Gervonta Davis retained his WBA lightweight title with a controversial majority draw against Lamont Roach Jr.
Davis took a knee in the ninth round in New York but the referee did not call it as a knockdown.
Two judges scored the fight 114-114, with a third judge giving it to Davis 115-113.
So the no knockdown saved Davis from the first defeat of his career.
Davis said after the fight that he had “got my hair done two days ago” and grease that had been put in his hair “came into my face and it burned my eyes”.
Roach said: “It should have been a knockdown. If that was knockdown, I win the fight.
“He's saying grease got in his eye, but if he takes a knee and the ref starts counting, it should be a knockdown.
Davis willingly went to a knee near his corner in the ninth round, then leaned over the ropes so they could towel off the area around his eye.
Referee Steve Willis did not count it as a knockdown, as it should be when a knee hits the canvas. Had it been, Davis would have automatically lost a point.
The sold-out crowd of 19,250 at Barclays Center booed when Davis explained that it was grease from his hair that got in his eye that caused him to stop for assistance.
Four-weight world champion Terence Crawford claimed Roach had been “robbed”.
Roach landed more punches than Davis and stung him a few times with right hands, showing power that was rarely on display while he racked up just 10 knockouts in his career.
“I think I pulled it out in the last three rounds for sure,” said Davis.
“I was catching him with some clean shots. I feel I was breaking him down as the rounds were going on, but he kept coming so I didn't want to make mistakes and I kept it cautious.”
Roach called for a rematch afterward, disgusted that he was not credited with the knockdown in the ninth round.
The fight had been close up to that point, and had the knockdown been called, Roach could have won the round by a 10-8 score. Instead, Davis finished the round strong.
It was only the third time in Davis' career he didn't stop his opponent and he never really got close. He started cautiously, landing just one punch in the first round, surged in the middle of the fight but then Roach closed well.
Additional reporting: Associated Press
