It’s been 14 months since Gervonta “Tank” Davis scored the biggest win of his career. Now, after months of legal entanglements, Davis will face another young, hungry and undefeated lightweight who will try to take Davis’ 135-pound belt. Here’s everything you need to know about Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Frank Martin, including the odds, their records and a prediction on who will win.
After knocking out Ryan Garcia with a wicked body shot last year, Davis was sentenced to 90 days of house arrest following his guilty plea to four traffic offenses that stemmed from a 2020 hit-and-run accident that involved a pregnant woman. The judge later found that Davis had violated the terms of his house arrest and sentenced him to serve the rest of his punishment in jail.
Though those legal problems perhaps have weighed on him mentally, they haven’t done anything to stall his career. He’s No. 5 in my pound-for-pound rankings, and even though his opponents continue to get better (his last six foes had a combined record of 138-2-2 when they faced Davis), he continues to raise his game to exciting new levels.
“Watching ‘Tank’ in camp, it scares me how great he looks,” said Calvin Ford, Davis’ trainer. “He’s really showed maturity in the ring. He’s extremely focused. I want people to leave the arena saying how great this fight was.”
But Martin said he has his own reasons for confidence.
That’s because, when they’ve sparred in the past, Martin landed at least one hard shot that caught Davis’ attention. Who knows if it hurt him? Martin would probably say yes; Davis said it made him mad more than anything else.
Either way, in Davis’ recollection, the sparring session eventually devolved into a wrestling match. Now, they get to fight for real.
“We all know what ‘Tank’ brings, but a lot of guys don’t know what I bring. They know a little bit of it, but they don’t know the full arsenal I have,” Martin said. “We know ‘Tank’ is explosive and fast. He’s got it all, but on fight night, the world will see that I’ve got it all too . . . I expect Gervonta to come out and put his best foot forward. He’s going to be him. I know he’s all the way locked in for me. I know he felt the energy from me, and he knows I’m coming to win.”
Here’s more info on the Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Frank Martin showdown that U.S. viewers can watch on PPV.com for $74.99 beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Frank Martin odds
The oddsmakers don’t think much of Martin’s chances. As of this writing, he’s a +500 underdog (win $500 on a $100 wager), while Davis is the -800 favorite (bet $800 to win $100). Frankly, I don’t think there’s much value in either money line. Instead, you can take Davis to win by stoppage at -175, or you can take Davis to win by stoppage in rounds 7-9 for +300. If you like Martin, I like taking him by stoppage at +1600 (even though Davis, from my collection, has never really been hurt in the ring). Either way, Martin is a longshot.
If you were looking for a fun parlay for this weekend’s action of boxing (and this is only for entertainment purposes), I might take Davis to beat Martin by stoppage at -175, David Benavidez to beat Oleksandr Gvozdyk at -700 and Subriel Matias to stop Liam Paro at -300. If all of those hit, you’d make a $140 profit on a $100 wager.
Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Frank Martin records
Despite his legal problems, Davis has basically been perfect in the ring. He’s 29-0 with 27 KOs, and he’s coming off the most impressive performance of his career when he stopped Ryan Garcia 14 months ago. Other impressive wins have come against Isaac Cruz, Mario Barrios and Leo Santa Cruz.
Though his resume isn’t as noteworthy as his opponent’s, Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) is coming off two of the better wins of his career: a close decision vs. the undefeated Artem Harutyunyan and a wide decision vs. Michel Rivera. Though Davis doesn’t have phenomenal power, he still managed to score knockdowns in both of those contests.
Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Frank Martin prediction
There are a few 135-pounders who could give Davis a tough fight (Vasiliy Lomachenko, William Zepeda, Shakur Stevenson, maybe Keyshawn Davis in the next few years), but I’d make Tank a favorite against any of them. So, in my eyes, that makes him a big favorite against Martin. Though Martin will probably have some success early in the fight with his boxing skills (and with Davis’ in-ring inactivity), Davis’ power is going to catch up to him. Say, Davis by stoppage in the seventh round.
UPDATED: Though Martin outboxed Davis through the first half of the fight (he won four of the first five rounds on my scorecard), Martin couldn’t avoid Davis’ pressure forever. And ultimately, when Davis trapped Martin in the corner in the eighth round, he landed his best uppercut of the night and finished Martin with a nasty left hook to knock out his opponent and defend his lightweight title.
If you bet Davis’ money line, you made a $12.50 profit on a $100 wager. But if you wagered on him to win by stoppage, you made $57 on the same bet.