Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach Ends in Controversial Draw, Gary Antuanne Russell Dominates Rayo Valenzuela, Subriel Matias Records Incredible KO Finish!

After having the privilege of attending the Gervonta "Tank" Davis vs. Lamont Roach card in person, I am happy to report on it. The entire card was spectacular, and the Barclays Center's energy was electrifying. Everyone in attendance was excited to see their favorite fighters jump in the ring, with superfans anxious to see whether or not Tank would be able to deliver on his promises.

For the thousands in the Barclays Center and the millions watching at home, they were disappointed to find that Davis was puzzled by his opponent. Simple tasks in the ring such as establishing the jab and pivoting were immediately answered by a very game Lamont Roach. Roach was a live dog throughout the fight, proving exactly why Tank called him an "A+ fighter." Tank remains unbeaten, thanks in large part to the infamous "no-knee call" from referee Steve Willis in Saturday's WBA lightweight championship bout in New York.

Davis took a knee in the opening minute of the ninth round so he could go back to his corner and wipe his eye after complaining that grease from his braids was bothering him. The lightweight champion didn't give Willis any prior warning that he was going to do it, yet still no knockdown was officially counted.

Some were shocked when Tank gave Roach his props and said that he was better than Frank Martin, but Tank obviously knew something that the general public didn't. After competing against Roach in the amateurs and seeing his fights on ProBoxTV, Davis knew that he had much more to offer than just trash talk. The claims that Roach was undeserving of a title shot against Tank became almost impossible to ignore, but he showed that he belonged to the upper echelon of the competitors between super-featherweight and super-lightweight.

To say that Roach was counted out of his fight with Davis would be an understatement. Boxing media gave him no chance of winning the fight, which is why it was so shocking to see Roach stand up to Davis in the ring. Media and fans alike firmly believed that Roach would be squashed by the vastly more experienced Davis, but this was not the case. Roach's showmanship was proof that anyone on any night can appear to be human, and not a pure knockout machine. Roach took advantage of Tank fighting in spurts, and could control large portions of each round because he wasn’t throwing enough punches.

Davis started the fight well, winning the majority of the first half of the contest. Davis focused on the body of Roach in the early stages, attempting to bring Roach's guard down with hooks to the left and right so he could land his southpaw left hand, which he did effectively in the fifth round. After the fifth and sixth rounds, Roach took more initiative on the front foot, attacking with confidence and poise.

The WBA Super-Featherweight World Champion found himself in several fierce exchanges with Davis, showcasing incredible grit and chin. As more time passed it became clear that Roach could not be easily moved. Roach landed the hardest punch of the fight in Round 8, countering Davis' left hand with a punch that pushed Davis back and off-balance. In the championship rounds, Roach seemed to return to life with a more fast-paced approach to his boxing. Instead of repeatedly engaging Davis at the center of the ring, he made attempts to cut the ring off and pin him on the perimeter.

This was unsuccessful, seeing as how Davis' typical lack of activity earlier in the fight enabled him to move his head and conserve energy with pop-shots. Davis ultimately retained his WBA lightweight title with a majority decision draw. Two judges scored the fight 114-114, six rounds apiece, and one judge gave Davis the nod by two rounds, scoring the contest 115-113. Had Willis properly called Davis' peculiar moment in Round 9 a knockdown, Roach would have been declared the winner. The upset would have sent shockwaves throughout the boxing world, but Lamont Roach was not afforded the victory.

The controversial knee sent current champions in the sport into a fury, with fighters like Terence "Bud" Crawford speaking out against the lack of action from the referee. This has spilled into today, where there are new reports of Lamont Roach's team petitioning the New York State Athletic Commission to overturn the draw to a loss in his favor.

There has been no official response from the NYSAC on the matter, but the WBA has offered a statement. “From our perspective, Willis’ decision was not unreasonable or unjustifiable. He ruled in real-time that Davis had not been struck by a punch before going down, and therefore, no knockdown should be recorded." The WBA continued by discussing the judges and their position in the issue. “Judges, by regulation, must follow the referee’s rulings—they do not have the authority to override his decisions on knockdowns. Some skeptics have suggested that Willis’ call benefited Davis unfairly, but we do not subscribe to that notion." The WBA, represented by both Davis and Roach in their respective weight classes, has no real incentive in the situation. If Roach won the fight, they would have a two-division champion. In the case of Davis, this has already come to pass.

Claims of corruption would not hold for long, especially considering the WBA's recent efforts towards cleaning up mandatory challengers and belt unifications. The pressure is on as the NYSAC must investigate "Knee-Gate" themselves and come to a sound conclusion. This would make the second time in one year that the NYSAC has suffered from controversy under its athletic supervision. The first would be the infamous ostarine-positive tests that Ryan Garcia submitted, voiding his win against Haney. The NYSAC acted quickly by revoking Garcia's license and overturning his win for the positive PED tests, but the world is all eyes as the clock ticks for their decision on Roach's draw.

[Gary Antuanne Russell Shocks El Rayo in 12 Round Slugfest!]

Gary Antuanne Russell was afforded a unique privilege against Jose "El Rayo" Valenzuela. After suffering a shocking loss in his last fight against Alberto Puello for the WBC Super-Lightweight World Championship, PBC approached Russell with another world championship fight.

Very few people have been granted world title opportunities after a loss. Under the PBC's current stable, the only name that comes to mind is Rolando "Rolly" Romero. In fact, Rolly is being given another world title shot against Ryan Garcia at 147-lbs. He lost his fight against Tank for the WBA Lightweight title, won the WBA Super-Lightweight title against Barrosso, then lost it against Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz, who ironically lost this very same belt against Valenzuela. The WBA Super-Lightweight title is fondly referred to by fans as the "hot potato belt" because of how many times it has changed hands since Gervonta Davis vacated it.

No one has been able to keep it after winning it, but it appears as if Gary Antuanne Russell has other plans with the belt. Russell came in to this fight as an underdog. This is due to his loss to Alberto Puello, and Valenzuela's impressive performance against Pitbull Cruz. Valenzuela was unable to recreate his standout performance against Russell, however. Russell remained on the front foot for the entire contest. From round 1 to round 12, Russell mounted an offense that Valenzuela could not shake.

Valenzuela had issues with Russell's hooks while exiting, making it one of the more extreme cases in which Valenzuela struggled with an opponent's punch. The swarming punches of Cruz gave Valenzuela many counter opportunities, but Russell's constant punching in response to getting clipped gave him serious problems. The scores were 119-109, 119-109 and 120-108 at the conclusion of the fight. After besting Valenzuela on one of the most important nights of both men's careers, Russell is seeking major unification opportunities against opponents such as Richardson Hitchins, Teofimo Lopez (who is now charged with unifying the interim title with his against Arnold Barboza), and Alberto Puello.

"I’m shooting for Alberto Puello. He can lose all his titles. I still got to fight him. I feel like it’s a pride thing, and I don’t feel like he beat me anyway. But you got to see me again,” said Gary Antuanne Russell at the post-fight press conference. A rematch with Puello under PBC's banner would keep both belts in-house and bring in money that the promotions needs at this point in time. The WBC and WBA would have little reason to say no to the unification as well, so this fight could be made relatively easier than others in the past. Unfortunately anything is possible in the business of boxing, so it may not be the fault of the sanctioning bodies if the fight were to fall apart.

[Subriel Matias Records KO Finish in IBF Title Eliminator!]

Subriel Matias' rebuild must be studied. Since his upset loss to Liam Paro on his Puerto Rico homecoming card, Matias has been on a steady path back to the title. Matias, once the boogeyman of the super-lightweight division, found himself in a compromising position after his lackluster performance against Paro. Most of his marketing came from the fact that his unorthodox fighting style and fear-instilling power had no answer, but Paro answered just about every question Matias' style asked of him.

As Shawn Porter's saying goes, "styles make fights." Stylistically, Matias did not match up well with Paro. Thankfully, Eddie Hearn and Matias' promoter back home were able to find the proper matchups for him. An impressive fight against Roberto Ramirez (26-3-1) sent Matias back to IBF title eliminator status, setting up his most recent contest with Gabriel Valenzuela in Puerto Rico.

Valenzuela, a scrappy Mexican 140-lb contender, made it known that he was no stepping stone for Matias. The rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico is well documented, but Matias and Valenzuela weren't shy about adding another entry in the long list of fights between contenders and champions that have tested their chins in the ring. In the first round, Matias, a known slow starter, was soundly outjabbed by Valenzuela.

He had significant problems trying to find an answer for Valenzuela's range-finding jab, which led to an immediate answer in the following round. In the second round, Matias came out landing left hooks to the chin of Valenzuela. Matias also showed improvement in the head movement department, slipping a few offerings that Valenzuela mounted. Midway through the round, Valenzuela came back well making it tough on the judges.

In the third round, Matias had the crowd reacting when he rocked Valenzuela with a left hook halfway through. When he realized he had the proper opening between Matias' punches, Valenzuela returned to using his jab, getting through the round on unsteady legs. In the fourth round, Matias cut Valenzuela’s right eyebrow. Matias worked on the cut in the fifth round and had Valenzuela in trouble throughout. In the sixth and seventh, Matias crushed the cut repeatedly, causing the ringside physician to react and check on it.

The fight proceeded, and Valenzuela fought with the intent to show the referee that he could continue despite the cut. It could be argued that Valenzuela lost the round, but none of it mattered when the eighth round came around. Matias started by swarming Valenzuela, prompting him to respond yet again. Matias continued to walk Valenzuela down, hitting him with wide, clubbing shots that broke him down quickly.

Between Valenzuela's punches, craftily using his opponent's strategy against him, Matias landed a beautiful left hook that sent the Mexican to the canvas. The fight was waved off by the ref, and Matias helped his opponent up to his feet. In a brilliant display of showmanship and class, Matias hugged his opponent, kissing him on the forehead. Valenzuela embraced him back, which drew a positive reaction from the crowd.

Both men received plenty of praise for their performances, well earned after eight rounds of back-and-forth boxing. Matias' victory guaranteed him a fight against Richardson Hitchins, the current IBF Super-Lightweight World Champion. While Hitchins is aiming to unify his titles with other champions in the weight class, Matias is silently preparing to take him belt in case the fight is put together quickly by Eddie Hearn and Matchroom.

Hitchins went to Puerto Rico and defeated Liam Paro for the belt that Matias lost to his Australian opponent. This immediately called into question how easily Paro was able to neutralize Matias when he struggled against Hitchins. New York's newest world champion was present during yesterday's "Fatal Fury in Times Square" press conference, used to announce the card featuring Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and others. Hitchins taunted Teofimo Lopez several times ahead of rumors that they may be fighting if he can get ahead of WBO Interim Super-Lightweight World Champion Arnold Barboza on May 2nd. Regardless of which option boxing politics and business take Richardson Hitchins, Subriel Matias is eager to regain the championship that left his hands against Liam Paro.