Gervonta Davis and David Benavidez share June bill
David Benavidez confirms that he will face Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Gervonta Davis will face Frank Martin on the same card in Houston on June 22nd.
An outstanding boxing card looks to be coming up in early summer. On Wednesday, Gervonta “Tank” Davis (29-0-0, 27 KO) posted on social media that he would defend his WBA ‘regular’ lightweight crown against Frank Martin (18-0-0, 12 KO) on June 22nd in Houston. On Thursday, that information was confirmed when David Benavidez (28-0-0, 24 KO) revealed on the Fresh&Fit podcast that he will fight Oleksandr Gvozdyk (20-1-0, 16 KO) on the same card.
Gervonta has been leaving clues about his return for a few months. After knocking out Ryan García (24-1-0, 20 KO) in his last fight a year ago, he spent 44 days in prison and the rest of 2023 under house arrest and wearing an ankle monitor. He has been prolific about sharing his frustration with not being able to fight on his social networks, hinting that his return to the ring will be in June. There was speculation about a rematch with Isaac Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KO), especially after “Pitbull” won the WBA super lightweight title. A clash with Devin Haney (31-0-0 , 15) never happened after Haney vacated his titles to move up in weight.
Speaking on the Fresh&Fit podcast, Benavidez said, “I don’t know if it is June 15 or June 22, but I will fight for the light heavyweight title and on the same night Gervonta Davis will fight Frank Martin. It will probably be the biggest card of the year. It will be in Las Vegas or Houston.”
Davis seemed to confirm that the fight is on for the 22nd when he tweeted a response to a fan who pointed out that the Toyota Center in Houston was already booked by Megan Thee Stallion for June 15, saying, “I let Meg do her thing... week after.”
Benavidez had been spoiling for a bout with Canelo Álvarez (60-2-2, 39 KO) to be the undisputed super middleweight champion. He now seems to be tired of waiting and will attack a new division with a difficult opponent.
Frank Martin is undefeated and has never fought for a belt and is seen by many as the second best lightweight behind Tank. Due to face Shakur Stevenson (21-0-0, 10 KO) for the WBC lightweight title, Martin decided not to sign at the last minute.
The interim super middleweight champion Benavidez has moved up to light-heavy after Canelo refused to put his belts on the line and now it looks like he will debut at that weight in June.