The boxing world was full of reactions to the controversial result that allowed Gervonta Davis to retain his lightweight title after the majority draw against Lamont Roach Jr., and one of the latest personalities to join the criticism was promoter Oscar De La Hoya.
The fact that the Baltimore native voluntarily took a knee in the ninth round without referee Steve Willis doing anything about it has sparked debate in the boxing community like never before. Experts and enthusiasts have been criticising Davis and his team. Well, now we can add six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya to that list, as he has many questions about the now infamous incident.
During a chat with Colm McGuigan on iFL TV, the Golden Boy pointed to referee Steve Willis, who in the ninth round let an infringement by Gervonta pass, who after receiving a blow from Roach around the eye, turned around and went down on one knee, in an action that should have been penalized as a knockdown, which should have cost him a point and, with it, the judges should have given the round to Roach.
“You know who the commission or the referee is. In fact, I was surprised that the referee allowed that to happen. Because that referee is a professional referee and has experience,” said the 52-year-old former boxer.
De La Hoya praises Lamont Roach’s great fight
Steve Willis has worked some fights for Golden Boy Promotion, so De la Hoya recognized his surprise at his performance, but what shocked him was the performance of Lamont Roach, who he said put Gervonta Davis in trouble, whom he described as a “fantastic fighter.”
“I just feel that he (Roach) did extremely well against Gervonta Davis. I think Lamont Roach was on his game and it was a great fight,” said Oscar de la Hoya.
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