. Speaking after the fight, he told Brian Campbell: “I just got my hair done two days ago.
“She put grease in my s— so the s— was, like, you know when you’re sweating and the grease comes down in your face? It burned my eyes.” He was not happy when the answer invoked boos from the packed 19,000+ Brooklyn crowd.
“This is real facts,” he insisted. “Look at my hair, I just got my s— done. But it’s all cool, man. They love you then they hate you. Turn around and they’ll love you again.”
Lamont Roach Jr feels controversial call cost him historic win
The decision to not score the knee moment as a knockdown quite literally seems to have been the difference between Lamont Roach Jr landing the upset of his life, and having it taken from him. He was furious after the fact, insisting that he did enough to win the fight.
“I’m him, I’m telling you I’m one of the best fighters in the world and I showed it here tonight,” he explained in a fiery post-fight interview. “He talked about getting the grease taken out of his eye but that should be a knockdown.
“If that’s a knockdown then I win the fight. So it is what it is, I just thought I did enough to win the fight.” The pair both verbally agreed to a rematch in their post-fight interviews.