Steve Willis Made a Critical Error in Tank Davis vs Roach Fight!
In boxing, an error in judgment by the referee can have grave ramifications that can greatly impact a contest. That was the case for referee Steve Willis during the match between Gervonta “Tank” Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs) and Lamont “The Reaper” Roach (25-1-2,10 KOs). Willis’ actions during a key period of the fight ultimately denied Roach the biggest win of his career.
At Barclays in Brooklyn, New York, Davis retained the WBA lightweight title with a majority decision draw over Roach, who holds the WBA world belt at 130 pounds. In the opening minute of round nine, Davis turned his back and went down on one knee after taking a jab from Roach. What happened next could only be described as head-scratching.
MAKE IT MAKE SENSE?
Willis began to make a count that would constitute a knockdown, but then he suddenly stopped counting. He would allow Tank to go to his corner to have his face wiped off, essentially giving him a timeout. He then warned Davis that he was in danger of getting called for a knockdown before letting the fight resume. Pundits and folks ringside were all confused by what occurred.
That moment proved costly on the scorecards. Had Willis kept counting and ruled it a knockdown, the fight would have been ruled in favor of Roach by a split decision.
Tank claimed that he went down as a result of grease getting in his eye from a hairdo during the post-fight interview. Davis was booed by the fans in attendance and criticized throughout social media and various boxing message boards.
A CASE OF FAVORITISM?
During that key moment in the ninth, his actions were unprofessional. He took a knee and walked away, got assistance from his corner, then explained his actions to the referee and was allowed to fight again.
Moreover, what Willis did was inexcusable as he allowed Davis to stop the action on his own accord, and get assistance while the clock was running during a round. It all came off as Willis was trying to protect Davis! If the camp of Roach filed an official protest, can you blame them?
Tank likes to call himself the face of the sport. That was not evident against Roach. If anything, the 130-pound champion showed that Davis is a flawed fighter who can be beaten.
Willis has a reputation of being one of the very best at his trade. You could sum this up as him having an off night. However, it’s more than that given the enormity of the event. He must be held accountable for what was a lapse of judgment. That fallout was to the detriment of Roach and has many in the boxing world in an uproar.
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