Lamont Roach believes he belongs in the pound-for-pound list after his controversial draw with Gervonta Davis.
Roach was a huge underdog against boxing superstar Davis, but he dramatically over-performed in their encounter.
It resulted in a contentious draw, with Roach not handed points for a knockdown by referee Steve Willis, despite his rival taking a knee in the ninth round.
Despite the contest being scored a draw, the title challenger was unable to get the result overturned after his appeal to the New York Athletic State Commission was upheld.
It appears he will land an immediate rematch with talks already underway after Davis opened the door.
And in a new reflection on the spectacle, Roach insisted he’d done enough to be ranked in the pound-for-pound rankings with his display.
He wrote on Instagram: “March 1st was crazy! I appreciate everyone who was apart of this night even the haters.
“We put this s*** together and executed exactly how we drew it out!
“Even though I didn’t get the result I deserved, I was the other half of a sell-out crowd that broke the record for highest grossing event in the history of the Barclays Center.
“AND I showed that I was a pound for pound talent against a generational star in the sport.
“I was born a star but March 1st a star was finally under the microscope of the world!
“I can’t wait to run it back and put on a show again! #Belt2Ass part two.”
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GettyRoach believes he now deserves a table with the boxing elite[/caption]
Davis himself was ranked as a top ten pound-for-pound contender prior to the draw.
But he has found himself removed from The Ring’s pound-for-pound top ten, replaced by David Benavidez.
Roach remains outside of the list, and it is unclear if he would earn a place even if he picked up the WBA lightweight title.
‘Tank’ now faces a stern test of his credentials to ensure he gets the job done against Roach in a sequel.
He blamed grease trickling into his eyes as the reason for his decision to take a knee during the fight.
Roach was extremely frustrated he wasn’t declared the victor, and spoke about how he believes he took initiative in the fight.
“Honestly, I thought I should have won without that being counted a knockdown,” he added.
“Look, I ain’t the ref. I ain’t and really if [Tank Davis] had to wipe sweat out of his eye, he had to wipe sweat out of his eye.
“But the rules do state if you voluntarily take a knee, then that’s an automatic eight-count.
“But, it is what it is. I wasn’t relying on that. I was relying on what I was doing in there.
“I was taking control. I think I was landing more shots, more power shots, and I thought I was doing my thing.
“So, I’m not really that frustrated but if that was counted as a knockdown — I’d have won a majority decision.”
