Tank Davis Makes Frank Martin Flinch During Final Presser – ‘Mind Games, He’s Already Lost’
Gervonta Davis intimidated Frank Martin at the face-off in their final presser.
Davis defends his WBA Lightweight Title on June 15. It is his first fight since beating Ryan Garcia last year. The win made him the ‘face of boxing.’ However, Davis had to deal with legal issues, which kept him out of the ring for around 14 months.
He was arrested for breaking his house arrest conditions over a hit-and-run incident, and he served 44 days in jail. Now, he is ready to come back with a vengeance. In the build-up, Davis admitted that Martin buzzed him in sparring. However, he shut down suggestions that he was hurt.
Martin arrives into the fight with an undefeated record of 18-0. He is a serious underdog as he seeks his first-world title. But Martin is seen as Davis’ biggest test. He is a good defensive boxer with a southpaw stance. However, his last performance was below-par.
Despite beating Artem Harutyunyan in a unanimous decision win, he was outboxed for most of the fight. It was only until the last round that Martin did enough to get the decision. Artem took a knee, which proved crucial on the scorecards.
Pre-Fight Comments
“I got in his head a little bit. Yeah, he was a little intimidated, even his brother. The people that were with him looked intimidated. We got to see on June 15th if he’s really intimidated. I sparred him before at the Mayweather gym. Nothing really personal. It was just two young guys that was trying to make something out of nothing.
“They don’t know until they get in there and wind up doing it, and it happens. They get caught, and they’re like, ‘Damn, I made a mistake.’ They don’t know that I set a trap the whole time. He has the craft. It depends if I want him to be the boxer. That’s what makes me great. What makes me so great is I can make a fighter do what I want to do inside the ring. When he starts doing it, that’s when I can pick him apart,” Davis said
“I feel like I got a lot of things that he, the world, and a lot of people don’t expect that I got. I’m just ready to go in there and capitalize off of this moment. That’s something I embrace. I’m eating off of it. It’s fueling me. It’s not going to change, though. I just got to out there and do the unexpected.
“It means everything. It doesn’t come by for a lot of fighters. Me going in there and getting it and changing the seat [dethroning Gervonta of WBA ‘regular’ 135-lb title]. It’s a blessing to have that type of opportunity. You got to see me June 15th. I hope I get the best version of you. You going to get the best version of me for sure,” Martin said
Co-Main Event
In chief support, David Benavidez will face Oleksandr Gvozdyk in his first bout at 175 pounds. The winner will be mandatory for either Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol. They will fight for undisputed at 175 on October 12.
Benavidez enters the fight with an undefeated record of 28-0, with 24 KO wins. His last bout was a stoppage win over Demetrius Andrade. After failing to get the Canelo Alvarez fight, he moved up. Gvozdyk’s only defeat against Beterbiev. He has three wins on the bounce, as he seeks an upset win. The presser for Benavidez-Gvozdyk takes place on June 13 in a separate event.
Highlights
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