Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis says he doesn’t want to overlook challenger Frank Martin and end up like Devin Haney, with him getting beaten.
Tank’s Lesson Learned: Don’t Be a Haney
Tank Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) notes that WBC light welterweight champion Haney talked a lot of trash before his fight against Ryan Garcia last April, overlooking him and then losing the fight.
Haney’s loss to Ryan didn’t appear to have anything to do with overlooking him; it was more of a case of him facing a fighter who had too much power, speed, and talent for him.
Before that fight, Haney had mostly faced marginal opposition except for his match against Vasily Lomachenko, and he was given a controversial win in that fight.
Haney’s Track Record
Many fans feel that Haney was never as good as fans thought. He is more of an example of a fighter who competes well below his weight class in terms of size and is matched carefully.
Although Haney has captured world titles in two divisions, he did it against less than the best, beating George Kambosos Jr. and Regis Prograis. In some respects, Haney is this era’s version of Adrien Broner.
Broner is a fighter who floated through four weight classes, winning world titles against carefully selected beatable opposition. Haney appears to be from the same mold, strategically matched to capture world titles against weak, vulnerable champions.
Devin had always been bigger than his opponents, at 135 and 140. When Haney faced Ryan Garcia on April 20th, he didn’t have a monstrous size advantage, and we saw what happened.
“I definitely don’t want to be someone like Devin [Haney]. Talk all that trash, overlook my opponent,t and then get knocked out. So, I’m definitely taking Frank Martin seriously,” said Gervonta Davis to the Only Kayla YouTube channel about him not overlooking the threat that Frank Martin presented to him on Saturday night.
Again, Haney’s loss to Ryan had nothing to do with his overlooking him because this was a huge step up for the San Francisco native. Haney trained hard for the Ryan fight, but he couldn’t handle his power, and his habit of clinching excessively put him in the line of fire all night. The worst thing a fighter can do against Ryan Garcia is clinch nonstop, as he’s got a lethal short left hook that he throws.
Tank’s Respect for Frank Martin
“He’s crazy to think that, but it’s boxing; anything can happen,” said Tank, reacting to being told that Martin is saying he’s going to knock him out. “I’m not going to say that he’s wild for thinking that, but he’s going to have to try hard, though, because I’m not lying down.”
What does Tank Davis expect Frank Martin to say? Of course, he will tell the media that he will knock him out because he has to sell the fight. The event is being shown on PBC on Prime Video Pay-Per-View, so Martin is doing his part to promote the event by predicting a knockout.
“He hasn’t slipped through the cracks. He’s fought great competition,” said Gervonta when told that his trainer, Calvin Ford, remarked that Frank Martin has slipped through the cracks and built a name without fighting anybody.
Martin hasn’t been around long enough to fight the top guys, and that’s one reason he’s failed to do so.
His management was careful not to put him in with someone too good to keep him from getting beaten. Tank didn’t have to fight him if he didn’t want to, as this is a voluntary title defense, not a mandatory one.
“He slipped through the cracks to fight me, but I think he’s a top 10. I think he’s top 10 with the WBA with the belt that I have,” said Tank about Martin. “So, for sure, I don’t think he’s slipped through the cracks. I think he put in time and hard work and got to it at the right moment.
“I’m very confident, but in boxing, you never know. So, I’m being cautious,” said Tank Davis, when asked how confident he is of winning on Saturday.
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