The New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) has issued its final verdict following the knockdown controversy surrounding Gervonta Davis’ draw with Lamont Roach on March 1, Daily Mail reported.
In that fight, Davis retained his WBA lightweight title at the Barclays Center in New York, and the fight ended in a majority draw: two judges scored the fight 114-114, while another scored it 115-113 in favor of Davis.
The controversy in the fight
In the ninth round, Davis took a knee after a flurry of punches from Roach, and although referee Steve Willis began to count, he stopped after reaching three.
Davis had gone to his corner complaining that he had something in his eye.
After stopping the count, Willis allowed Davis to wipe his eye before restarting the fight.
Fans were left frustrated with the officiating, while Roach would have won the fight if that knockdown had counted towards the scorecards.
ESPN reported that the NYSAC confirmed the result whose final vote ended in a majority draw
The commission washes its hands of it
The commission’s ruling stated that “after extensive post-bout review of the ninth round footage, the most appropriate decision would have been for the referee to determine that Mr. Davis’ knee contact with the canvas constituted a knockdown.“However, the determination of whether a takedown occurred or not, in that case was at the discretion and authority of the referee”
It was also claimed that, if it had counted as a knockdown, it would have been impossible to know whether the final three rounds would have remained the same
The NYSAC claimed that the instant replay technology did not work during the fight
After the fight, Davis said he knelt because grease from a hair treatment burned his eyes.
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