Just a few days ago, Gervonta Davis was the man in boxing—the ‘face of boxing,’ the pound-for-pound best, the absolute cream of the crop. And now, the Baltimore native can’t stop catching Ls, even though technically he didn’t. Last Saturday night, Davis’ world turned upside down when he squared off against WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach Jr.
Their 12-round fight came to a controversial conclusion, with the bout declared a majority decision draw. However, what happened in round 9 of the fight especially has the public poking fun at the 30-year-old. If, by some miracle, you haven’t heard yet—after Roach landed a clean shot on Davis, the latter unexpectedly took a knee.
Amanda Serrano comes to Gervonta Davis’ defense
After dropping to one knee—just as he made Ryan Garcia do in their 2023 fight—the ‘face of boxing’ hurried to his corner, where his team quickly wiped his face with a towel. At first, it seemed like Davis was hurt and forced to take a knee, but it was later revealed that grease from his hair had dripped into his eye.
Regardless of the reason, according to boxing rules, Davis’ knee touching the canvas should have been counted as a knockdown. Yet, in a baffling decision, referee Steve Willis let the fight continue without ruling it as such. When the fight ended in a draw, the boxing world erupted in outrage over the controversial call.
1 year ago today I had to cancel my homecoming fight in Puerto Rico for the same mistake…getting my hair done two days before and then it burning my eyes from a run before the fight. Never again. My natural hair is just fine ladies. https://t.co/V0DRH4EK6q
— Amanda Serrano (@Serranosisters) March 2, 2025
Had the knockdown been scored—as it should have been—Roach would have won the fight. The decision drew sharp criticism from fighters like Terence Crawford, Ryan Garcia, and many others. However, when Davis was asked about it, he brushed it off as if it wasn’t a big deal. Meanwhile, Amanda Serrano stepped in to defend Davis, sharing her own experience with grease affecting her fight preparations.
“1 year ago today I had to cancel my homecoming fight in Puerto Rico for the same mistake…,” she wrote on X. “Getting my hair done two days before and then it burning my eyes from a run before the fight. Never again. My natural hair is just fine ladies.” However, Serrano’s attempt at support seemed to backfire when fans discovered her post on social media, questioning the comparison.
‘Tank’ Davis mocked as feminine by fans
Gervonta Davis is the biggest name in boxing, so with the controversy in full swing, the incident attracted widespread attention. One user mocked Davis, highlighting ‘Tank’ was having female problems. “Tank out here having female problems,” the user wrote. Many speculate that Davis was actually rocked, and came up with the idea in the final moment.
Meanwhile, the next user suggested that Gervonta Davis should move over to women’s boxing. “Tank belongs in Women’s boxing then ,” the user commented. This perfectly portrays how one wrong move can cause someone to fall from grace.
Someone else dismissed Davis’ excuse about grease getting in his eyes. “You wanna know what’s worse than hair grease being in your eyes?” the user wrote while sharing a picture of Artur Beterbiev with blood covering nearly his entire face.
you wanna know what’s worse than hair grease being in your eyes ? pic.twitter.com/C6tdqjqoww
— Lotti (@LottiRoyalty) March 2, 2025
Another user taunted Davis, claiming Davis facing female issues is normal. “Tank having the same issue as a female is par for the course I guess,” the user wrote. Interestingly enough, before the fight, Davis’ hairstyle went viral when he was photographed with sleek long hair.
It appears fans couldn’t let Davis’ issue go, as even the next user teased Davis for having female problems. “Yea, but my thing is that’s a female problem. He sounded feminine saying ‘I just got hair done…’ lol,” the user wrote. Notably, nobody was buying Davis’ excuse, as the arena erupted with ‘booos’ during Davis’ interview.
That said, the boxing world isn’t ready to let the overlooked knockdown slide—especially since following the rules could have meant a victory for Lamont Roach Jr. What are your thoughts on the controversy?
The post “Tank Out Here Having Female Problems” – Gervonta Davis’ ‘Grease’ Drama Spills Over as Amanda Serrano’s Defense Backfires appeared first on EssentiallySports.