The New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) will not be overturning the March 1st result that saw Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach draw with each other by majority decision (MD). The organization had earlier indicated they were reviewing the result in lieu of a knockdown that was ruled out by referee Steve Willis in the 9th round of the match.
According to ESPN, the NYSAC concluded it was ultimately up to the referee to consider it as such:
“The bout continued for more than three full rounds after the referee’s no knockdown call, and because the boxers necessarily adjusted to the referee’s ruling, the referee’s call was not outcome-determinative,” The NYSAC’s ruling states.
“Following an extensive after-the-fact review of the footage of the ninth round, [we concluded] that the most appropriate call would have been for the referee to determine that Mr. Davis’ knee contacting the canvas constituted a knockdown.
“However, the determination of whether a knockdown occurred in that instance was within the discretion and authority of the referee.“
Aside from arguing that it was up for the referee to decide whether the knockdown should have counted, the NYSAC further elaborated that even in a scenario where the knockdown had been counted, it could have changed the outcome of the result.
“Such conjecture would be misplaced, and setting such a precedent is not viewed by the commission as guaranteeing a correct outcome retroactively or as in keeping with the best interest of boxing.” NYSAC’s ruling concluded.
The NYSAC’s ruling, which notably was not publicly released, fails to take into account several facts surrounding the discounted knockdown and its aftermath. According to the Association of Boxing Commissions‘ (ABC) rules, Davis breached the Unified Boxing Rules by interacting with his coach in the corner amidst the round to have his face wiped. This should have therefore counted as a disqualification or a points deduction for Davis:
However, despite these rules being clear in that regard, they also clearly state the decision falls “within the sole discretion of the referee”.
Since referee Steve Willis did nothing to count either the knockdown or Davis’ brief exchange with his corner, the NYSAC used the referee’s lack of action to rule that there was no reason to overturn the March 1st result.
The main issue pertaining to this case now revolves around the complete lack of repercussions surrounding referee Steve Willis who arguably made two decisions that should have been reviewed by the state athletic commission. Instead, the NYSAC conveniently ignored any of Willis’ debatable actions during the March 1st match to focus solely on the application of the boxing rules — which usually boils down to these sort of decisions falling on the referee.
Ultimately, this boils down to boxing being a landscape without a systematic approach towards handling matters of this nature; from dubious knockdowns to potential indiscretions by referee. Due to this, the NYSAC has opted to wash their hands of what occurred during the March 1st bout by acknowledging the decision to count down Davis’ knockdown being up to the referee.
By outright not mentioning the interaction between Davis and his coach, which was illegal according to the ABC’s rules, the NYSAC further shows a clear disinterest in thoroughly investigating several incidents that occurred during the March 1st bout between Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach.
With the NYSAC willingly choosing not to take any steps to investigate Willis’ decisions or takes steps to prevent these controversial moments from occurring in the future, thereby showing themselves to be either inept or unwilling to protect the integrity of boxing and help ensure fair play in the sport.
