Gervonta Davis KO8 Frank Martin... Following a slow start, Gervonta “Tank” Davis, 133.4 lbs., of Baltimore, MD, demolished fellow southpaw Frank “The Ghost” Martin, 134.4 lbs., of Indianapolis, IN, in round eight to make the fifth defense of his WBA lightweight title, headlining the 100th championship boxing event held at the MGM Grand, in front of 13,249 fans in Las Vegas.
 
Martin outboxed Davis early on with fast combinations and footwork. A patient Davis was content to stalk his prey, attempting the occasional power shot. Gradually increasing the pressure round by round, Davis began to back Martin against the ropes or trap him in a corner, then unleashing a barrage of power shots.
 
In round eight, with his adversary against the ropes, Davis landed a right uppercut-left uppercut combination, followed by a devastating straight left, to send Martin to the canvas hard. With Martin unable to beat the 10-count, Davis earned the knockout victory at the 1:29 mark of the frame to improve to 30-0 (28 KOs). Suffering his first defeat, Martin left the ring at 18-1 (12 KOs).
 
All three judges awarded Martin the first three rounds before Davis took over, with scorecards reading 67-66 for Davis at the time of the knockout. Overall, Davis landed 54 power punches to Martin’s 48.
 
“I just had to get into the right range. Martin had a decent jab and was moving a lot. I just had to break him down,” said Davis, of his strategy. “He was definitely throwing more punches than I was. I was going to let him tire himself out. That was the whole game plan.
 
“Martin had decent power, but he was winding down as the fight was going on. He put up a good four or five rounds. That’s when I began to pick it up. My coach was telling me to put my punches together more.”
 
Regarding the knockdown, Davis said, “I knew the way he fell he wasn’t going to get back up. He hit his head on the mat.”
 
“I came out to be great, but I came up short,” said a disappointed Martin. “I got caught with a shot that I didn’t see. It came up from underneath and I didn’t beat the count.
 
“I got away from the game plan by being on the ropes too much. That wasn’t part of the game plan. My trainer, Derrick James, talked to me about not getting too comfortable on the ropes. I felt like, from the fourth round, I started being on the ropes too much and letting him throw certain shots. I tried to use the ropes too many times looking for a shot, but Tank found the shot before I did.
 
“Tank has power but he does a great job at landing his big shot on the button. He has good traps, good set-ups. I was just too comfortable in there. He’s a slick guy, he’s adaptable to a lot of different styles. He can box and he can punch.”
 
“This is a stepping stone fight. I can’t celebrate too much because I have to do it again. It’s cool for the moment, but I have to do it again,” said Davis, who was coming off of a 14-month ring absence.
 
What hopefully comes next is a unification against one of the other world champions in the loaded lightweight division. Vasiliy Lomachenko holds the IBF belt, while Shakur Stevenson is the WBC titlist. Also, Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk upset Emanuel Navarrete for the vacant WBO strap last month as well.
 
“I am interested in the Lomachenko fight. It would be ass-whupping time,” said Davis. “I want to fight all of the lightweight champions, simple as that. They all fight different and I approach each fight differently. You know how it would go (against Stevenson). It would be good for the sport if we fought now or later.”