Gervonta Davis was on Saturday night booed by the record crowd that came to cheer the popular champion in disapproval of his excuse for taking a knee.
“Tank” had gone to a knee during the middle of a round and then received brief assistance from his corner — basically a time-out — because grease from getting his hair done this week had gotten into his eye, he said.
Lamont Roach was not buying it, either.
Photo: AFP
Had Roach been credited with a knockdown when Davis’ knee hit the canvas in the ninth round, he would have left Barclays Center with the WBA lightweight title.
Instead, Davis (30-0-1) held onto his belt when he and Roach fought to a majority draw, with the apparent missed knockdown keeping Davis from what would have been the first loss of his career.
One judge gave the fight to Davis 115-113, while the other two scored it 114-114.
After Davis knelt down near his corner in the ninth round, he leaned over the ropes so his team could towel off the area around his eye. Referee Steve Willis did not count it as a knockdown, as it should be when a knee hits the canvas. Had it been, Davis would have automatically lost a point.
“It should have been a knockdown. If that was knockdown, I win the fight,” Roach said. “He’s saying grease got in his eye, but if he takes a knee and the ref starts counting, it should be a knockdown.”
Fellow boxers were among the stunned observers wondering how Davis escaped a deduction that seemed so obvious.
“I never seen someone take a knee and they don’t count it as a knock down. Must of forgot the rules for tonight,” multidivision champion Terence Crawford wrote on X.
Roach called for a rematch afterward, disgusted that he was not credited with the knockdown.
The crowd had always loved Davis during his three previous fights at Barclays Center, and this one drew an announced crowd of 19,250, a sellout that shattered its own attendance record for boxing and was the second-highest grossing event in the arena’s history.
They roared when Davis came to the ring wearing a Yankees hat, but jeered at the end.
“It’s all cool,” Davis said. “They love you. Then they hate you. Then they love you again. You know what I mean?”
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