LAS VEGAS – Frank Martin expects Gervonta Davis to knock out Ryan Garcia if those polarizing rivals fight next year.
If, for some reason, Garcia and Davis don’t fight, Martin would welcome opportunities to face either Davis or Garcia. Martin was asked specifically about boxing Garcia following his dominant victory over Michel Rivera on Saturday night at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
“We could go,” Martin told a small group of reporters. “We could go. We could go. You know, I just fought the title eliminator or whatever for the WBA, so we could go.”
Garcia is taller and longer, but the left-handed Martin (17-0, 12 KOs) has noticed that the young knockout artist’s speed dissipates after the first few rounds of his fights.
“It’ll be a good fight,” Martin said. “It’ll be an explosive fight. Two fast fighters, two strong fighters, two explosive fighters. … It’ll be an explosive fight.”
Martin, who will turn 28 next month, and Garcia, 24, have sparred in the past, yet Martin doesn’t think those sessions would give either of them much of an advantage if they met in a bout that counts.
“Nah, you know, that was years ago,” Martin said. “You know what I mean? So, he’ll come to the ring with something different and, you know, vice versa – I’ll do the same.”
Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) was supposed to face Filipino southpaw Mercito Gesta (33-3-3, 17 KOs) on January 28 in preparation for his fight versus Davis. The Victorville, California native decided, however, that he’ll go straight to a high-profile pay-per-view showdown with Davis if the powerful southpaw defeats Hector Luis Garcia in their 12-round, 135-pound title fight January 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Baltimore’s Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) and the Dominican Republic’s Garcia (16-0, 10 KOs, 3 NC) will headline a Showtime Pay-Per-View telecast that night. They’ll fight for Davis’ secondary WBA lightweight title.
Martin, meanwhile, moved closer toward a WBA lightweight title shot of his own by beating the previously undefeated Rivera (24-1, 14 KOs). The Detroit native dropped the Dominican Republic’s Rivera in the seventh round and won by big margins on all three scorecards (120-107, 118-109, 117-110) in their “Showtime Championship Boxing” main event.
Though a fight with Ryan Garcia seems unlikely to happen next year, Martin hopes his performance Saturday night established him as an elite lightweight willing to fight anyone in his division.
“I’m ready for all of ‘em,” Martin said. “So hopefully they, you know, see what’s up now.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
