Gervonta Davis is still undefeated, still WBA lightweight world champion and still one of the sport’s premier knockout artists.
“Tank” defeated undefeated title challenger Frank “The Ghost” Martin with a vicious eighth-round knockout to improve his record to 30-0 with 28 KOs. It was Davis’ first fight in fourteen months and it was as if he had never been away.
Davis provided the climax with an uppercut that stunned Martin enough to leave him defenseless before a left hook that left him flat on the mat.
The fight started with Martin at the helm, even after Davis walked out to the “Ghostbusters” theme song as a nod to Martin’s nickname. “Ghost” consistently won exchanges through the first three rounds while keeping his distance from his famously powerful opponent.
Things were a little more even between the fourth and fifth rounds before the course of the fight turned violently in Davis’ favor in the seventh. Martin may have been ahead on the scorecards, but Davis’ powerful punches felt enough that disaster was inevitable.
“I knew he was going to get tired,” Davis said after the fight. ‘That’s what I was doing. Stand there, be a target so he can tire himself out, and once he tired himself out, I started taking him apart.”
Instead of fatigue, Martin portrayed his loss of momentum as a matter of becoming too comfortable. He spent much of the later rounds pulling away from Davis and found himself on the ropes.
“At first I felt like I was in control, but then I got a little too comfortable,” Martin said. “I loved chilling on the ropes and trying to find that bigger shot. It didn’t present itself, I stopped my movements. Once I stopped my movements, he was able to land more shots.”
Gervonta Davis credits prison time for growth
The fight was Davis’ first in-ring appearance since April 22, 2023, when he defeated rising star Ryan Garcia for the biggest win of his career. It cemented him as one of boxing’s biggest stars, but Davis found himself in a prison cell not long after. He pleaded guilty to four charges stemming from a 2020 crash that injured four people, one of them pregnant, and was sentenced to 90 days of home confinement, but was taken into custody after violating the terms of that crash. sentence.
Davis was surprisingly positive about his 44 days in jail, which didn’t stop him from being a heavy favorite heading into the fight.
“It’s made me a better person with patience and things like that,” Davis said. “There are things that happen in life that you have to go through and not try to get around them. It’s made me a better person, it’s made me a better father, it’s made me better everything. I want to be a better .” athlete while continuing to build and be great in my career.”
Davis declined to specifically call out a future opponent in the aftermath of the win, but acknowledged that three fighters the interviewer mentioned – Vasiliy Lomachenko, Shakur Stevenson and Isaac Cruz – were “on my radar.”
Here’s how it all went down with live updates and analysis from Yahoo Sports:
LIVE DECLARATION IS OVER72 updates
Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin full card results, highlights
Lightweight: Gervonta Davis def. Frank Martin by KO (R8, 1:29):
Light Heavyweight: David Benavidez def. Oleksandr Gvozdyk by unanimous decision (116-112, 117-111, 118-109)
Super Lightweight: Alberto Puello def. Gary Antuanne Russell via split decision (109-118, 115-112, 114-113)
Middleweight: Carlos Adames def. Terrell Gausha by unanimous decision (119-109, 118-110, 118-110)
