Gervonta “Tank” Davis kept his belt in a fight against Lamont Roach Jr. on March 1 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The pair went head-to-head in a highly anticipated contest that featured friends, old amateur rivals, sparring partners, and world champions.
After 12 rounds of fast-paced action, one judge scored the fight 115-113 in favor of Davis. Two other judges scored it 114-114, resulting in a majority draw. In the ninth round, Davis took a knee and went to his corner to have his eyes wiped, which caused confusion but wasn’t counted as a knockdown.
Baltimore’s three-weight champion Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs), who defended his WBA lightweight title for the sixth time, retained his belt.
‘Hopefully we can run it back in New York’
“I just got my hair done two days ago and she put grease in my s***. So, the grease, when you sweat, it was coming into my face,” Davis explained. “I think I pulled it out in the last three rounds for sure. I was catching him with some clean shots. I feel I was breaking him down as the rounds were going on, but he kept coming so I didn’t want to make mistakes, and I kept it cautious.”
“I made it competitive to be honest,” Davis said when asked why the fight was so competitive. “For sure, Lamont is a great fighter. He got the skills like I said before and the punching power. It was a lesson learned. Shout out to Lamont Roach and his whole team. Hopefully we can run it back in New York. If not, all the best to Lamont Roach and his whole team.”
Reigning WBA super featherweight champion Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs) of Washington, D.C., who moved up a weight class, did not succeed in claiming a title in his second division.
‘I’m not banking on that knockdown to win’
“I’m a little disappointed in the decision,” Roach said. “I thought I pulled it out. That’s what two skilled fighters do, go in there and show off their crafts. I definitely thought I won but we can run it back.”
“This is every day for me. I ain’t gonna lie. I’m cut like this. I’ve been one of the ones, and I came out here and showed it. Gervonta is a great fighter. I thank him for the opportunity to show all the people that were doubting me, all the fake boxing media and fans talking shit. The script got flipped upside down. Even though I didn’t win tonight, I thought I did, but it’s a win for me in my book, but we are not satisfied with that. We need a real W.”
“It should have been a knockdown. If that was knockdown, I win the fight. He’s saying grease got in his eye, but if he takes a knee and the ref starts counting, it should be a knockdown. It is what it is. I’m not banking on that knockdown to win. I just thought I pulled it out. I want to run it back for sure. I hope you all enjoyed yourself. Thanks for loving me and thanks for hating me. I’ll be back on the grand stage again, where I belong.”
In Tank vs Roach undercard action
In the co-feature, Gary Antuanne Russell (18-1, 17 KOs) of Capitol Heights, MD defeated Mexican Jose Valenzuela (14-3, 9 KOs) to become the new WBA super lightweight champion. Russell earned the victory by unanimous decision with the scores 119-109, 119-109, and 120-108.
Among other Tank vs Roach results, Dominican Alberto Puello (24-0, 10 KOs) retained his WBC super lightweight title by split decision against Sandor Martin (42-4, 15 KOs) from Spain. One judge scored the fight 115-113 in favor of Martin, while two other judges had 116-112 and 115-113 for Puello.
In the pay-per-view opener, Cuban Yoenis Tellez (10-0, 7 KOs) defeated Philadelphia’s former champion Julian Williams (29-5-1, 17 KOs) by unanimous decision at super welterweight. The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 119-109. With the victory, Tellez landed the interim WBA title.
Atop the prelims, former unified super welterweight champion Jarrett Hurd (25-4-1, 17 KOs) of Accokeek, MD, dropped a split decision against Las Vegas-based Johan Gonzalez (36-4, 34 KOs) of Venezuela. After 10 rounds at middleweight, the scores were 96-94, 94-96, and 98-92. Post-fight, Hurd said it was his final ring appearance.