Gervonta Davis and Claressa Shields have never seen eye to eye in the past, but ‘T-Rex’ seems to have stepped up to defend the Baltimore native. If you were sleeping the past couple of days, ‘Tank’ Davis barely avoided his first career loss to Lamont Roach Jr. on Saturday night. While the fight itself ended in a draw, the boxing world has decided Davis lost, especially because of what happened in the 9th round.
After Roach Jr. landed a blow, Davis bent down to take a knee. At first, it looked like the 30-year-old was hurt, but he quickly ran over to his corner, where his team cleaned his face with a towel. Notably, regardless of the reason behind taking a knee in a fight, if a boxer takes a knee it should be counted as a knockdown. However, referee Steve Willist didn’t see it that way.
While he started a mandatory 10-count, he immediately let Davis go without any sort of punishment for the incident. Fans and experts alike have come alive since then, calling the incident a blatant robbery. Boxers like Terence Crawford and Ryan Garcia especially made noise through social media. Davis later revealed that grease from his hair dripped into his eye, impairing his vision and forcing him to take a knee. However, if the knockdown had been counted, Roach would have secured a unanimous decision victory based on the final scorecard.
Now, even the NYSAC has joined the conversation, claiming they will look into the incident thoroughly to maintain integrity in the sport. Regardless, amid all the controversy and uproar, Claressa Shields has tried to defend Davis on social media. “Not y’all saying Tank is overrated….,” she wrote on X after the fight ended. “We not gonna do that. I believe he had an off night vs. a great fighter in Roach. And the arguing with corner and grease in his hair didn’t help. Draw or not, Tank [is] still a bad man. Be smooth tho,” she added.
Not y’all saying Tank is overrated…. We not gonna do that. I believe he had an off night vs a great fighter in Roach. And the arguing with corner and grease in his hair didn’t help. Draw or not, Tank still a bad man. Be smooth tho
— Claressa Gwoat Shields (@Claressashields) March 2, 2025
Meanwhile, Davis’ hairstylist seems to have spoken out on the matter.
Gervonta Davis’ hairstylist pulls out receipts after Lamont Roach Jr. fight
Gervonta Davis’ hairstylist, Lee The Brand, has fired back at claims that hair grease caused his controversial ninth-round knee in his March 1 fight against Lamont Roach Jr. The moment, which referee Steve Willis did not count as a knockdown, played a crucial role in the fight ending in a majority draw.
— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) March 2, 2025
Davis claimed, “I just got my hair done two days ago, and she put grease in my [expletive]… the grease come in my face, it burnt my eye.” However, Lee The Brand denied responsibility, stating, “I did his hair WEDNESDAY, It’s SATURDAY! He did press, gym and weigh in. That’s no excuse, how much grease did I use damn.”
She even shared product details, showing it was a conditioning shine free of grease and wax.
That being said, it appears even Claressa Shields can’t save Gervonta Davis from facing the reality of the situation. Grease or not, Davis has to face some sort of punishment for taking a knee in the middle of the fight. What is your take on the matter?
The post Claressa Shields Comes to Gervonta Davis’ Rescue After ‘Grease’ Incident Causes an Uproar appeared first on EssentiallySports.
