Lamont Roach Makes U-Turn On Gervonta Davis Rematch Status After Tank’s Arrest
Lamont Roach doubts Gervonta Davis rematch will go ahead as planned.
Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach looked set to have their rematch on August 16. However, Davis was arrested on July 11 on charges of domestic violence against his former girlfriend, who is the mother of the boxer’s two children. He has since been released from custody.
Reports emerged that ‘Tank’ Davis stopped training following the incident on June 15th and that PBC was exploring a new date for the rematch, noting that the initial date could be postponed a week or two.
The rematch currently looks in limbo, and Roach has now provided an additional update regarding the likelihood of the fight going forward. He initially claimed the rematch would go ahead as planned on August 16, however, his latest comments contradict that stance and he now doubts the rematch will go ahead at all.
During his latest stream, ‘The Reaper’ said:
I ain’t gonna lie bro, I just think this n**** don’t wanna fight. Remember when I tweeted, can he hold up his end of [the deal]? He still ain’t getting past that. That makes me mad, I am not gonna lie. It’s still a possibility but I think little bro just don’t wanna get in there. I really think that.
Roach added that there’s no certainty about the rematch going forward and he is unhappy about it. He says he’s been looking sharp in training but thinks Davis is too scared to have a rematch.
Their first fight back in March ended in a majority draw where Davis retained the WBA lightweight title. ‘Tank’ took a deliberate knee in the fight which wasn’t correctly counted as a knockdown.
Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs) stood toe-to-toe with Gervonta Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs) and took what ‘Tank’ had to offer. He landed some significant counter shots of his own, often stumbling Davis. It was certainly the toughest fight of Davis’ career.
Some believe Roach is the perfect anecdote to Davis’ style while others reckon ‘Tank’ didn’t take the fight as seriously as he should have. All these narratives make the rematch an intriguing prospect, which unfortunately looks in serious jeopardy at the moment.
Gervonta Davis’s next fight uncertain as fighter who drew with ‘Tank’ speaks on potential rematch
Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis is considered one of the pound-for-pound stars of the sport as he boasts a 30-0-1 record.
The only fighter that Davis has not been able to beat is Lamont Roach. Fighting in New York in March, Davis and Roach fought to a draw, as ‘Tank’ received the first blemish on his professional record.
The now 25-1-2 Roach was able to snap the star’s winning streak, with Davis even taking a knee in the fight supposedly due to hair grease entering his eye.
Due to the close nature of the fight, many expect Davis to once again face Roach in his next outing. However, all is not confirmed for the lightweight rematch.
Lamont Roach unable to confirm if Gervonta Davis has signed rematch contract
Roach, who is unbeaten since 2019, recently spoke to TMZ regarding a potential future fight with Davis.
‘The Reaper’ started by sending a warning to Davis, saying, “Meet me in the middle of the ring. We’re going to see who leaves out the ring.”
When Roach was then asked by the reporter, “There’s a rumour that Tank hasn’t signed a contract yet, can you speak to that?”, the fighter responded, “No, I can’t speak to that.”
Roach then added, “I’m not saying he didn’t sign the contract,” while rolling his eyes and smiling.
When asked if he thought that Davis was scared of a rematch with him, Roach answered, “I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s scared of me, as a man. But, he’s scared to get embarrassed.”
Alternative opponents for Gervonta Davis if Lamont Roach is not next for ‘Tank’
Should Roach not be next for the WBA World Lightweight champion, ‘Tank’ is by no means short of options for his next opponent.
Rising contender Floyd Schofield scored a first-round knockout over former world champion Tevin Farmer at the weekend, and is now ranked as the number one contender by the WBA at lightweight.
Davis and Shakur Stevenson have traded barbs over the years, meaning they might look to finally settle their feud in a lightweight unification bout.
Keyshawn Davis also has a feud with Gervonta Davis, meaning they could be viable opponents for one another.
Coach Addresses Gervonta Davis Retirement Question Ahead Of Lamont Roach Rematch
Coach speaks on Gervonta Davis career span ahead of Lamont Roach rematch.
Gervonta Davis vs Lamont Roach 2 is expected to take place on August 16. Roach, though, recently suggested that ‘Tank’ is yet to sign his side of the contract.
Their first fight in March ended in a majority draw. It was a controversy ridden contest where Davis bizarrely took a deliberate knee in the ninth round, saying his eye’s were burning due to grease dripping from his hair. The official, though, didn’t count it as a knockdown.
With that result, Davis retained the WBA lightweight title. However, his perfect record came to an end as ‘Tank’ is now 30-0-1 with 28 knockouts. Regardless, Davis remains one of the most entertaining fighters in boxing.
There have been claims that ‘Tank’ isn’t as motivated now and the lackluster performance against Roach was a result of that. Many think he might hang up the gloves sooner rather than later, and coach Kenny Ellis has now addressed the topic.
In a recent interview with FightHype, he said:
Whatever he decides to do, I always say I decide to support him or any other fighter. If he wants to wake up tomorrow and say, ‘I’m done’, he’s done. Everybody has their path and that’s their decision.
When asked about Gervonta Davis’ mental space in boxing at the moment, he said:
It’s hard to say. He does love the sport. But sometimes you got to stand on ‘Tank’. For whatever the reason might be, he loves the sport and he doesn’t fear nobody or anything like that.
Gervonta Davis arguably now has an extra chip on his shoulder going into the Lamont Roach rematch. Their first fight left a lot of questions to be answered, meaning fans will be tuning in eagerly if the rematch takes place on August 16.
Lamont Roach Jr. is not fully convinced that Gervonta Davis will go through with their rematch.
The first fight ended in a majority draw after a controversial ninth round. Tank took a voluntary knee before going to his corner to wipe some grease from his face. The referee failed to call a knockdown, which prevented Roach from getting a 10-8 round. That enabled Davis to escape with a draw, depriving Roach of the chance to become a two-weight world champion. While Roach’s camp appealed the decision, the WBA upheld the ruling.
That set the narrative for the rematch, with many believing Roach would get the job done. Davis’ camp have not come to an agreement yet over running things back. There are also suggestions that a Jake Paul fight could be brewing in the background. The Problem Child has suggested he is open to the fight despite the clear hurdles.
Reaction
Paul boxes at cruiserweight, while Davis is a 135-pound fighter. It would also call into question the nature of the sport if Davis were to avoid the big names such as Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson for someone who has only recently turned pro. Eddie Hearn has previously stated that the fight will happen, raising doubts over whether Roach will secure the rematch.
“We know that Gervonta [Davis] is going to fight Jake Paul in November. Then, we’ll see what happens. It’ll be interesting to go from Gervonta Davis to Anthony Joshua. I don’t think the Chavez fight is terrible. I think it’s a smart bit of business. Hopefully, Chavez can get himself up for it. He don’t have too long, he’s been through a lot,” Hearn stated
Roach did not hold back, as he expressed his frustration over it.
“Lmao buddy known damn well in f**k around like that he gassin’ y’all up just to justify why he ain’t do his part of the deal yet. He really might pull out of the fight…stay tuned,” Roach said
Gervonta “Tank” Davis is still unbeaten, thanks in large part to a controversial decision made by referee Steve Willis in Saturday’s WBA lightweight championship bout against Lamont Roach at the Barclays Center in New York.
Davis took a knee in the opening minute of the ninth round so he could go back to his corner and wipe his eye after complaining that grease from his braids was bothering him. The lightweight champion didn’t give Willis any prior warning that he was going to do it, yet still no knockdown was counted. There are no breaks in boxing, and Davis’ kneel-down should’ve been counted as a knockdown, but it was not — and that decision by Willis ultimately saved Davis from losing what would’ve been a mammoth upset to Roach.
Davis ultimately retained his WBA lightweight title with a majority decision draw. Two judges scored the fight 114-114, six rounds apiece, and one judge gave Davis the nod by two rounds, scoring the contest 115-113. Had Willis properly called Davis’ peculiar moment in Round 9 a knockdown, Roach would’ve been declared the winner.
Davis rival Terence Crawford took to social media to voice his disagreement with the call.
Despite giving up the opening round, Davis started the fight well, winning the majority of the first half of the contest. Davis focused on the midsection of Roach in the early stages, attempting to bring Roach’s guard down so he could land his southpaw left hand, which he did effectively in the fifth round.
After the first half, Roach’s confidence grew and the WBA super featherweight champ began exchanging punches with the hard-hitting champion in the center of the ring.
“Tank” entered Saturday’s fight with a 93% KO rate, but Roach was never really hurt by him at any point. In fact, it was Roach who landed the hardest punch of the fight in Round 8, countering Davis’ left hand with a punch that pushed Davis back and off-balance.
Roach closed out the contest strong, taking the action to Davis and outworking him with combinations in the final round.
Roach outlanded Davis over the 12 rounds. The super featherweight champion connected with 112 of his 400 attempts, while Davis landed 103 of 279 punches thrown.
“I just got my hair done two days ago, and she put grease in my s***,” Davis explained in his post-fight interview. “When you are sweating and s*** like that, the grease came into my face and it burnt my eyes.”
“I’m a little disappointed in the decision, I thought I pulled it off,” Roach said after the fight. “But that is what happens sometimes when two skilled fighters get in there and do what they do.
“I definitely thought I won, hopefully we can run it back, but Gervonta is a great fighter.”
Catch up on all of Saturday’s action with full Davis vs. Roach results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned’s play-by-play of the pay-per-view main card.
Main Card
WBA lightweight title: Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach ends in majority draw (115-113, 114-114, 114-114)
WBA super lightweight title: Gary Antuanne Russell def. Jose Valenzuela by unanimous decision (119-109, 119-109, 120-108)
WBC super lightweight title: Alberto Puello def. Sandor Martin via split decision (113-115, 115-113, 116-112)
WBA interim super welterweight title: Yoenis Tellez def. Julian Williams via unanimous decision (117-111, 118-110, 119-109)
Prelims (Re-watch on Uncrowned)
Middleweight: Jarrett Hurd def. Johan Gonzalez via split decision (96-94, 94-96, 98-92)
Welterweight: David Whitmire def. Angel Munoz via unanimous decision (60-54, 60-54, 60-54)
Edgar Berlanga unimpressed with Gervonta Davis’ performance
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Darshan Desai
Regis Prograis reacts to the controversy in round 9
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Raymond Ford reacts to Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach
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George Kambosos reacts to the controversy in round nine
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Shakur Stevenson reacts to Davis-Roach
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Uncrowned’s Keith Idec reacts to Tank vs. Roach
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Terence Crawford reacts to Gervonta Davis taking a knee in round 9
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Davis & Roach fight to a majority decision draw
Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach can’t be split after twelve ultra-competitive rounds. Their fight is scored a majority-decision draw (115-113, 114-114, 114-114).
Darshan Desai
Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach – Round 12
Davis looks on the verge of going the twelve-round distance for just the second time in his career.
Roach catches Tank with a counter left hook. Two minutes to go. Pair of body shots from Roach followed by a left hook-right hand from Roach.
Roach is letting his hands go. We are into the second half of the round, Roach could be winning this!
Right hand downstairs from Roach misses, Tank also misses with a left-hand counter.
10-9 Roach. Final score: 115-113 Lamont Roach
Darshan Desai
Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach – Round 11
Roach lands with a right hand downstairs as we enter the second-minute of round 11. Right uppercut-left hook from Lamont Roach. Right hand from Roach followed by a combination, Tank was CAUGHT there again. Right-hand jab from Davis gets through. Roach throws a flurry, not all of it landing but it was eye-catching.
10-9 Roach, 105-104 Roach.
Darshan Desai
Prime Video unofficial scorecard
The Prime Video broadcast team also has Gervonta “Tank” Davis up 6-4 (96-94) against Lamont Roach through ten rounds.
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Dan Rafael has Davis up 96-94 through 10 rounds
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Davis and Roach exchanging power punches in the ninth!
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Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach – Round 9
Gervonta Davis TAKES A KNEE! It is unclear why. Davis retreats to his corner, it looks like he has forgotten his gumshield. Davis took a knee, though, and that should’ve been counted as a knockdown but it wasn’t.
Combination lands from Davis followed by a hard left hand. Roach looks off balance as Tank is loading up and connecting with power punches. Counter right-hand from Roach lands. Good counter-punching from Roach with the right hand in the final thirty seconds of the ninth.
10-9 Davis, 86-85 Davis
Darshan Desai
Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach – Round 8
Roach connects with the jab as Davis is looking for a left-hand counter. Consistent use of the left hand has got Tank backed up. A pair of left hands land for Davis, but BIG RIGHT HAND from Roach and Davis was forced back there. Left uppercut from Roach follows, big moment in the contest for him.
Right hand from Roach in the final twenty seconds. Roach is making things very competitive.
10-9 Roach, 76-76
Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach – Round 7
Counter left-hand goes Davis at the end of the first minute. Davis is fighting with a smile on his face now, he believes he has taken control of this one.
HARD left hand from Davis partially blocked by Roach, followed by a right hook from Davis. A pair of left hooks from Roach followed by three right hands on the inside. The challenger’s best work of the fight.
They exchange body shots late in the seventh. This one is heating up!
10-9 Roach, 67-66 Davis
Darshan Desai
Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach – Round 6
Hard body shots from Davis early in the sixth. Tank was told by his corner to start putting his punches together now, and he’s doing just that.
Right hand partially lands for Roach. We are into the second half of the sixth, and Davis is finding a home for his counter left-hand on Roach’s chin. Davis is starting to turn the screw.
Two body shots from Davis in the final minute. Davis lands again with the left, Roach’s hands are down protecting his body and he eats the shots clean.
10-9 Davis, 58-56 Davis
Darshan Desai
Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach – Round 5
Roach and Davis have landed a combined seven punches per round as we enter the fifth.
Combination from Roach, Davis responds with a left hand, Roach comes right back with his backhand. Two-punch attack from Roach as Davis was attempting a body shot. HARD left hand lands for Davis, his best connect in this fight.
The referee warns Davis and Roach for talking to each other during the fight.
10-9 Davis, 48-47 Davis
Darshan Desai
Amazon Prime Video’s unofficial scorecard
The Amazon Prime Video broadateam has Gervonta Davis 29-28 up against Lamont Roach through three rounds — the same as Uncrowned had it.
Darshan Desai
Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach – Round 4
Left hook from Roach clips Davis early in the fourth. Counter left-hand from Davis as Roach was attempting to close the gap. Right uppercut from Roach connects as Tank was moving sidewards. Right hand from Roach at the end of the fourth.
Lamont Roach revealed that his rematch against Gervonta “Tank” Davis isn’t as guaranteed as most believe.
The March 1 fight between Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Lamont Roach (which ended in a majority draw) made it so an eventual rematch felt inevitable.
Not only did Roach stun many by going toe-to-toe with Davis (who entered the fight as a massive favorite), but many in the boxing community believe that Roach deserved the win. This is especially the case considering the controversy that stemmed from the ninth round, where Davis took a knee in the middle of the ring (which should have been ruled a knockdown) and then had his face wiped off by his corner (which was grounds for disqualification).
Regardless, the fight ending in a draw only made the rematch more compelling. And after months of negotiations and several rumored fight dates, an August 16 rematch date was finally finalized so that anticipation could build — or so it seemed.
However, while everyone seems to think the fight is signed and sealed, a post from Lamont Roach on June 20 suggests that this is not the case.
After another social media back and forth between Tank and Roach, Roach wrote, “Lmao buddy know damn well ion f*** around like that he gassin yall up just to justify why he ain’t do his part of the deal yet 😴😭 he really might pull out of the fight… stay tuned”.
Another fan wrote, “@Gervontaa scared as shit of @Oneof1x 🤣🤣🔥 !!!!
“Do ya big one again in the rematch! Stamp that shit”.
This caused Roach to respond by saying, “If he actually fight 😭 let’s see… he going pull a ryan and say he not “fit” or some s***.”
In other words, Roach is revealing that Davis hasn’t agreed to his side of the deal, which presumably means the rematch contract isn’t signed and finalized. While this may be semantics, it’s also seemingly raising alarms for Roach, or else he wouldn’t be talking about it in public.
Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach reignite controversy over $250K bet before rematch
Prior to the rematch, Lamont Roach demands payment of bet from Gervonta Davis
Gervonta Davis, the WBA lightweight world champion, is just two months away from his eagerly awaited rematch against Lamont Roach Jr. This fight, scheduled for August 16, promises to be one of the most intense of Davis’ career, as he will face what was probably his toughest opponent. However, prior to the fight, a discussion has arisen related to a $250,000 bet that Davis has apparently not paid.
The origin of the dispute dates back to their clash in March at the Barclays Center, where both fighters made a bet for the fight. However, according to Roach Jr., Davis has not kept his part of the deal and asked him to honor the $250,000 he lost in the bet. Davis’ response was not long in coming, but it was blunt: “He’s not going to get anything… let him come and take it,” he said in a message he later deleted.
What happened to Davis and Roach?
The controversy began when Roach Jr. was active on social media during a boxing event and, in the midst of interactions with fans, the exchange of messages between the two appeared. At one point, Davis responded directly: “You should have been on that… instead of calling for those 250k… what are you waiting for? This bag is bigger… what did you forget?!”
The $250,000 bet came up during the final weigh-in before their fight on March 1. According to Roach Jr, it was Davis who proposed the bet, telling him: “I’m going to stop you! Do you want to bet?” To which Roach Jr quickly replied, “250k.” Davis, confident, accepted the bet, but things did not go as he expected. Despite his efforts, Roach Jr managed to take him to the limit and the fight ended in a majority draw, which left many of Davis’ followers surprised.
Roach Jr. himself recalled the bet on the All The Smoke Fight podcast, mentioning that Davis tried to bet that he would knock him out, something that did not happen. When asked if Davis had fulfilled his promise, Roach Jr. replied with a laugh: “He changed his number”.
When will the rematch between Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach take place?
Now, with the rematch just around the corner, the focus is not only on what will happen in the ring, but also on whether Davis will finally deliver on the outstanding bet. Tension continues to build as both prepare for the fight, and the war of words between them promises to continue until the eagerly awaited showdown.
Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach: NYSAC acknowledges referee’s error but declines to alter result
Gervonta Davis will keep his unbeaten record.
The New York State Athletic Commission ruled Friday that it will not be changing the result of Saturday’s “Tank” Davis vs. Lamont Roach WBA lightweight title bout.
Boxing Scene — which is owned by ProBoxTV, which co-promotes Roach — was first with the news.
Davis vs. Roach was ruled a majority decision draw (115-113, 114-114, 114-114), however Roach appealed the verdict due to the controversial call made by veteran referee Steve Willis in Round 9.
Davis dropped to one knee in the ninth, seconds after being hit with a left hand from Roach, the reigning WBA super featherweight champion. Willis began to administer a 10-count for Davis after he took the knee, but then inexplicably stopped and ultimately decided not to rule it a knockdown.
Davis said afterward that he took the knee so he could wipe his eyes after complaining that grease from his braids was bothering him, however, the rules of boxing are clear in not allowing fighters to call their own timeouts, thus Davis’ impromptu kneel-down should’ve been counted as a knockdown.
Had Davis’ kneel-down been ruled a knockdown, Roach would’ve likely won the contest on all three of the judges’ scorecards, because two of the three judges scored Round 9 in favor of Davis; if Roach had been credited with the knockdown, all three would’ve been inclined to score the ninth a 10-8 for Roach, which means the final scores would have been 114-113, 114-113 and 115-112, all in favor of Roach.
NYSAC uses instant-replay technology to overturn referees’ decisions if the commission feels those decisions are incorrect, but a similar reversal was not possible Saturday because of a “technical issue,” according to the commission.
NYSAC acknowledged in its final decision Friday that Roach should’ve been credited with a knockdown in the ninth and that referee Willis made a mistake, yet while it has the power to retroactively overturn Willis’ decision and change the result of the bout to credit Roach with the knockdown, NYSAC ultimately opted not to do so.
Despite the commission’s refusal to alter the draw, Roach does have a strong chance of landing a rematch with Davis, which would likely come with a significantly larger purse than the first fight.
As Davis holds a WBA title, the WBA sanctioning body has the power to order him to face Roach again, and failure to do so could result in Davis being stripped of his belt. WBA president Gilberto Mendoza indicated to The Ring that he is “poised” to order a second fight between the pair.
Davis also has the opportunity to voluntarily make an immediate rematch with Roach, as the contract for the first fight provided Davis with a rematch clause in the event that he did not emerge as the winner — which he did not.
“Say no more. I’m pushing for the rematch,” Davis said in a social media post Monday.
Forgive Frank Martin for being a bit chippy about Gervonta Davis’ underwhelming performance against Lamont Roach.
Martin fought Davis in June 2024, running up against arguably the best version of “Tank” to grace the boxing ring yet. Martin landed his desired offense in the first three rounds, as Davis made his customarily slow start. Then Davis began walking Martin down with ruthless impunity, stalking him across the ring and into corners.
In the eighth round, Davis clubbed Martin with a left uppercut against the ropes that he didn’t see, leaving Martin out on his feet, frozen and glassy-eyed. Another clean left hand sent him sprawling to the floor for the count.
Davis had a sterner test against Roach this March. Roach countered his counters, took his shots, and even backed up the WBA lightweight titleholder. Roach earned a draw, with the majority of viewers thinking he deserved the nod.
Martin believes the closer fight was due to Davis underperforming, as well as Roach having the night of his life.
“Roach came out and fought his best fight that he could possibly fight,” Martin told Ron Goodall of FightHype. “He came in with his A-game […] I feel like Tank fought that fight not fully, fully trying to get off. He fought him more relaxed and chill, instead of trying to get him up out of there. I think that he thought the fight may have been easier than it was.”
The biggest source of controversy in the fight was Davis taking a knee in Round 9 after taking a jab to the face from Roach. Davis raced to his corner, where a trainer wiped his face with a towel. (After the fight, Davis said his eyes were stinging from hair grease running into them.) Referee Steve Willis began counting, as is standard when a fighter takes a knee, but did not call a knockdown or disqualify Davis for receiving corner assistance mid-round.
Martin alleged that Davis was the beneficiary of A-side bias.
“It was a close-ass fight,” he told Goodall. “I feel like the draw was cool. But with him taking a knee? Like I say, Tank know, they’re gonna give it to their man. They’re gonna give it to the guy who bringing it all the money.”
Asked whether Tank fought better against him than Roach, Martin said: “For sure. For sure, for sure. Hell yeah. I felt like he was a lot more locked in for me than [he was for] Roach. Roach is a good fighter, but I just felt he was more locked in for me. When you fighting a puncher, fighters who can punch, you’re gonna be more on your shit. You’re gonna be more on your A-game. Because you know a guy can catch you with something. He probably didn’t feel the same way when he fought Roach.”
As for the August 16 rematch between Tank and Roach, Martin favors Davis: “I think the rematch is going to be a good fight, but I think Tank may get him up out of there this fight.”
Martin is also willing to fight Roach, and he took a subtle jab at Roach’s well-publicized celebration tour following the fight – which may have been a moral victory, but was not an actual victory.
“I’m willing to fight him for sure, with his big head-ass,” Martin said.
Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach: NYSAC acknowledges referee’s error but declines to alter result
Gervonta Davis will keep his unbeaten record.
The New York State Athletic Commission ruled Friday that it will not be changing the result of Saturday’s “Tank” Davis vs. Lamont Roach WBA lightweight title bout.
Boxing Scene — which is owned by ProBoxTV, which co-promotes Roach — was first with the news.
Davis vs. Roach was ruled a majority decision draw (115-113, 114-114, 114-114), however Roach appealed the verdict due to the controversial call made by veteran referee Steve Willis in Round 9.
Davis dropped to one knee in the ninth, seconds after being hit with a left hand from Roach, the reigning WBA super featherweight champion. Willis began to administer a 10-count for Davis after he took the knee, but then inexplicably stopped and ultimately decided not to rule it a knockdown.
Davis said afterward that he took the knee so he could wipe his eyes after complaining that grease from his braids was bothering him, however, the rules of boxing are clear in not allowing fighters to call their own timeouts, thus Davis’ impromptu kneel-down should’ve been counted as a knockdown.
Had Davis’ kneel-down been ruled a knockdown, Roach would’ve likely won the contest on all three of the judges’ scorecards, because two of the three judges scored Round 9 in favor of Davis; if Roach had been credited with the knockdown, all three would’ve been inclined to score the ninth a 10-8 for Roach, which means the final scores would have been 114-113, 114-113 and 115-112, all in favor of Roach.
NYSAC uses instant-replay technology to overturn referees’ decisions if the commission feels those decisions are incorrect, but a similar reversal was not possible Saturday because of a “technical issue,” according to the commission.
NYSAC acknowledged in its final decision Friday that Roach should’ve been credited with a knockdown in the ninth and that referee Willis made a mistake, yet while it has the power to retroactively overturn Willis’ decision and change the result of the bout to credit Roach with the knockdown, NYSAC ultimately opted not to do so.
Despite the commission’s refusal to alter the draw, Roach does have a strong chance of landing a rematch with Davis, which would likely come with a significantly larger purse than the first fight.
As Davis holds a WBA title, the WBA sanctioning body has the power to order him to face Roach again, and failure to do so could result in Davis being stripped of his belt. WBA president Gilberto Mendoza indicated to The Ring that he is “poised” to order a second fight between the pair.
Davis also has the opportunity to voluntarily make an immediate rematch with Roach, as the contract for the first fight provided Davis with a rematch clause in the event that he did not emerge as the winner — which he did not.
“Say no more. I’m pushing for the rematch,” Davis said in a social media post Monday.
