New York Commission Upholds Controversial Davis-Roach Draw Result

NEW YORK — The New York State Athletic Commission has upheld the controversial majority draw outcome of the WBA lightweight title bout between Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach, which took place on March 1 at the Barclays Center. The bout ended with two judges scoring it 114-114 and a third favoring Davis 115-113.

The commission stated that Roach’s protest was denied because the bout continued for more than three full rounds after a notable incident in Round 9, where Davis took a knee after being hit by Roach. Referee Steve Willis indicated a count but later retracted it, leading to confusion and protest from Roach’s camp.

The commission’s ruling highlighted that due to the length of time since the controversial round, it could not retroactively determine the fight’s outcome, even if there was a misjudgment by the referee. “The determination of whether a knockdown occurred was within the discretion of the referee,” the ruling noted.

After the ninth round incident, Davis, who remains undefeated at 30-0-1 with 28 knockouts, explained that the incident was caused by grease from a hair treatment burning his eyes. Critics, however, questioned why the referee permitted this to happen without a timeout.

“Lamont and his team remain disappointed by the announced outcome,” said Roach’s attorney Gregory M. Smith. “But we are grateful for the support of the boxing public.” Roach, now 25-1-2 with 10 KOs, is confident about a future rematch against Davis and considers himself the ‘people’s champion’ in the lightweight division.

Despite the decision, boxing analysts and fans are divided over the commission’s reasoning, suggesting that star power may have influenced the outcome, given that Davis is a prominent figure in the sport.

Moving forward, a rematch is anticipated between the two fighters, although the availability of more lucrative fights for Davis could affect his decision. “It’s a controversial situation,” said one analyst. “We’ll see if Davis opts to fight Roach again or if he pivots to other high-profile matchups.”