Gervonta Davis’ Legacy Tarnished? Controversial ‘Timeout,’ Missed Knockdown Call, and Accusations of Weakness in Lamont Roach Draw

Commentator Darren Barker believes Gervonta Davis hurt his legacy in his last fight when he took a knee called his timeout in the ninth round to have grease removed from his eyes against Lamont Roach on March 1st at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The “Timeout”

Davis also walked back to the corner to have his trainer wipe the grease from his. That should have been a disqualification due to his trainer standing on the ring apron during the round.

In what many boxing fans feel was a mistake, the referee, Steve Willis, chose not to give Roach credit for a knockdown when Tank Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs) took a knee in the ninth. He had been hit second prior to taking a knee.

The referee should have scored it as a knockdown, which would have made it a 10-8. Roach would have won the fight. The missed call by Willis resulted in the contest scoring a 12-round majority draw, saving WBA lightweight champion Tank from losing his title and suffering his first career defeat.

Tank made himself look weak by calling his own timeout to have grease wiped from his eyes. Fighters often get vaseline in their eyes during rounds, but they DON’T call their own timeouts to have their trainer clear their vision.

They fight through it.  The fact that Tank couldn’t do that against Roach showed that he was mentally crumbling during the later rounds of the contest when the challenger began to take the fight to him.

Davis’s Legacy

“I’ve never known fighters to call their own timeout. You can’t do that. This is the hurt business,” said Darren Barker to DAZN Boxing when asked if Gervonta Davis hurt his legacy in his last fight when he took a knee in the ninth round against Lamont Roach on March 1st.

“Before the fight, we heard how Davis was talking about this is his last year in boxing. Has that desire gone? He’s achieved so much in the sport. I don’t think we would have seen him do that a few years ago.”

Fans saw what they saw, and they overwhelmingly viewed the fight as a defeat for Tank. His popularity took a hit, and he’s not seen in the same light after that poor performance.