Lamont Roach Vs. Gervonta Davis Changed Boxing Rules — Legendary Ref Explains

September 1, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 01: Gervonta Davis takes a knee in the middle of round nine due to the grease in his braids dripped into his eyes against Lamont Roach Jr. during their bout for Davis' WBA lightweight title at Barclays Center on March 01, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

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I'll never forget the March 2024 fight between Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach Jr. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. I sat in press row next to long-time boxing journalist Michael Woods and scored the fight 8-4 in favor of Roach. It seemed everyone in the vicinity agreed, but we all knew something strange could happen, and it did. Davis escaped with a draw.

There was so much wrong about that decision. First, the scorecards shouldn't have been that close and second, Davis should have be ruled down in the ninth round when he took a knee because something was in his eye. Had that been scored a knockdown, Roach would've won — even with the questionable scorecards. I had a chance to speak with legendary referee Jack Reiss about this instance and others. According to Reiss, the Tank-Roach fight led to a major change in the way boxing matches will be officiated. Let's talk boxing.

Davis Vs. Roach: Key Facts

DetailInfoFightGervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr.DateMarch 1, 2025VenueBarclays Center, BrooklynOfficial resultMajority drawThe momentDavis took a knee in the ninthRuledNo knockdownCommissionNYSAC acknowledged the error, result stoodReiss on the callIt should have been a knockdownWhat changedThe referee's manual was amendedReiss's career25 years, 1,152 fightsLast fight refereedCrawford vs. Madrimov, August 2024NowStill working as a judge

What Jack Reiss Says About The Knee

Reiss is not ambiguous about it.

"So yes, that was a knockdown," he told me. "Gervonta was, whether it was from a punch or not, there's no timeouts in boxing. So it should have been a knockdown."

The call reached him fast. "Not only was it a teaching video, we made it a teaching video immediately," Reiss said. "I was flooded with calls."

The Rule That Did Not Exist

Here is the part that has not been reported. When Reiss and his colleagues went looking for the rule that made a voluntary knee a knockdown, they could not find one.

"The crazy part about it is, throughout the years, things get convoluted and one administration moves out, new in, and things get left out," Reiss said. "We couldn't find anywhere in any of the legislature and the rules or the manuals where it said, if a fighter on his own volition takes a knee, that it's a knockdown. But we all know that's policy."

So they wrote it down.

"Not only did we teach on the video, we had it put into the referee's manual that if a fighter on his own accord takes a knee, it should be considered a knockdown," Reiss said. "And we got it in the books now as well. And we teach it, we show that video."

Every referee certified from here forward learns that rule because of what happened in Brooklyn.

Why Calvin Ford Should Have Been Thrown Out

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 01: Gervonta Davis has his face wiped during round nine due to the grease in his braids dripped into his eyes against Lamont Roach Jr. during their bout for Davis' WBA lightweight title at Barclays Center on March 01, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

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The knee was not the only thing Reiss flagged. Davis walked away from the referee mid-instruction, stuck his head through the ropes, and his trainer wiped his face.

"In the books, it says that if during the course of a bout, the trainer comes on the apron, he doesn't have to come on the apron. If he touches the apron to assist his fighter, it's like he's going on the apron. The fighter should be disqualified," Reiss said. "That's the letter of the law. But why punish the fighter for the actions of the corner?"

His version of that round looks very different.

"The best practice would have been to throw Calvin Ford out of the corner, make Gervonta fight without his trainer for the rest of the fight, and then have Calvin go before the commission and explain why he did what he did," Reiss said.

Then the points. "The referee could have admonished Gervonta for two things. For one, taking a knee, should have been a knockdown. And number two, for not staying with him and turning away and walking away. And all those things could have got points taken away, but not a disqualification."

That last word is a principle for him, not a preference.

"A disqualification is not used very often. It's the last resort," Reiss said. "Nobody came to the arena to see a fighter get disqualified. Now, egregious, willful, malicious, different story. But this didn't cause any harm to Lamont, right? So why disqualify?"

What Reiss Teaches At Sole Arbiter

Reiss has been one of a small number of ABC-certified boxing referee trainers for over a decade. The phone calls from officials who did not know what to do got frequent enough that he built a course around them.

"I was on the phone so much, at a demand, I decided to put together a course called Sole Arbiter," he said.

The thesis is the same one that runs through his Davis–Roach answer.

"The rules are a guideline, and we try to teach people not to strictly stick to the letter of the law," Reiss said. "They should use the spirit of the law and do what's right for the fighters and do what's right for boxing rather than hang their hat on a rule. There's a way to get around it and let that fight, not by cheating, by common sense, but let that fight go to a natural conclusion. Boxing wins, both fighters win, everybody wins."

It runs three days and 26 to 28 hours in Las Vegas. Two days of philosophy and film, ten hours each. The third day is in a gym with four to six fighters running scenarios the referee has not been told about.

"We might do a scenario such as fighter A knocks down fighter B and then hits him while he's on the ground," Reiss said. "We watch to see if the referee froze, or we watch to see if the referee went into action."

He teaches it with Tom Taylor and Russell Mora. "We have 3,000 fights between us. We've made a lot of mistakes."

The market he is serving is not the one people assume.

"California, Nevada, New York, Texas, Florida. A lot of fights, right? But where's the guy in Oklahoma or Poland or Russia or Africa?" Reiss said. "Where do they come to get the repetitions and the experience? The people that are mentoring them have four-round fights over and over again."

He is also blunt about what a bad night costs an official. "Getting booed ain't fun, but whether you get booed or not, and you know you should have done something better, that drive home in that next week or two is horrible."

The next course runs in Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend, and he says it is open to people who will never officiate a fight. "We've invited writers like yourself, commentators, and quite a few have taken us up on it."

Where Reiss Is Now?

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 03: Terence Crawford 'Bud' from Omaha, Nebraska celebrates his victory after his match with Israil Madrimov ''The Dream' (not seen) from Uzbekistan at their WBA World WBO Interim title of the Premiere Boxing Championship during Riyadh Season on Saturday night at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California United States on August 03, 2024. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Reiss is now working as a judge and running Sole Arbiter, having refereed his last fight in August 2024 when Terence Crawford defeated Israil Madrimov.