Davis, known as 'Tank', went the distance for only the third time in his 31-fight career. Roach, who came in as a big underdog, grew more confident as the fight went on and wasn't afraid to trade punches with the champ.
The judges couldn't agree on a winner. One scored it for Davis, while the other two called it even. But a moment in the ninth round really got people talking.
Davis took a knee during the round, but referee Steve Willis didn't call it a knockdown. That decision might have changed the whole fight if it had gone Roach's way.
Tim Bradley, a Hall of Fame fighter turned analyst, didn't hold back when he talked about it with Boxing Gems.
"The knee was bulls**t. They made the rules up. Tank's the house fighter. It should've been called a knockdown, you can't take a break like that. The only person that can do that is the referee. The referee can stop the action, not the other way round."
Bradley didn't stop there. He broke down exactly why he thought Davis was in the wrong.
"Tank basically told him, 'hey, I got something in my eye n***a. I need to go to the corner so they can wipe it out.' You don't get timeouts like that in boxing. That should've been a knockdown. Period."
The former champ watched the fight twice to score it himself. His verdict? Roach should've won.
"I already went back and watched it. Tank Davis lost. I wasn't scoring it [first time around]. People were asking me 'who you think won that round?' I was like 'close or whatever' cause I was on my own live. But, I went back and I watched it and, s**t, Tank lost that. Even without the knockdown he lost. He just didn't do enough work."
USA Today reported on Davis's performance and how competitive Roach was throughout the fight. They noted that while Davis said he's open to a rematch, it won't happen right away. There's talk that Davis might already have his next opponent lined up from before this fight.