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Three world title fights and three decisions took place on the PPV undercard of Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr on Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Gary Antuanne Russell delivered the most impressive performance, winning a one-sided unanimous decision over Jose Valenzuela to win the WBA junior welterweight title.

Albert Puello barely lived to tell the tale in his first title defense, defeating Sandor Martin by split decision. In the PPV opener, rising Cuban prospect Yoenis Tellez earned an interim belt with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Julian “J Rock” Williams.

Boxing Tonight: Gervonta Davis vs Lamont Roach Jr Undercard Odds &  Predictions

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Here’s how all three undercard bouts played out.

Jose Valenzuela vs. Gary Antuanne Russell

Gary Antuanne Russell wasn’t going to let his second chance at a belt come to pass.

Russell (18-1, 17 KOs) turned in the best performance of his career, dominating Jose Valenzuela (14-3, 9 KOs) en route to winning the WBA junior welterweight title. His constant pressure, volume and blistering combinations proved to be too much for the former champion, as he busted him up and was in control from the opening bell.

The numbers proved how dominant Russell was. He landed 252 of 957 punches compared to just 127 of 443 for Valenzuela, per the broadcast.

The three judges scored the bout 120-108 and 119-109 twice.

Alberto Puello vs. Sandor Martin

Alberto Puello pulled out a razor thin split decision victory over Sandor Martin to stay undefeated and retain the WBC junior welterweight title. Two of the judges had it 115-113 and 116-112 in favor of Puello (24-0, 10 KOs), while the other judge scored it 115-113 in favor of Martin (42-4, 15 KOs). Three punches separated the two fighters in 9 of the 12 rounds.

Martin got off to a strong start with his combination punching and body work. Puello managed to stage a late rally similar to how he won the belt with a split decision victory over Russell.

The numbers favored Martin, as he landed 162 of 441 punches and 131 of 321 power shots per CompuBox. Puello landed 150 of 526 punches, but just 83 of 247 power shots. Puello’s jab helped bridge the gap in punches landed as he connected with 67 jabs compared to just 31 for Martin.

Yoenis Tellez vs. Julian Williams

Yoenis “El Bandolero” Tellez passed the toughest test of his career with relative ease, rolling to a unanimous decision victory over former unified junior middleweight champion Julian “J Rock” Williams to win the interim WBA junior middleweight title. The three judges scored the bout 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111.

Tellez (10-0, 7 KOs) seized control early in the bout and had Williams (29-5-1, 17 KOs) in some trouble in the third round. The undefeated Cuban coasted from that point on, landing 12 or more punches in 9 of the final 10 rounds, per CompuBox. Tellez landed 180 of 502 punches, including 94 of 214 power punches, while Williams landed 106 of his 399 punches and 49 of 150 power shots.

With the WBA interim title, Tellez is the de facto No. 1 contender for pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford’s title. Should Crawford vacate his belt ahead of his impending bout against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Tellez could be in line to get elevated to full titlist or fight for the full belt.

This lightweight title fight was slow in the early going as both boxers operated at low volume.

Eventually, Davis and Roach both opened up with a very chippy fifth round. The trash talk started and the fight took full flight. Roach willingly stood in the pocket in the sixth round and welcomed a firefight, which is always dangerous against “Tank.”

Surprisingly, Roach was able to go toe-to-toe with the champion and was even beginning to clip Davis with some perfectly-timed punches.

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The ninth round was a bit weird as Davis took a knee after Roach landed a soft jab. “Tank” was quick to bounce to his feet and go to his corner to wipe his face. This was mid-fight, which led to some confusion by the referee and Roach.

The referee ultimately didn’t rule it a knockdown as Davis explained he had something in his eye (which later turned out to be grease from his hair), but a point still could have been taken. Once the action resumed Davis and Roach would unload for a flurry of punches that sent the Brooklyn crowd into a frenzy.

Roach kept firing away in the 10th and 11th frames as Davis seemed stunned that the fight was unraveling the way it was. “Tank” still had his own success in the pocket, but the champion found himself in an unexpected dog fight. The two lightweights emptied the gas tank in the 12th and final round and left the title fight up to the ringside judges. In the end, “Tank” vs. Roach was ruled a majority draw and Davis retained his WBA lightweight title.

There was plenty of blame to go around in the wee hours of Sunday morning after the controversial majority draw that nearly cost Gervonta Davis his World Boxing Association lightweight championship and undefeated record.

Not long after the three-division champion from Baltimore survived 12 hairy rounds with Lamont Roach Jr to narrowly retain his title, Davis blamed the would-be knockdown that should have swung the fight to his opponent on a cosmetic malfunction. He blamed his losing track of which round it was on the absence of ring girls. Most of all, he blamed himself for the flattest performance of a 13-year professional career.

“That was on me,” admitted Davis, when he finally arrived at 2.36am to field questions from a bleary-eyed room of reporters. “I ain’t pick it up when I was supposed to pick it up. I could’ve definitely done more. That’s my fault.”

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The result – a stalemate that some viewed as a fair outcome and others as a robbery – didn’t sit well with either fighter. Davis, whose 93.3% knockout percentage entering Saturday’s fight was the highest of any current world champion, was left frustrated by a bout where Roach refused to wilt.

“Nobody likes a draw,” Davis said flatly. “From a guy that gets knockouts and things like that, but it’s cool. I feel like if we fight again, I could do more – and I should have done more.”

Roach, a 9-1 underdog making his lightweight debut, was even less pleased.

“I thought I won,” Roach said bluntly. “I thought I did enough to get the victory over a spectacular fighter. I told y’all from the beginning, man, that I got the skills to pay the motherfucking bills. And I’m just glad I got to show it.”

For Roach, the fight was an opportunity to prove himself on the biggest stage of his career. He knew what he was up against and refused to back down.

“People were talking like I was gonna be intimidated,” Roach said. “But I was ready to boogie. I knew I had a chin. I spar guys that are junior middleweights, middleweights, current champions. I knew I could take a punch.”

And Davis, one of the sport’s most feared punchers with concussive power in both hands, landed plenty of them. Roach took some of Davis’ best shots and remained upright, something few opponents can claim.

“He got decent power,” Roach acknowledged. “I ain’t gonna say it’s exaggerated. I told you, I got a chin – I ain’t going like that. But I see why he knocks people out. Once I took his best shot, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s time to roll.’”

Davis, on the other hand, was taken aback by Roach’s durability.

“He caught me with a good shot,” Davis admitted. “But there were times in there I was thinking, ‘Damn, this guy is super slow.’ Well, not super slow, but slow. And I could have taken advantage of those moments. I think I was boxing too much in the beginning instead of pressing the issue.”

The most controversial moment of the night came in the ninth round when Davis took a knee immediately after absorbing a left jab to the head. Roach and many observers felt it should have been ruled a knockdown.

“I ain’t the ref,” Roach said. “But the rules do state if he voluntarily takes a knee, that’s an automatic count. I wasn’t relying on that, though. I thought I was winning anyway. But if they counted it, I would have won a majority decision.”

Davis claimed his vision was impaired due to the chemicals in his freshly braided hair. His co-trainer, Barry Hunter, described the substance as “ho juice”.

“I ran water over it today, but I must not have done it enough,” Davis said. “My eyes were burning. I didn’t want to get caught while my eyes were burning – you can get knocked out like that. So I took the knee. I ain’t really know you could get the count for all that.”

Davis’s was also nearly done in by another critical mistake: he lost track of the rounds.

“He thought it was round eight when it was round 12,” Hunter revealed. “He thought he still had time to pick it up, but there was no time left. We needed three rounds. I was calling out, ‘I need three, I need two,’ and he got those, but he forgot where he was at.”

Davis went on to attribute the lapse in awareness to the absence of ring girls, the women who enter the ropes during breaks in the action carrying signs that display the number of the next round. He also hinted at some behind-the-scenes turmoil that compromised his preparations: “I don’t want to give it out but I need to work on myself for the most part.”

For Roach, this was a coming-out party. For Davis, it was a wake-up call.

“I definitely could’ve stopped him,” Davis said. “It’s on me. I let it go to the judges, and you can’t do that in boxing. I got to get back in the gym. It just put fuel to the fire. But it’s cool, it’s cool. The draw is OK. You live and you learn.”

While Davis was loath to give Roach credit for pushing him to the brink, Hunter took a more magnanimous approach, pointing to the familiarity between the fighters from their shared history in the amateur ranks.

“Lamont is a very skillful fighter,” Hunter said. “He’s from the area. In that DMV area, there’s a lot of talent and nobody wants to lose. So I knew it was going to be a hard fight. This been going on forever. We all help each other. They know our strengths, they know our secrets. We know theirs and vice versa. That is what made for a good fight. I thought it was a great, spirited fight, and I’d like to see it run back again.”

He’s not alone there. Davis also said he’s intent on a rematch, albeit not immediately. But as far as Roach is concerned, the sooner the better.

“I can’t wait to do it again,” he said. “I can’t wait to dance again.”

Gervonta Davis‘ fight with Lamont Roach was surrounded in controversy.

Heading into the bout it was seen as being a straightforward win for Davis, but it turned out to be nothing of the sort, as he was pushed all the way by the challenger in their clash for the WBA lightweight title.

The controversial moment came in the ninth round, where Davis took a knee and retreated to his corner, but referee Steve Willis opted not to score it as a knockdown.

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It would have proved crucial, as the judges scored the bout 115-113 Davis, and 114-114 twice, meaning a 10-8 round would have been enough to hand Roach the win.

Instead it ended in a draw, and ‘Tank’ revealed in his post-fight interview exactly why he took a knee in the fight.

“I got my hair done two days ago and she put grease in it. It burned my eyes. Why are you booing like this is bulls**t. It’s real facts.”

Davis also said he hoped to have an immediate rematch with Roach.

“Hopefully we can run it back for sure. Let’s bring it back to New York and have the rematch for sure. I think I pulled it off with the last three rounds for sure. I was catching him with some clean shots.

“I was breaking him down as the fight went on. I didn’t want to make mistakes so I kept it cautious. He is a great fighter and has the skills. It was a lesson.”

Roach was frustrated with the outcome after feeling he did enough to win, and is also keen for an immediate rematch.

“I’m disappointed in the decision. I thought I pulled it out. I definitely thought I won but we can run it back.

“If you voluntarily take a knee and the referee starts counting that should be a knockdown. If I get that knockdown I win the fight.”

The performance of ‘Tank’ surprised many big names in the boxing world, with a lot of them unhappy with the decision not to score a knockdown in Roach’s favour.

Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis appears to have made the final decision on his future after drawing with Lamont Roach Jr.

The 30-year-old from Baltimore, Maryland kept a hold of his WBA lightweight title after the contest was scored a majority draw, although many fans and pundits were outraged that the challenger was not awarded the win after his incredible performance at the Barclays Center in New York.

Perhaps the most controversial moment of the entire contest came in round nine, when ‘Tank’ Davis sensationally took a knee although referee Steve Willis chose to not rule this as a knockdown, a decision that has been dubbed as a huge mistake by much of the boxing community.

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In light of his extremely underwhelming performance on Saturday night, Davis has now spoken out and addressed the situation surrounding his potential retirement from the sport, which he previously claimed could come at the end of 2025 with just two more fights after Roach.

Speaking in the post-fight press conference, the 30-year-old revealed that his retirement plans have actually changed following his draw against Roach and is planning at least four more fights.

“Yeah it definitely changed my plans, it definitely changed my plans. I probably got four more fights now.”

‘Tank’ admitted at the end of 2024 that he had ‘grown tired’ of boxing, which prompted his decision to predict he could walk away from boxing within 12-months. These plans have now been squandered by Roach, who revealed shortly after his impressive performance against Davis that he is interested in potentially facing WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, if he is unable to secure a rematch.

Anthony Joshua is looking to plot his way back to the top of the heavyweight division one more time.

Joshua has been a huge star on the world scene over the last decade. His journey started soon after winning a gold medal in the London Olympics and he rose quickly through the pro ranks, collecting world honours on the way.

His first title came in 2016 when he beat Charles Martin inside two rounds for the IBF belt, and then unified against Wladimir Klitschko in an epic battle at Wembley Stadium which involved both men being knocked down.

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He added the WBO title with a points win in 2018 when he was taken the distance for the first time by Joseph Parker, and since then there have been plenty of ups and downs.

In June 2019 he took his first loss when he was stopped by late stand-in Andy Ruiz, but won the belts back in a rematch later that year.

In 2021 and 2022, he went into back-to-back fights with Oleksandr Usyk and came out with no belts after losing both contests on points.

Following another rebuild he went into another world title shot against Daniel Dubois in September 2024 but was stopped inside five rounds, and is currently on the sidelines waiting to make his next move.

Speaking to The Ariel Helwani Show, it was put to Parker, who is the interim WBO champion, that a Joshua rematch was a good option now given that Usyk and Dubois are likely to pursue an undisputed fight.

“Let’s push for it. I agree. As we focus on my career, I think those three names will be next in line. I think [Joshua] would accept the fight with me. It would be a very different fight to 2018. We’re both older, maturer, wiser. The fighter that I was before, sometimes I look back and go ‘who is that guy?’”

Whoever beats Parker – who recently knocked out late replacement opponent Martin Bakole in two rounds – will become the WBO number one and first in line for a shot against current champion Usyk.

The one fight Joshua and the rest of the boxing world wanted to see was against Tyson Fury, but he retired at the end of January after his own pair of losses to Usyk.

David Benavidez has become one of the most fearsome fighters in boxing in recent years.

The two-time super-middleweight champion has recently moved up to light heavyweight, where he has already become a force after wins over Oleksandr Gvozdyk and David Morrell.

It has seen him claim the WBC interim title and the WBA ‘Regular’ title, putting him in line for a showdown against current undisputed king Dmitry Bivol.

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Bivol became undisputed last weekend with a majority decision victory over Artur Beterbiev, gaining revenge after Beterbiev won their first meeting in October.

Benavidez – who has 24 knockouts in 30 wins – and Bivol have sparred in the past, and one man who has witnessed their sessions is film director Peter Berg, who alongside Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing runs the Churchill Boxing Club in Los Angeles.

Berg was recently on The Joe Rogan Experience, initially stating what he saw when the two light heavyweight stars sparred.

“Bivol trains in our gym. The hardest punch I’ve ever seen anybody throw in my life was in our gym. David Benavidez was sparring Bivol and Bivol caught him and dropped him with a jab in sparring.”

Berg later clarified on social media that he got mixed up, and it was instead ‘The Mexican Monster’ that dropped Bivol.

“I have to retract something that I said because I was wrong. I said Bivol dropped Benavidez at Churchill Boxing Club with a jab, I remembered it wrong, it was Benavidez that dropped Bivol.

“I don’t know why I remembered it wrong but I did, and I suspected actually when I was saying it that I was wrong, but it was Benavidez that dropped Bivol, straight up, with an incredible jab.”

Whether Bivol and Benavidez do indeed meet should become clear in the next few months, with a potential trilogy against Beterbiev also an option for the undisputed champion.

Anthony Joshua has risen two places in the latest Ring Magazine heavyweight rankings.

The Watford powerhouse hasn’t stepped foot in the ring since being flattened by Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in September.

However, he has moved up from No.7 to No.5 in the heavyweight top 10 following Zhilei Zhang and Martin Bakole’s defeats last weekend on the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol II undercard.

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Zhang was stopped by a sickening body shot from Agit Kabayel in the sixth round of their WBC ‘interim’ heavyweight clash.

Meanwhile, Bakole got knocked out by a clubbing blow from Joseph Parker that caught him on the top of the head.

The Congolese heavyweight stepped in to replace Daniel Dubois on two days’ notice and embarked on a 3,800 mile trip from Congo to Saudi Arabia that required three connecting flights.

Bakole received significant praise from the boxing fraternity for taking the fight despite the seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against him, although the defeat did cost him dearly.

Not only did he lose the IBF final eliminator status for his upcoming clash with Efe Ajagba but he also dropped one place in the Ring Magazine rankings.

Bakole was placed No.6 in the previous ratings while Zhang was ranked No.4.

As a result of their recent setbacks, Bakole fell to No.7 and Zhang plummeted to No.6.

Kabayel rose from No.5 to No.4 after his career-best win, with AJ slotting in one position behind the German.

Parker and every other heavyweight remained in their original positions.

Ring Magazine heavyweight rankings

Gervonta Davis has shared the ring with some massive punchers – but one stood out above the rest.

During an unblemished 30-0 career, ‘Tank’ has won world titles in three separate weight classes, defeating the likes of Ryan Garcia, Leo Santa Cruz and Isaac Cruz along the way.

The aforementioned trio all carry a decent amount of power in their own right, particularly Garcia who has finished 20 of 24 wins inside the distance.

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However, Davis insists Rolly Romero punched him the hardest.

Davis fought Romero back in 2022 in a routine defence of his lesser WBA ‘regular’ lightweight belt.

It marked his final fight under the tutelage of Floyd Mayweather before their acrimonious split.

The Baltimore banger blew Romero away in the sixth round but got caught by a few good shots from his adversary en route to the eventual stoppage.

“I ain’t going to lie, Rolly hit hard,” Davis told assembled media on Thursday.

“People are sleeping on Rolly. He hasn’t got a chin so Rolly gets caught but he can hit.

“He’s the only person I have felt. When he swung it felt like there were bricks in his hands.”

The only other boxer whose power stood out was former two-division world champion Danny Garcia.

Garcia and Davis never fought as professionals, but ‘Tank’ was drafted in as a sparring partner for ‘Swift’s’ fight with Zab Judah in 2013.

“Who else I sparred that was like that was Danny Garcia,” Davis added. “That guy can hit.”

Davis returns to action on Saturday night against Lamont Roach at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Roach, the reigning WBA super featherweight champion, has been granted special permission by the major sanctioning body to challenge for Davis’ WBA lightweight belt while retaining his black and gold strap.

Davis was upgraded from ‘regular’ to full world champion in November 2023 when Devin Haney vacated the title to move up to super lightweight.

Roach (25-1-1) snatched the WBA super featherweight belt away from Hector Luis Garcia on points in November 2023.

He went on to defend his title last June by blowing away Feargal McCrory inside eight rounds.

Dmitry Bivol beat Artur Beterbiev in their undisputed light-heavyweight rematch this month to win all four belts in the division.

The pair of Russians first met back in October of 2024, with Beterbiev ending a 20-fight stoppage streak to beat Bivol on points via majority decision. As the fight was extremely close, with many feeling Bivol should have had his hand raised, as well as the epitome of elite boxing, a rematch was booked quickly.

Bivol made the correct adjustments to take home the belts this time around, answering back any Beterbiev shots with his own flurry, moving when he had to and exchanging valiantly. Despite strong success for the knockout artist Artur in the middle rounds, Bivol put a stamp on the contest as the final bell neared.

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With the same scorecards but reversed and another night of high-level action, both men said they were interested in a trilogy, as did Riyadh Season’s Turki Alalshikh.

However, the WBC looks set on enforcing its mandatory challenger David Benavidez, providing an update in unequivocal terms:

“Dimitry Bivol must fight David Benavidez next.”

Benavidez fought and won the interim WBC belt in his debut in the division, beating former champion and Beterbiev foe Oleksandr Gvozdyk unanimously. He then entered into a dangerous contest with hard-hitting Cuban David Morrell Jr, again winning by decision to take add the WBA Regular belt to his case.

The 28-year-old has 24 knockouts from 30 wins and has long said he feels he beats the four-belt champion, confident due to past sparring sessions. Whether or not the WBC would consider a delay to the mandatory to allow for a third undisputed contest against Beterbiev remains to be seen.

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