Gervonta Davis, Frank Martin, David Benavidez, and Oleksandr Gvozdyk all weighed in successfully on Friday at the weigh-in for their card on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Gervonta Davis’s Energetic Weigh-In
Tank (29-0, 27 KOs), the WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion, did a backflip after weigh-in. Usually, Tank saves his backflips until after his fights, but I guess he feels the promotion needed a little more energy.
Davis is expected to have little problem winning this fight, but Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) might surprise fans if he can pile up enough early rounds to cruise to a decision.
Weights:
Gervonta Davis 134.4 vs. Frank Martin 134.3
David Benavidez 174.2 vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk 174.2
David Benavidez’s Size Disadvantage
Despite weighing in at the same 174.2 lbs, Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) looked smaller and less muscular than former WBC light heavyweight champion Gvozdyk (20-1, 16 KOs), who looked sold and in excellent condition for their 12 round fight for the WBC interim title.
This is Benavidez’s first fight at 175, and there’s a lot of interest from boxing fans to see how he handles the new weight class. It’s more than that, though.
Benavidez is also facing the biggest puncher of his career and the more technically sound in Gvozdyk. We don’t know if Benavidez will be able to fight the way he normally does when using his high-volume offense without getting his head taken off by Gvovzyk.
Fighting against the smaller guys that Benavidez has fought throughout his career, he’s been able to fight in a way that he can’t afford to do at 175 against the bigger, stronger fighters.
Unfortunately, Benavidez is set in his ways and accustomed to using combination punching. He may not get away with that against Gvozdyk or the winner of the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev fight.
Leonard Ellerbe’s Perspective
“I know Tank is ready to get at him on Saturday night. He’s tired of all this, ‘You hit me with a big shot.’ It counts on Saturday night,” said ex-Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe to the Mayweather channel.
“This is what comes with being on the big stage. It can sometimes be overwhelming. Sometimes, when guys get on the big stage for the first time, they handle it a little differently. I think he’s [Martin] a little rattled because Tank is showing a different side of his personality that people haven’t seen before.
“You got to have fun with this, because it’s entertainment.”
Read the full article here
