The New York State Athletic Commission is reviewing the replay of the ninth round of the Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs. Lamont Roach from last Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Referee Steve Willis had started giving a count after WBA lightweight champion Tank Davis took a knee in round nine after getting hit hard with a right hand followed by a jab from the challenger Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs). For some reason, Willis inexplicably stopped counting when he reached the count of three, and allowed Tank to march to his corner to wipe his eyes. There was no time out given.
NYSAC Review
It was just Davis turning his back and walking away, as if he were quitting. This was another mistake on Willis’ part not to wave the fight off by disqualifying Tank when his face was wiped off during the round. That’s not allowed when the referee hadn’t given a fighter a timeout. Referee Willis looked like he’d lost complete control over what was happening and did nothing.
Mike Coppinger of ESPN says one of the New York Commission members told him they are “reviewing the matter” about the Tank vs. Roach clash. They couldn’t review it last Saturday night because a “technical issue” with the “replay review” prevented them from making a call on the ninth-round incident in which Gervonta dropped to a knee after being hit and then walked back to his corner to supposedly have hair grease wiped away from his eyes.
Fans are skeptical whether the New York Commission will change anything, and they’re not buying the technical issue excuse. They suspect the worst and feel the superstar Tank Davis was saved from a loss because if the video replay had been reviewed, it would have been scored as a knockdown and he’d have lost.
