By Ricardo Lezama 
On March 1, 2025, a bout between Lamont Roach and Tank Davis ended in a majority draw, marred by a controversial moment in the ninth round where Tank Davis took a knee. Specifically, during that round, Davis unexpectedly took the knee, turned his back and later cited eye irritation from hair grease, but the referee, Steve Wilkes, did not rule it a knockdown. That is a highlight, but not the entire story of the fight.
An even fight, according to the judges, with Gervonta Davis scoring the most controversial majority draw in recent memory against a game Lamont Roach who stunned him in the fight several times, notably in the 5th round. #boxing some felt Roach did enough to win clearly.
— La Cartita News (@lacartita.com) March 2, 2025 at 12:42 AM
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Had it been scored as such, Roach would have definitely secured a majority decision victory.
Lamont Roach Jr. whose career has been through multiple promotions was a -1600 underdog in some betting sites. No one thought that the potentially undersized current featherweight champion could pull off even a decision loss against the explosive Gervonta “Tank” Davis. However, in various spurts, Roach was able to stand in the pocket with Gervonta. Roach stood his ground and could time Davis’ lacking defense connecting with left hooks frequently.
Boxing World Laments, Lamont Roach Launches Appeal – NYSAC Stays The Course
In the aftermath, Lamont Roach has formally appealed to the the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC). Much the world’s dismay, Roach was not granted recognition of his performance nor was Gervonta Davis penalized for that rule violation. NYSAC ultimately held up the decision, which various outlets have still criticized in their reporting: Forbes & ESPN.
And, the matter of Roach’s allegations that he should be the fair victor has not been totally resolved in the court of public opinion. Most boxing aficionados want for Roach to be declared the winner of the NYSAC already has a history for overturning victories due to a rule violation, most notably in the case of Ryan Garcia’s astounding victory over Devin Haney.
Favoritism across the board is a huge issue in boxing. Certain promotional outfits tend to favor the home fighter with respect to their proximity to a promotional manager interests. Some more than others if one is to use a broad stroke to color the situation in boxing.
In the case of the Premiere Boxing Champions, Gervonta “Tank” Davis is the fighter with the deeper relationship with the PBC promotion as he has only fought his championship fights with the Mayweather/Al Haymon outfit. As such, much of the revenue and expenses, including the officiating and judges, is linked economically to this dynamic.
To some observers, many assume that officiating reflects an opinion that will allow for them to continue their business relationship with the firm. The simple question from Lamont:
Why did you stop counting?
Lamon Roach Jr to Steve Wilkes
The actual audio of the knee not being counted revealed how Willis thought of the situation. In one instance, he could be heard saying “You know I should take a point off” after he had even decided to start counting, but Tank’s insistence on that he was doing nothing wrong was a sort of tacit acknowledgment around the purse strings swayed Willis to discontinue this and reflect on the possibility that he would be able to argue his way out of a controversy.
There are three ways Roach could have won. The first is that he took the knee and it simply gets counter which leads to a point deduction. Second is that he gets a