A technical issue prevented instant replay technology from being utilized during Saturday’s Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach fight, according to the New York State Athletic Commission.
Davis, the WBA lightweight champion, took a knee in the ninth round against Roach so he could wipe his eye after complaining that grease from his braids was bothering him.
“I just got my hair done two days ago, and she put grease in my s***,” Davis later explained. “When you are sweating and s*** like that, the grease came into my face and it burned my eyes.”
Seconds before Davis dropped to one knee, he was hit with a left hand from Roach, the reigning WBA super featherweight champion. Veteran referee Steve 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’ impromptu kneel-down should’ve been counted as a knockdown, as the rules of boxing are clear in not allowing fighters to call their own timeouts. Had Davis’ knee been ruled as a knockdown, Roach would’ve won the contest on two of the three of the judges’ scorecards and pulled off a gigantic upset over one of the sport’s bigger stars. Instead, the bout ended in a controversial majority draw.
NYSAC uses instant-replay technology to overturn referees’ decisions if the commission feels those decisions are incorrect. Just recently in February, on the Keyshawn Davis vs. Denys Berinchyk undercard in New York, Connor Coyle suffered a cut over his left eye during his fight with Vito Mielnicki, which the referee ruled was from an accidental clash of heads. NYSAC’s use of instant replay overruled that decision, meaning if the fight was stopped due to the cut, Mielnicki would’ve been declared the winner rather than it going to a technical decision.
A similar reversal was not possible Saturday because of a technical issue, according to NYSAC.
“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,” a spokesperson for the NYSAC said in a statement. “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.”
NYSAC is now reviewing the matter. The commission has the ability to retroactively overturn Willis’ call on Saturday and therefore change the result of the bout — although such a move is rare in boxing.
WBA president Gilberto Mendoza has further indicated to The Ring that he is “poised” to pursue an immediate rematch between Davis and Roach.
The WBA has the power to order Davis to face Roach again, and failure to do so could result in Davis being stripped of his belt. Davis also had a one-way rematch clause in his contract with Roach in the case that he didn’t emerge as the winner, allowing him the opportunity to now trigger an immediate rematch if he wished to do so.
Both fighters have indicated their desire for a rematch on social media in the days following the controversial bout.
