Boxing

NYSAC Reviewing Knockdown In Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr

Controversy struck during the ninth round of Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr.

Nathaniel Marrero

Lamont Roach Jr. (left) and Gervonta Davis (right) trade left hands.
Lamont Roach Jr. (left) and Gervonta Davis (right) trade left hands. / IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

There were difficulties both inside and outside of the ring during the ninth round of Gervonta "Tank" Davis vs. Lamont "The Reaper" Roach Jr.

In the ninth round, Roach Jr. seemingly landed a punch and moments later, Davis took a knee before going to his corner to have his face wiped off by one of his cornermen. Rather than calling it a knockdown, referee Steve Willis began a count only to allow the fight to resume.

The New York State Athletic Commission was unable to review the incident due to technical issues and released a statement to BoxingScene on the matter, revealing that they're currently looking into the call.

“At this time, the New York State Athletic Commission is reviewing the matter involving Saturday’s match up between Lamont Roach and Gervonta Davis. During the round in question, following the commission’s request for the replay video, there was a technical issue preventing the commission from receiving it within the allotted time for review," the NYSAC responded.

"Therefore, the referee’s in-ring decision was relied upon and the fight continued. The commission is dedicated to preserving the integrity of combative sports and is committed to working with all promotions and production teams — on behalf of the athletes, officials, and fans – to ensure technical issues do not occur in the future that prevent the delivery of ringside instant replay feeds to the commission’s officials when needed.”

Willis' call was more than consequential for Roach Jr. (25-1-2, 10 KOs). Had he correctly called Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs) taking a knee as a knockdown and the three judges scored the round 10-8, Roach Jr. would have won the fight by unanimous decision rather than it being a majority draw on Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Eric Malinski scored the bout 115-113 in favor of Tank, while Steve Weisfeld and Glenn Feldman scored the bout 114-114. Feldman and Marlinski scored the ninth round in favor of Davis, while Weisfeld gave the round to Roach Jr.

Boxing has rarely overturned decisions unless it involved a failed drug test. But if there was an instance where a wrong call clearly impacted a fight and warrants the decision being overturned, this would be it.

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Nathaniel Marrero
NATHANIEL MARRERO

Nathaniel Marrero is a writer for the Boxing, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Ravens On SI sites. He's also written for the Orlando Sentinel and MLB.com, and was a part of UCF's sports show, Hitting The Field. He attended UCF and graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 2023. Twitter/X: Nate_Marrero