Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather Promotions CEO, predicts a knockout victory for WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis against Frank Martin this Saturday night.
Ellerbe is excited about the Davis-Martin fight, feeling it will be a great one on Saturday when the two meet in the main event on PBC on Prime Video PPV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
According to Ellerbe, Tank (29-0, 27 KOs) chose Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) as his opponent and that he has a “hit list” of the top fighters in the lightweight division. As long as Tank gets through this fight, there could be a big name for him in his next contest.
Davis to “Wipe Out the Entire Division”
“Tank chose him. He’s one of the top guys in the division, and he has been for quite some time,” said Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe to Fight Hub TV when asked why Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis is fighting Frank Martin.
“He wants to prove what I already know, that he’s the best fighter in the entire division, and he’s definitely one of the best fighters in the world,” said Ellerbe, describing what Tank Davis hopes to prove by fighting Martin.
Unfortunately, Tank hasn’t proven he’s the best fighter in the 135-lb division, and beating Frank Martin won’t do anything to further that view. Ellerbe would do better to steer Tank toward fighting the best guys instead of trying to pawn him off as the #1 guy without ever matching him against the top fighters.
Boxing fans aren’t stupid. They know that Tank has been matched exclusively against B-level opposition during his run as the WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion, and they want to see him tested before he ages out, which could happen within three or four fights, given that he only competes once a year.
“Once he wipes out the entire division, you guys are going to come to the same conclusion that I have, that Tank is the best fighter in the entire world. He has a hit list, and he’s going to get every one of the guys that you people say is the top guys,” said Ellerbe.
Hopefully, the “hit list” that Ellerbe speaks about includes Shakur Stevenson, Vasily Lomachenko, William Zepeda, Denis Berinchyk, and Andy Cruz. Fans don’t want to see Frank Martin and Rolly Romero trotted out against for Tank to pad his resume against on PPV.
Focus on Martin, Not Stevenson
“Tank is totally focused on Frank Martin,” said Ellerbe when asked when is Gervonta going to fight Shakur Stevenson. “I’m not putting any timetables on any of that kind of stuff,” said Ellerbe in response to being asked about the chances of Tank Davis fighting Shakur later this year.
The way that Ellerbe dodged the Shakur Stevenson question suggests that he’s not in the cards for Tank’s next fight. Ellerbe looked like he was jolted with 2500 volts of electricity to his leg when he was asked about Shakur. You could tell from Ellerbe’s reaction that Shakur is the untouchable class for Tank.
“Trust me, Shakur is going to get that work. He’s asking. He’s going to get that work, but it ain’t what he thinks it is. But I can’t wait for it to happen, though. No, Tank ain’t going to be boxing that long,” said Ellerbe when asked if Tank Davis will reach 50-0 someday.”
Ellerbe should give a timeline for when Tank will fight Shakur and the other top lightweights that fans have been calling for him to fight. No one was asking for Tank to fight Frank Martin, especially after his poor performance against Artem Harutyunyan last year.
Fans would be more willing to pay to watch Tank Davis’s fight against Martin if they knew that his next fight would be against Shakur, Lomachenko, or Zepeda.
“There’s not enough top guys out there to make that happen. He has a set of goals in mind to get the guys that you guys say are the top guys. He’s going to get them out of the way, and then he’s going to ride off into the sunset,” said Ellerbe, ruling out Tank staying around long enough to try and match Mayweather’s 50-0 record.
Of course, that record is kind of dodgy, given that he achieved it by beating ex-UFC fighter Conor McGregor.
Predicted Outcome
“Frank Martin is a very good fighter. He’s got good skills, is very athletic, has good speed, and solid power, and he’s slick. I like the match-up because he’s one of the top guys in the division.
“He thinks he can beat Tank. He can’t beat Tank. I’m backing my guy [Tank] 1000%. Tank Davis is going to stop Frank Martin,” said Ellerbe.
Tank might knock Martin out, but that’s not saying much because this guy is more of a fringe-level contender than a top-five guy. He almost lost to Harutyunyan, who is a fringe contender.
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