Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis Faces Toughest Challenge Yet Against Frank Martin

Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis puts his WBA ‘regular’ lightweight title on the line against Frank Martin this Saturday night on June 15th, on arguably PBC’s best-ever card on Prime Video pay-per-view.

This is also easily the best opponent in Tank’s career, and he’s either going to excel or get exposed by Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) in their headliner at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Beyond Frank Martin: A Deeper Talent Pool Awaits

If Tank loses this fight, he’s going to be labeled by fans as a fake fighter all along and carefully matched by his promoters at Mayweather Promotions and his management at PBC.

The Baltimore native’s entire would be seen as one orchestrated to make him look better than he was; hence, he’s never fought fighters like Vasily Lomachenko, Shakur Stevenson, Teofimo Lopez, and William Zepeda.

The thing about this fight is there are better fighters out there in the 135 and 140-lb division than Frank Martin, but it’s still a significant step up in class in talent for Gervonta from the opposition he’s been facing.

Ryan Garcia would have been a level above Martin, but given the strength-draining weight stipulations that he dealt with, he was fighting at limited capacity, perhaps little more than 50%, when he fought Tank last year in April.

Saturday night’s Tank vs. Martin event costs $74.99, a good price for the quality of the fights on the card. It starts at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.

Prime Video Pay-Per-View: A Packed Fight Card

• David Benavidez vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk
• Carlos Adames vs. Terrell Gausha
• Gary Antuanne Russel vs. Alberto Puello
• Elijah García vs. Kyrone Davis
• Mark Magsayo vs. Eduardo Ramirez
• Roiman Villa vs. Ricardo Salas

Caleb Plant’s Diplomatic Take

“It’s a great fight. Frank Martin is a great fighter, a great boxer, and a great athlete. He’s got a great team with Eric and Errol. I know they’re working hard,” said former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant to Fighthype, talking about Frank Martin’s fight against Gervonta Davis this Saturday night on PBC on Prime Video PPV.

Plant is being diplomatic here, not wanting to step on either fighter’s toes by giving his view of who wins Tank vs. Martin on Saturday. You can’t fault Plant for taking that approach, but it is one of those fights in which it is difficult to pick a winner with full confidence.

Martin’s power and heart give him a great chance of defeating Tank, who still has a big question mark over his head due to how Mayweather Promotions babied him during his 11-year career, stunting him by keeping him in the slow lane.

“It’s a great fight for boxing, and I’m excited to be there in person. Frank has got a great coach with Derrick James,” said Plant about Martin’s coach. “I’m sure they got a great game plan put together, and probably a B and C game plan as well, just in case this happens or that happens. I’m just going to let it fold out. I’m here as a fan.”

David Benavidez’s Move to Light Heavyweight

“It’s going to be interesting to see. It’s going to be hard to tell. I’m sure he’s going to do good,” said Plant about former two-time WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez making his debut at 175 against Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC interim title in the co-feature on Saturday’s card.

Plant can’t say for sure how Benavidez is going to do in this fight, given that he’s moving up to light heavyweight, fighting a guy around the same size as him, and easily the best opponent of his 11-year professional career by far.

Benavidez is in the same boat as Tank Davis, with him just now stepping it up for the first time against a quality opponent with a chance of beating him.

‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez should have been fighting 175 years ago, and the fact that he hasn’t indicates that he wanted an advantage. Fans have a label for that: ‘Weight bully.’

“He’s obviously a great fighter. That’s why I picked a fight with him in the first place, and I’m sure he felt the same thing about me. That’s why he picked a fight with me. I’m excited to see that fight as well and see how he performs at 175,” said Plant about Benavidez.