Boxing

Turki Alalshikh Savagely Roasts Referee Who Fumbled Gervonta 'Tank' Davis Knockdown

Turki Alalshikh has weighed in on Gervonta "Tank" Davis' controversial knee against Lamont Roach Jr.

Grant Young

Feb 1, 2024; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Turki Al-Sheikh, advisor at the Royal Court under the rank of Minister and the current chairman of general authority for entertainment, walks on the field before the game between Al-Nassr and Inter Miami CF. Mandatory Credit: Victor Fraile-Imagn Images
Feb 1, 2024; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Turki Al-Sheikh, advisor at the Royal Court under the rank of Minister and the current chairman of general authority for entertainment, walks on the field before the game between Al-Nassr and Inter Miami CF. Mandatory Credit: Victor Fraile-Imagn Images / Victor Fraile-Imagn Images

The talk of the boxing world over the past few days has been the knee that Gervonta "Tank" Davis took during the ninth round of his March 1 fight against Lamont Roach Jr. for the WBA lightweight belt.

A few seconds absorbing a jab in the left eye, Davis took a clear knee in the middle of the ring before getting up, going to his corner, having a member of his team wipe his face (which Davis asserts was because he had hair grease in his eye), and then returning to the fight.

Not only does just about everybody who saw this strange moment think referee Steve Willis obviously should have called a knockdown (which would have altered the fight's outcome), but Davis is also not allowed to call his own "timeout" nor receive any assistance from his corner in the middle of a round, and also should have been penalized for that.

Because of what seems like a major blunder, Steve Willis — who is widely considered one of the greatest active boxing referees — has received a ton of criticism.

And one person who took this opportunity to roast Willis was Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia's general authority for entertainment, who made a March 3 X post that posted a photo of Willis' face with the caption, "NO KNOCKDOWN🤷🏻‍♂️".

Turki Alalshikh had been in a war of words with Davis (who refuses to fight under his 'Riyadh Season' banner) for much of fight week, largely because Davis is essentially the only big-name active boxer who repeatedly spurns Alalshikh's attempt to sign him.

This is surely why Alalshikh is keen to weigh in on all the post-fight chatter at Davis' expense.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Boxing, Women’s Basketball, and the New York Mets for On SI. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years, and he thinks it’s time that Canelo Álvarez fights David Benavidez.