On March 1, The Barclays Center in Brooklyn buzzed with stars excited to see Gervonta Davis in action after a year. While the bout against Lamont Roach didn’t had the necessary hype, seeing Tank in action is always a delight. However, the anticipation soon turned into dread when a visibly demotivated Davis started trading punches.
The Baltimorian, who has already hinted at retiring, looked like a shadow of his best self. Roach pushed the WBA lightweight champ to a full-distance majority draw, a scene no one would have expected to see. Furthermore, many experts believe that The Reaper should have been declared the winner. Naturally, with controversy brewing, Jake Paul couldn’t resist chiming in with his take.
Jake Paul’s brutal takedown
The Problem Child, who recently praised Gervonta Davis on ‘X’, was present at the Barclays Center. Right before the fight, Paul declared Tank as “1 of the top 5 in the world right now.” So, it was apparent that he was expecting a sensational performance from the Marylander. However, a video posted by the Instagram page atsboxing revealed that the match was unlike anything he expected.
According to Jake Paul, it was Lamont Roach who took the fight and Davis was lucky that judges termed it as a draw. “Man, he got lucky, it’s a draw. He(Roach) did a good fight though. I thought he won it,” claimed the 11-1 fighter. However, what irked him the most was the quality of the fight, as he was expecting far more action from the duo. But what he got was a tactical brilliance from The Reaper that kept Gervonta Davis on his toes.
He gotta create more action. That’s a sparring session as far as I’m concerned,” revealed Jake Paul. It looks like Tank’s demotivation was even caught by the 27-year-old. “God Damn, that not the Gervonta I know,” stated Jake Paul, showing his concerns over the Marylander’s performance. Furthermore, the Problem Child is not the only one who thought that the fight result was unfair to Lamont Roach.
Controversial decision that favored Gervonta Davis
Despite it being a rather forgettable competition, it had its moment. One particular moment that everyone took notice of came in the ninth round, when in the middle of the round, Gervonta Davis unexpectedly took a knee and walked toward his corner. Expectedly, it started a discourse amongst the boxing community as two-division undisputed champion Terence Crawford also joined the conversation.
The Nebraskan took a parting shot at the officiating mishap, declaring it as a mistake. He wrote to his X, “I never seen someone take a knee, and they don’t count it as a knockdown. Must’ve forgot the rules for tonight,” Crawford remarked. An Instagram post featured a poser: “ Why did the referee not count a knockdown there? And will the judges acknowledge it in their official scorecards? .”
I never seen someone take a knee and they don’t count it as a knock down. Must of forgot the rules for tonight.
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) March 2, 2025
According to the official rules, a knockdown occurs when a fighter’s knee and hand touch the mat. However, no such ruling was made against Gervonta Davis, and he was even allowed to take a 3-4 second break before resuming the match. The ‘Knee-gate’ incident has sparked massive outrage amongst the fans, and, most probably, the PBC headliner will be remembered only for this infamous incident. It is indeed a disappointing outcome and has even cast a cloud of doubt over boxing rules in general.
Do you agree with Jake Paul? Does Gervonta Davis look like a shadow of his former self? Let us know your thoughts down below.
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