Frank Martin’s Disobedience Costs Him Against ‘Tank’ Davis

Frank Martin’s failure to heed the instructions from his trainer, Derrick James, before going into the eighth round cost him the fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis last Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Disregard for Trainer’s Advice

Derrick told Martin (18-1, 12 KOs) in between the seventh and eighth round that when he was against the ropes, to go to the left and not to the right because he was putting himself in the line of fire of WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Tank Davis’ shots.

The consequences of Frank failing to listen to his trainer’s warnings were devastating, as Tank connected with a big left uppercut in the eighth that stunned him, and he then followed with another left to knock him out.

Unfortunately, Martin didn’t follow his trainer, Derrick James’s instructions, and he was knocked out in the eighth round when he went to the right. Whether Martin believed that he knew better than his trainer or the case of him not attending to what was being told him is unknown.

We know that Derrick explicitly instructed Martin not to move to his right because he was walking into Tank’s left hand when he did that when his back was against the ropes.

With the way that Tank had taken over the fight by that point, it’s possible that he would have gotten to Frank sooner or later to knock him out, even if he followed his trainer Derrick’s instructions to the letter. It would have been harder for Tank to score a knockout if he’d heeded his coaches’ warning by not going to the right.

If Martin’s ring IQ were better, he would have noticed that Tank was hitting him with his left when he’d go to the right, and he wouldn’t have needed Derrick to give him a directive going into the eighth round.

Martin needs to improve his listening and following instructions from his trainer, James, because if he tunes him out, his career will evaporate.