"I didn’t want to get caught” - Gervonta Davis addresses controversial moment in Round 9 where he took a knee against Lamont Roach Jr.

Gervonta Davis retained his WBA lightweight title against Lamont Roach Jr. on March 1 after a competitive clash. The result went to the judges' scorecards, who ruled the bout a majority draw after scoring it 115-113, 114-114 and 114-114. However, the fight also produced one of the most controversial moments in recorded boxing history.

In Round 9, 'Tank' mysteriously took a knee after being clipped by several punches thrown by Roach Jr. Once the action stopped, Davis swiftly moved to his corner where he could be seen asking for something. The referee began and then stopped his eight-count, with the confusion on the official's face was clear for all to see.

The WBA champion's corner then wiped his face with a towel, before the action resumed, as the referee did not deem the incident a knockdown to the dismay of the collective boxing world. Had the referee called the moment a knockdown, the round would have been scored 10-8 in favor of 'The Reaper', which would have swung the judges' scorecards his way.

According to Davis' coaches, the boxer had his hair done several days before the fight. As per them, some grease from getting his hair done had trickled into his eye during the fight.

Following the bout, the Baltimore native addressed his decision to take a knee against Roach Jr. while talking to the media, saying:

"I run water over [my hair] today, but I must've not done it for [long] enough... I didn't want to get caught while my eyes were burning. You can get knocked out like that so I'd rather take the knee than [get knocked out]. I didn't really know you can get disqualified for all that."

Check out Gervonta Davis' comments below (2:02):

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Leading boxing journalist calls referee error in Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr. fight "one of the worst"

Referee Steve Willis has come under fire from all corners of the boxing world following his error in the Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr. WBA lightweight title fight.

But none have criticized Willis more than leading boxing journalist Dan Rafael, who took to X following the result and shared:

"Since men put padded gloves on their hands to fight more than a century ago this is a knockdown, if you voluntarily take a knee regardless of the reason. One of the worst f**k ups by a referee (not to mention the replay official) I have seen in my 45 years of watching boxing."

Check out Dan Rafael's reaction to Gervonta Davis taking a knee in Round 9 below: