NEW YORK – Gervonta “Tank” Davis took a knee early in the ninth round Saturday night because he said grease got in his eyes after Roach hit him.

Referee Steve Willis didn’t deduct a point from Davis for what should’ve counted as a knockdown. That turned out to be the difference between Roach upsetting the heavily favored Davis by split decision and settling for a 12-round majority draw in their pay-per-view main event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Judge Eric Marlinski scored Davis a 115-113 winner. Judges Glenn Feldman and Steve Weisfeld scored the action even, 114-114 apiece

“I think I pulled it off the last three rounds,” Davis told Premier Boxing Champions’ Brian Campbell in the ring. “I was catching him with some clean shots. I felt as thought I was breaking him down.”

Davis called for an immediate rematch at Barclays Center, which wasn’t the next fight fans figured they would discuss for one of boxing’s biggest stars. Baltimore’s Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs) retained his WBA lightweight title, but not his place on pound-for-pound lists because he failed to defeat an opponent who entered the ring with a draw and a loss on his record.

Davis, The Ring’s number one-ranked lightweight contender, entered their fight as a 16-1 favorite according to DraftKings sportsbook.

The 30-year-old Davis nevertheless went the distance for just the third time in 31 professional fights. His unanimous points victories over Roach and Isaac Cruz in December 2021 are the only fights he hasn’t won by knockout or technical knockout since he unanimously outpointed German Maez in their six-rounder in October 2014.

The resolute Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs) took Davis’ vaunted power well when the strong southpaw landed clean punches. Roach, who traded with the dangerous Davis at times, landed various power punches of his own and kept his imposing opponent honest by coming forward and trading.

When the final bell rang, Davis hugged Roach, an amateur rival he has known for approximately 20 years, as a sure sign of respect.

Roach (25-2-1, 10 KOs), who owns the WBA super featherweight title, moved up five pounds for the opportunity to challenge Davis, one of boxing’s biggest box office and pay-per-view attractions. The Ring ranks Roach fourth in the 130-pound division.

Aware of how close their fight should’ve been on the scorecards, Davis and Roach stood their ground and threw hard punches at each other throughout the 12th and final round.

Willis warned Davis for low blows with a minute to go in the 11th round. A left by Davis caught an unsuspecting Roach about 50 seconds into the 11th round.

The most memorable moment of a closely contested 10th round was when Roach clipped Davis with a left as they traded on the inside.

Davis oddly turned away from Roach and took a knee and quickly went to his corner to have trainer Calvin Ford wipe off his face with just under two minutes to go in the ninth round. Willis warned him following that strange sequence, which should’ve counted as a knockdown against Davis.

Regardless, an energized Davis attacked Roach once the action resumed. They exchanged flush punches thereafter, but neither fighter was hurt at any point.

Davis drilled Roach with a left, but Roach countered with a right that backed up Davis when there was just under a minute to go in the eighth round. Roach later caught Davis with a left uppercut in the eighth round.

Roach and Davis traded more in the seventh round than they did during any prior round.

Davis landed the more consequential punches in those three minutes, but Roach retaliated whenever Davis went on the offensive. A short right on the inside by Roach made Davis back up a little bit in the seventh round.

Though still tactical, Davis was a more active puncher during the sixth round than he had been in any of the first five rounds.

A straight left by Davis moved Roach backward with about 20 seconds to go in the sixth round. He previously placed a left to Roach’s body in the sixth round.

Davis finally landed a straight left with just under 40 seconds on the clock in the fifth round. A careful Davis hadn’t done much again during that round until that point.

Earlier in the fifth round, Davis lifted his head into Roach’s chin to get out of a clinch. Roach responded immediately by hitting Davis with a right hand.

Davis moved around the ring and mocked Roach in the fourth round. Later in that round, Davis diverted his attention to complain to Willis about Roach holding him down, only to have Roach take advantage of the situation by nailing Davis with a jab.

Roach’s tight defense enabled him to pick off Davis’ punches in the third round, until Davis’ straight left stung him with just over a minute to go in it.

Roach’s right hand while they were positioned inside was the only noteworthy punch landed during a second round in which Davis again failed to find openings in Roach’s defense. Davis and Roach felt each other out during a first round in which neither fighter landed a consequential punch.