Gervonta Davis’ ‘Hair Grease’ Excuse Draws Criticism: Was Lamont Roach Robbed?

Gervonta Davis’ hair grease excuse for why he took a knee against Lamont Roach in the ninth round of their fight last Saturday night, it didn’t go over well with fans. They see that as some weak stuff from WBA lightweight champion Tank Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs), who got away with one in this fight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The ‘Grease’ Claim

Rules need to be in place to prevent fighters from being allowed to weasel their way out of knockdowns and disqualifications in the future by saying they had grease in their eyes.

Davis played the referee like a fiddle, saying he had to wipe the grease out of his eyes when he took the knee. Out of all the excuses fighters use to explain away being knocked down, this one takes the cake. If it had been me working the fight as the ref, I’d have been like a baseball umpire, ‘You’re OUT.‘ I’d have disqualified Tank so fast his head would have been spinning. Taking a knee after being punched and then walking away to your corner immediately after is DQ stuff. You can’t do that junk, yet he did and got away with it.

It’s hard to believe that the referee, Steve Willis, bought it because he had to know there would be a backlash from fans. To them, he looked either incompetent or showing favoritism towards the ‘Face of Boxing’ in the U.S.

The Commission at ringside should have said something to give credit to Roach for what should have been a knockdown in the ninth because it had a huge bearing on the outcome. By the referees’ inaction, the fight wound up being a 12 round majority draw instead of a win for Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs).

Tank didn’t seem to feel too guilty about being gifted his draw after the fight. He said he’s not going to give Roach a rematch next, and hinted that he could be fighting YouTuber Jake Paul next. I don’t know how a fight like that could even happen due to their size differences. Don’t be surprised if it does and if it’s sanctioned as counting on the records of the two.

“He’s a great counter-puncher, and a very high boxing IQ,” said Chris Algieri to Fighthype, talking about Lamont Roach after his 12 round majority draw against Gervonta Davis last Saturday night.

“He [Roach] always, ‘I hit harder than people think. I hit harder than my record says.’ He stunned Tank several times. Tank looked like the guy with the heavier hands, but Lamont had the better chin. So, if Tank hits him real hard and the guy can take it, it doesn’t really matter.”