Even though they’re basically the same size, this championship matchup gives a David vs. Goliath type of vibe, as WBA world lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) will defend his title against Frank “The Ghost” Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) on Saturday night, June 15th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 29-year-old defending WBA world champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis, is a certified boxing star who is a pound for pound talent.
The challenger, Frank Martin, is a 29-year-old contender who is undefeated, but his victories occurred against mid-level opposition.
Davis is accustomed to performing under the bright lights, while Martin will be making his debut on the big stage. Frank Martin is a massive underdog, as most members of the boxing community believe Gervonta Davis will stop Martin in the later rounds.
On Saturday night, June 15th, live on Amazon Prime PPV, Frank Martin has a chance to become a world champion and a household name. The odds are stacked against him, but Martin believes the game plan he has in place will make his dream become a reality.
Frank Martin’s signature win took place back in December 2022 when he beat the previously undefeated Michel Rivera by way of unanimous decision. Seven months later, in what he labeled as an off performance, Martin had to rally back and earn a comeback victory over Artem Harutyunyan.
Now, Frank Martin is on the verge of stepping inside the squared circle to face the biggest challenge of his professional career. On Saturday night, June 15th, Martin will battle a man who is a multi-division world champion and a pound for pound talent.
When you talk about the face of boxing, the name Gervonta Davis is always attached to that particular conversation. Davis is a skilled fighter who has tremendous punching power, and in 27 of his 29 fights, he was able to deliver the crowd pleasing knockout.
Gervonta Davis and his upcoming opponent, Frank Martin, are going into their match with a bit of past history. During the promotion for the fight, the subject of an infamous sparring session kept coming up.
As a guest on the show “The Pivot,” Martin spoke about the session.
“First 30 seconds of the first round he gets in there on the ropes, bobbing his head, boom, threw that left at him, shook, shook, shook the legs. We had a real ref, Floyd there, everybody. Shook the legs. He said I ain’t, he said I ain’t shake the room, I shook the room, right?”
On that day Martin had his moment, but that was sparring, and technically sparring is nothing but practice. On June 15th Frank Martin won’t be in a practice session at the Mayweather gym. He will be under the bright lights, fighting for a world title and for the chance to take his career to the next level.
Frank Martin is a very athletic southpaw who is fundamentally sound, has a good jab, nice footwork, and he excels at throwing combinations from the midrange. In addition to strategy and boxing skills, discipline will be a key factor for Frank Martin.
Gervonta Davis is a world class fighter who has all the tools. He is the master at setting traps. Davis has the skill set, the power, and the ring IQ. Davis doesn’t throw a lot of punches, but he lands with pinpoint accuracy.
A Tank Davis fight typically follows the same script in which Davis will start off by utilizing feints and monitoring his opponent’s reaction. Davis is a knockout artist but he’s a natural counter puncher who waits for his opponent to make a mistake.
Normally, the mistake occurs at the midpoint of the bout. From there, Davis would proceed to walk his opponent down and eventually get the knockout or the stoppage.
Frank Martin is a huge underdog, but if he’s going to pull off the upset he needs to be perfect. He has to utilize a sharp jab, throw timely combinations, and be defensively responsible. Martin must be smart, active, outwork Davis, and focus on winning one round at a time.
Martin must play the mathematical game, as the goal is to box well and win seven out of twelve rounds. Frank Martin should be able to bank some of the early rounds because Tank Davis is traditionally a slow starter, and Davis may experience a bit of ring rust.
Ring rust could be a factor based on the fact that David hasn’t fought since his victory over Ryan Garcia 14 months ago. With the combination of the slow start and the layoff, Martin could experience success in the early rounds, but the midpoint of the bout will be the danger zone for Frank Martin.
On Saturday night, June 15th, live on Amazon Prime PPV, the underdog, Frank “The Ghost” Martin, will dare to be great as he challenges the hard-hitting phenom Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Will we see the typical Tank Davis late stoppage, or will Frank Martin revise the script and pull off a shocking upset victory?
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