Frank Martin on Tank Davis: ‘I’m Gonna Whoop His Ass’
Jun 11, 2024 • 9:51 PM ET
LAS VEGAS – Frank Martin might be ready for anything ahead of his spot atop the big MGM Grand bill in Las Vegas against Gervonta “Tank” Davis, but he might not have expected that his opponent would fail to show up for Tuesday’s scheduled Grand Arrivals.
Martin had been and gone by the time news was announced that Davis was a no-show, but regardless of what followed, Martin said he was ready to take his opportunity with both hands.
The Detroit challenger for Davis’ WBA lightweight title is 18-0 (12 KOs), and the southpaw looked at home and ambitious, making his Grand Arrival ahead of the event on Saturday in between those of light heavyweights Oleksandr Gvozdyk and David Benavidez, who will collide in the co-main as part of the 100th fight night staged at the MGM Grand.
“I’m feeling good. We’ve been training for a while,” said Martin, who defeated Vergil Ortiz in the final of the 2016 Golden Gloves. “I’m locked in. I’m focused. You know, the whole goal was to come out here and beat him. I’m ready to take the spot and I’m here for a reason. I ain’t here just to be here. I’m here to take this s*** over.”
Martin has gone 12 rounds in his last two fights, posting wins over Michel Rivera and Artem Harutyunyan – both in Las Vegas, but in a ballroom in The Cosmopolitan rather than on a stage like the one he’ll step onto on Saturday.
But “The Ghost” is unflinching in his belief.
“‘Cause I’m different,” Martin said when asked for his keys to victory. “I got some things that … I’ve got speed, I’ve got power, I’ve got IQ. I feel like I’ve got it all. Y’all gonna see. When it’s time to bite down, the world’s gonna see.”
One of the subplots heading into the fight is a well-documented past spar between Davis and Martin at the Mayweather gym. But Martin doesn’t want to talk about it, dwell on it or give it any credence. He is now all about fighting Davis for real.
“That was just sparring. We’ve got a fight Saturday, and I’m gonna whoop his ass,” said Martin. “The sparring don’t matter. That’s years ago. We got Saturday to show who’s who on Saturday night.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
