Tank Davis destroyed Frank Martin in the eighth to retain the WBA lightweight belt

Gervonta “Tank” Davis is a boxer. His mind is a computer, able to destroy his opponents, knowing that eventually the hammer will come after he has thought it all out.

It came down to Frank 'The Ghost' Martin in the eighth round in front of 13,249 on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Gervonta Davis ends Frank Martin's night with a swinging left (Photo by Esther Lin-Premier Boxing Champions)

Davis (30-0, 28 knockouts) successfully used his brick hands and innate boxing instincts, despite 421 days between fights, to defend the WBA lightweight title by stopping Martin at 1:29 of the eighth. Davis was ahead 67-66 at the time on judges Tim Cheatham, Steve Weisfeld, and Max De Luca's cards.

Martin's victory marked Davis' first fight since stopping Ryan Garcia in seven rounds on April 22, 2023.

Davis spoke publicly about the harrowing experience he faced during a 44-day stint in a Baltimore jail last summer for violating his arrest stemming from a November 2020 hit-and-run that injured four people.

“Yes, there is a little rust, but it's okay. I'm back,” said Davis. “A few laps in, I feel like I'm not warming up as much as I wanted to. I was warm, but cold as the battle was before me. But it's okay. There are no excuses.

“(Being incarcerated) made me a better person with patience, things like that. Things happen in life that you have to go through, don't try to get around them. It made me a better person, it made me a better father.”

Martin (18-1, 12 KOs) and Davis started slowly, with Martin trying to establish a jab and Davis sitting on his left foot. Martin landed lefts to the body, even lifting Davis as the two grappled in the final 30 minutes of the round.

Martin started the second quickly, hitting a harmless little shot on Davis. Holding his guard up, Davis kept coming forward, sneaking up and sitting in front of Martin. With 1:11 left in the round, Davis hit a counter left to the body, and that seemed to make Martin jump. With 20 seconds left, Martin caught Davis again. For two, it looked like Martin was in the lead.

As he had done many times before, it seemed that Davis, Ring's No. 2 lightweight behind Vasiliy Lomachenko, was taking mental notes. He was going to tap Martin to the ground more and more, looking for weakness.

With 1:32 left in the third, Davis left to the body landed Martin's right hand. Martin was a very active player and could have won that round again.

Martin, The Ring's No. 5-rated lightweight, he promised that he will try to finish it and make a bad fight. His priority was to destroy Davis' rhythm. With 30 seconds left in the fourth, Davis nailed Martin to the body, causing Martin to drop his hands again.

Can anyone 135 and under beat Gervonta “Tank” Davis? (Photo by Esther Lin-Premier Boxing Champions)

By the fifth hour, Davis was getting his punch line. Martin landed with a right hook, and Martin kept hitting Davis with lefts, causing Davis' cheek to swell.

Martin had success in the middle of the ring. With 1:55 left in the sixth, Martin cut Davis with a lead left hand to the face. Martin would also make Davis miss—and miss on purpose. Davis pressured Martin hard in the sixth, landing a left to the head.

After six, Calvin Ford, Davis' coach, told him, “We need all these rounds.”

With 2:30 left in the seventh, Davis tagged Martin with a left to the body, and was timing Martin's left with a counter left. Martin's energy level was gradually decreasing. Urged to “keep going,” in his corner, Martin was flat-footed and about to be hit, and Davis made sure of it, cutting Martin with a left to the face.

Until the end, the seventh was Davis' best round.

With 1:47 left in the eighth, Davis sent Martin off in the corner, and continued to pound Martin with lefts. Davis surprised Martin with a left uppercut, then followed it up with a straight left to the head, which knocked Martin out.

Referee Harvey Dock scored 10 at 1:29 of the eighth.

Martin admitted that he was very relieved and was willing to sit in the mouth of the cannon, before the big shot went off.

“I felt like at first I was in control, then I relaxed a little bit,” Martin said. “I relaxed and relaxed on the ropes, trying to get a big shot. It didn't reveal itself. I stopped making my move. … He came in and shot a lot, and it was a shot that I didn't see. Actually, I didn't see the gun.”

Joseph Santoliquito is a Hall of Fame, award-winning sportswriter who has worked for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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