Gervonta Davis’ hairstylist has responded to claims that excessive grease in his hair forced him to take a knee during his fight against Lamont Roach. Despite retaining his WBA lightweight title with a controversial majority draw in New York, many believe Davis would have lost had referee Steve Willis ruled it a knockdown.
A packed Barclays Center watched in disbelief as Davis suddenly dropped to one knee in the ninth round after a jab from Roach. Though the punch momentarily affected his vision, Davis walked to his corner, where his team wiped his eye with a towel. The referee, however, chose not to count it as a knockdown, despite the usual rule that any contact with the canvas requires a mandatory count. The decision sparked outrage among fans, who booed when Davis offered an unexpected explanation.
The undefeated fighter, now 30-0-1 with 28 knockouts, blamed his hairstylist, claiming grease from his freshly braided hair had dripped into his eyes. “I got my hair done two days ago, and she put grease in my s***,” he said. “It was sweating, running into my face, burning my eyes.” As the crowd booed, he defended himself. “Why y’all acting like I’m lying? This is real. Look at my hair, I just got it done.”
If Davis thought that would end the conversation, his hairstylist had other ideas. New York-based LeeBTheBrand fired back on Instagram before deleting her post. “I did his hair Wednesday. It’s Saturday. He did press, gym, weigh-in. That’s no excuse. How much grease did I use, damn.” She also posted a video of Davis at her salon, showing no sign of excess grease. To prove her point, she shared an image of the product used on his hair, with “no grease” clearly printed on the label.
Whether grease played a role or not, Roach remains frustrated that he wasn’t credited with a knockdown. One judge scored the fight 115-113 for Davis, while the other two had it 114-114. If the referee had ruled the knee a knockdown, Roach would have won. “If you voluntarily take a knee and the ref starts counting, it’s a knockdown. If that’s a knockdown, I win,” Roach said. “I thought I pulled it out. I want to run it back.”
Davis also acknowledged the controversy, posting on social media: “They took the fight from me and made it a draw because of that bulls*** knee. But I landed the most punches. He didn’t even hit me when I took the knee. I get it, I shouldn’t have done that, but that hair grease was burning my eyes!”
With the controversy unresolved, a rematch seems inevitable. No matter what happens next, Davis may be looking for a new hairstylist before his next fight.
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