NOBODY could have anticipated that Lamont Roach Jr. vs Gervonta “Tank” Davis that took place last March 1, would end up in controversy.
Sure, this was a highly anticipated bout, but Davis was a prohibitive -1600 favorite to defend his WBA Lightweight World Championship against Roach who moved up in weight for the challenge.
The fight however ended in a disputed majority draw after 12 rounds, with the official scorecards reading 115-113 in favor of Davis and two scores of 114-114.
FAMILIAR. Unknownst to many, these two were not strangers to each other’s styles -- having previously faced each other twice during the amateurs where Davis won both encounters.
As dominant as Davis has been in the amateurs, this familiarity would serve Roach well as he more than held his own against the flashy, explosive Davis.
Both fighters started slow, with Davis relying on his speed and power while Roach mostly opted to counter-punch. Davis was ahead early with Roach slowly building some momentum which he later on turned into an advantage in the later rounds.
The pace picked up around the seventh round, but controversy came in the form of a nicely landed jab from Roach to which Davis took a knee, claiming some grease had gotten into his eye.
He was given a momentary reprieve to correct the discomfort, and referee Steve Willis did not rule this as a knockdown, a call that would spark widespread debate.
As can be gleaned from the scorecards, had the round been scored 10-8 for Roach, it could have tipped the verdict in his favor.
Davis appealed the result to the New York Athletic State Commission but the latter upheld the verdict and the ref’s call, citing that the outcome could still have changed significantly since there were three more rounds left.
SIMILAR. To this Last Rounder, this fight has shades of Shane Mosely vs. Vernon Forrest going on. These two had fought each other in the amateurs with Forrest emerging victorious.
But in the professinal ranks, Mosely was the more prominent fighter, having just beaten the Golden Boy, Oscar dela Hoya, in his previous fight. He entered the match a heavy favorite.
However, like an old shoe that fits comfortably, Forrest stunned the boxing world by dominating his old familiar quarry with ease, even knocking down Mosely twice en route to a unanimous decision win.
A rematch was set, but the outcome was no different as Forrest repeated his mastery over Mosely with another decision win.
Moral of the story? Once again the old boxing adage “styles makes fights” holds sway. You can be skilled and talented, but there is always someone out there who has your number.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my best buddy, Edge Genosa who lives in Brighton, Massachusetts. Happy birthday and Cheers!