Gervonta Davis - Frank Martin summary online, round by round, stats and highlights
Gervonta Davis shakes off ring rust with Frank Martin KO
Gervonta Davis might be unbeatable
Ok fair enough. Everybody is beatable. But at this moment, right now, perhaps Gervonta Davis is as close to perfect as boxing can produce. He took Ryan Garcia apart. He spent 14 months out of the ring and came back right where he left off. Does it matter who is in there against him next? Perhaps not.
Gervonta Davis is such a consumate counter puncher, such a student of the opposition, such a patient boxer but also with power that he may not be beatable at this moment in time. Of course, time marches on relentlessly, and what is true today is not true tomorrow. Just ask Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. You fight them two or three years earlier and the outcome is different. But with patience, the world turns.
The opening rounds saw Martin do excellent work, landing great shots and using his feet to keep Davis on the move. Had that continued, perhaps he could have delayed or avoided the inevitable. But once Tank got him onto the ropes, once Martin decided to stay there, then it was only a matter of time.
To his credit, Davis got to work earlier than he normally does, clawing his way back into the fight from the third round onward. But the tirning point was the seventh. Martin was caught with that left hand several times and slowed visibly. By the eighth, the momentum was all going one way.
A loaded left hand missed and while the right hook set up a great left uppercut to stun Martin, it was a hammer of a left cross that send him to the floor. The count was unnecessary. He was never getting up from that shot.
With that win, Gervonta Davis moves to 29-0, successfully defending his WBA lightweight title for the seventh time. He is solidly one of the pound for pound greats and, for the moment at least, unbeatable.
GOODBYE!!!
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I had Tank up 68-65 on my card, I know that the PBC commentators had him either behind or just even on their cards, and all three ringside judges had him up 67-66 on their cards. But the knockout settled it. Never leave it in the hands of the judges!
What a huge left hand! Martin was doing great work and then went onto the ropes and allowed Tank to unload. He guaged the distance and threw that left hammer. He missed with it twice and then landed it flush! An uppercut set it up and Martin dropped his hands. What a shot!
Gervonta Davis wins by KO!
Tank comes out and gets Martin onto the ropes immediately, dropping a hard one two onto him. He throws a left and then another and then a hard left cross sends Martin to the matt! He is out cold! There is no count! The fight is over!
Martin comes out throwing and lands a double jab, left hand. Davis goes onto the attack now and lands a left hand of his own. Martin covers and then comes back with a three punch combo.
They circle and Tank gets Martin onto the ropes and chops down with a double left hand, but Martin wheels off the ropes.
Martin is less mobile than earlier and Tank lands a right uppercut, left cross, and as he comes in for another gets caught with a stiff left counter! That shook Tank!
Martin stands his ground more this round, still on the back foot but getting shots off before backing away. Davis comes in witha. great flurry of shots but Martin lands a left hand in response. Tank chops a left hand onto Martin and then backs him into a corner. Davis jumps in with a jab and left hand.
Davis jumps in with a left hand, nicely avoided by Martin. Tank on the front foot and catches Martin with a huge left hand on the ropes! Martin stumbles but recovers quickly. Another one two catches Martin again and he wheels off of the ropes. That is a dangerous place to be!
Tank feints with a left uppercut, catching Martin instead with a nice right hook. Martin backs away and catches Davis with a great counter hook.
Davis is marked up on the left eye, and while it is not swollen or cut, it is showing signs of redness. Martin is happy to stay outside, counter punching Tank, a role normally taken on by Davis.
Tank goes for a huge uppercut, and misses as Martin ties him up. A great left cross from Martin catches Tank. Martin goes in for another and gets caught with a peach of a left uppercut to the mid section on the counter.
Davis is a little more open now, less compact, looking for the opening and boxing off the front foot. Martin is content to circle around the outside, taking his turn to look for Tank's shots and finding his openings. As Davis comes in he gets a counter left for his trouble.
Tank has his hands low now, dropping that high guard and shifting gears. Martin comes in with a great one two and Tank looks shaken on that last exchange!
Martin straight onto the attack, working the body, throwing combos down low. Tank pokes and moves but Martin is the one doing most of the work. Davis is a notoriously slow starter, placing emphasis on punch accuracy rather than volume.
Martin comes forward and Tank catches him with a counter left that sends Martin straight onto his heels. Another left and now Tank is on the front foot. As the round ends, Martin lands a double jab.
And we are off! Tank comes out compact, wary, and Martin is jabbing, probing, trying to find a quick opening. Martin lands a huge eye catching left cross, right hook and Tank stays tight, just watching, trying to figure out Martin's footwork.
Martin lands another straight left and follows it with a body shot.
Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin [WBA lightweight title]
And now the main event as Gervonta Davis returns to the ring for the first time in 14 months to face Frank Martin and defend his WBA lightweight title.
Based on that performance, David Benavidez is not a light heavyweight. He showed none of the dominance that he had at 168, just about getting through an old ex champion like Gvozdyk. The truth of the matter is that, if he goes up against Beterbiev or Bivol like he did tonight, he gets knocked out in four rounds.
Great effort, well done for the win, but let's be honest. Benavidez is not a light heavyweight boxer.
AND THE NEW: David Benavidez wins by UD
The judges at ringside saw it as:
116-112
117-111
119-109
all for David Benavidez who is the new WBC interim light heavyweight champion.
That is almost certainly a Benavidez win, I personally gave Gvozdyk five rounds to seven for Benavidez. 115-113 for me.
The final round and Gvozdyk comes out firing but Benavidez decides to stand and trade, for the first time since about the fourth round that he has done that. The more powerful shots are coming from Benavidez but Gvozdyk is making up ground in volume, tapping away and then suddenly landing a hard shot. A right uppercut snaps Benavidez's head back.
Gvozdyk ups the punch rate in the final 30 seconds and trades shots with Benavidez as the bout ends.
Benavidez is back onto the front foot, marching forward, but Gvozdyk is still tapping away, landing shots, although not hurtful ones. Benavidez is more picky with his shots, but each one is spiteful.
Gvozdyk is throwing single shots instead of the flurries that he was known for in his prime. Benavidez lands a huge left to the ribs and another big right hook before getting caught with a right counter from Gvozdyk. A great one two from Benavidez ends the round.
Gvozdyk stays on the front foot as Benavidez looks tired. Perhaps the step up to light heavy has taken it out of him, but Benavidez looks like he is struggling, perhaps explaining why he took a few rounds off, leaning on the ropes to catch his breath. Benavidez throws some hard counter shots to keep Gvozdyk honest, but overall, it is an opportunity lost for the Ukrainian.
Gvozdyk is a little more willing to mix with Benavidez now but not much of any back hands. Benavidez has slowed considerably but is still trying to unload. It looks as if he has no other idea, just knockout knockout knockout, and as he comes in with another hard right hand he gets countered by a sweet hook from Gvozdyk.
A little more free handed this round, Gvozdyk lands a nice one two. Benavidez tries that leaping left hook again but Gvozdyk backs away from it, avoiding the shot. Again Benavidez leans onto the ropes and lets Gvozdyk lands a few shots but still unwilling to open up. Benavidez comes off the ropes and throws a right hand but Gvozdyk serves up a stiff straight right in response.
Benavidez comes out with big left hooks, loading up and throwing them hard to start the round, while Gvozdyk sticks with the tap and move strategy. Benavidez leans onto the ropes and Gvozdyk tentatively opens up, throwing more punches but not yet letting his hands fly freely.
A slower pace than the first five rounds, Benavidez switches to single shots, walking down Gvozdyk and trading jabs with him. Gvozdyk wears the shots well but Benavidez is loading up on each shot, trying to get that big right hand to do the business each time.
Benavidez lands a hard overhand right hand and Gvozdyk pushes back, moving around the outside of the ring but perhaps a little less light on his toes. A leaping left hook from Benavidez lands nicely and Gvozdyk continues to tap away and trying to set up that right hand. As the round ends, Benavidez lands a great three punch combo.
Gvozdyk double taps and throws a hard right hand to start things off. Benavidez is still trying to get inside, switching from orthodox to southpaw, leaving himself open to a hard counter but getting away with it. A great right cross catches Benavidez clean but he munches it up and marches through it.
As Gvozdyk taps away with those jabs, Benavidez lands a hard left hook to the mid section.
Benavidez is walking forward, trying to apply pressure but eats a clean jab on the way in for his trouble. Gvozdyk is happy to pepper away from the back foot. Benavidez back to working inside, pushing forward and trying to bully his way onto Gvozdyk. He does that patented double duck as he walks forward. Benavidez needs to be careful there. A hard shot low and he could regret that stance change.
Benavidez opens up and switches to southpaw, landing a hard left on the ropes.
A stiff left hand from Benavidez starts things off and as he ducks under the jab from Gvozdyk works his way inside. The Ukrainian is less mobile than in the first round but Benavidez is able to land a great three punch combo that perhaps wobbles Gvozdyk but then Benavidez gets greedy and eats a great right hand on the way in.
Thefight gets underway and Gvozdyk is on the outside but Benavidez comes around the outside of that guard with a left hook. Benavidez is working away at the at mid section and landing hooks to both the right and left side.
Gvozdyk is on the move and replying with a stiff jab as Benavidez comes inside.
David Benavidez vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk [WBC interim light heavyweight title]
And now the co-main event as David Benavidez faces Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC interim light heavyweight title.
That first score was insanely wide. The other two were about right and you could perhaps have given either of those either way, but 118-109 for Russell? Insane.
AND THE NEW: Alberto Puello wins by SD
The judges at ringside saw it as:
118-109 Russell
115-112 Puello
114-113 Puello
by split decision, Alberto Puello becomes the WBC interim super lightweight champion.
It is difficult to say who won that one. It will all come down to who you like. At the ninth round, they were level on my card. I gave Puello ten and eleven with Russell winning twelve. That point deduction could be critical.
Final round and we go back to the beginning as both fighters meet in the middle and start to trade punches. Puello is clean and crisp with his counter punches and Russell is more rough, more ragged, but perhaps more aggressive. Puello lands a low left hand and time is called. After recovery, the fight gets going again and Russell is suddenly on a vicious attack and suddenly Puello looks to be in trouble!
Russell stays on the front foot but at the minute mark, Puello regains his composure and manages to stem the barrage with a beautiful right hook. The fight ends with both men trading heavy shots. The bell sounds and they both throw their hands in the air.
Russell is straight on the attack and Puello is staying on the back foot, doing well at keeping the pressure on as Russell gets punished each time he comes in.
Russell comes in low and Puello lands a nice left hook and right uppercut to keep Russell off balance.
Russell comes out and throws charging shots and lands a low blow. Time is called and Puello is allowed to recover before the round starts up again. The assault continues and while Puello is doing a good job of countering that point deduction and low blow seem to have slowed him a little bit.
As the round gets going, referee Allen Huggins calls time and deducts a point from Puello for holding. That could be huge! Puello had evened this bout up, perhaps even nudging ahead and that could sway the fight down the road.
Russell goes in and tries to throw shots but Puello is still effective in the counter. Allen Huggins has now inserted himself into the bout by calling for break the instant they get tied up. No opportunity to box your way out, no chance for inside work, just immediate break. That is terrible! He really needs to be censured for this. Terrible refereeing decision. He has just unilaterally decided that he wants to see an outside fight or a slugfest. Not the sweet science of boxing, not the art of pugilism. Just banging. Terrible.
Puello is loose, fluid on his heels, moving well around the ring as Russell charges forward and finally manages to tie him up. A right hook catches Russell as Puello wheels away out of trouble. As Russell flails on the ropes, Puello again lands a great counter left.
Russell comes out on the attack and Puello is clearly comfortable on the back foot. Countering each salvo is that right hook, left uppercut and Puello has not only grown into the fight but is perhaps a round away from levelling it up.
The frustration in Russell is palpable as he tries to bullrush Puello, charging forward and being met by a sweet right hook on each occasion. Russell lands a great overhand left in response but is essentially frustrated on every attack as Puello's counter is getting sharper.
Puello is growing into this fight, not giving any ground at all to Russell. Even though Russell is on the attack, Puello's counter shots are landing with more efficiency and maybe beginning to have an effect in slowing the attack coming his way.
Russell has the center of the ring, forcing Puello to move around the outside, but interestingly, it is Puello who looks to be stalking and hunting for the shot, while Russell has become more defensive in this round.
Russell stays on the attack as the fourth round gets going but Puello is standing his ground a bit better. They are both throwing heavy hands and neither is being overwhelmed but Russell is still playing the role of attacker while Puello is the counter puncher.
Russell comes out with a higher work rate now, and increases the pace to keep Puello off balance. The counter punches are not effective with the blistering pace set in the opening seconds. Russell gets Puello backed into the corner and starts to open up with both hands, but Puello gets out of trouble by tying up Russell and turning him out of the corner.
Russell tries to stay on the front foot and toward the back end of the round, the counter punch from Puello lands nicely.
Russell stays on the front foot, pushing in and staying low, but Puello has a great counter left and brings it in with effect, landing on the body and following it iup with a right hook that pushes Russell onto the ropes. The momentum shifts as Russell leaps in with a right hook but Puello counters with a nice left hand.
Russell is straight on the attack, pushing Puello onto the ropes, working the body and trying to stay under those long arms coming back at him. Puello is wily and gets off the ropes, turning Russell and keeping him at a distance. But Russell keeps the pace high, opening the fight with a bullet.
Gary Antuanne Russell vs. Alberto Puello [WBC interim super lightweight title]
We move on to another world title fight as Gary Antuanne Russell faces Alberto Puello for the WBC interim super lightweight title.
That decision is a travesty. Fair enough to give it to Adames, but the wide scores are insane. A lot of those rounds were close, but to have given Carlos Adames nearly every round, one judge giving him eleven and two giving him ten, is just a crooked as anything I have ever seen. Ok, you think Adames nicked some of those rounds, but to give Gausha anything less than five rounds is just dishonest.
AND STILL: Carlos Adames wins by unanimous decision
The judges at ringside saw that as a completely lopsided
119-109
118-110
118-110
all for Carlos Adames who is still the WBC middleweight champion.
For me, as much as it pains me to say it, I feel like Gausha edged that fight. He responded with three and four shots to every one that Adames threw. Neither fighter was ever in any kind of trouble, and you can't just give a round to the champ because he has more power or that he SHOULD have won it. If the punches don't land, if the points aren't scored then you have to call it like you see it.
The final round and Gausha looks like he has nothing left to give creatively but is staying in the fight on the back of Adames lack of will to put the fight away. If he would stay on the front foot, Adames' power is enough to keep Gausha on his heels, but with the single shots, the tapping jabs, and the punches in bunches coming back at him, this fight is edging toward Gausha for me.
In the final minute, Adames finally tries to apply pressure, opening up his shots, but Gausha is still responding with flurries and as the fight ends, there is little between them.
The inside work continues and Adames is trying to get back on top of this fight, after hemorrhaging rounds and lands a low blow at the halfway point. Time is called and Gausha is given time to recover before the bout resumes. Adames goes back to looking for one big knockout blow and Gausha stays on the counter attack.
For the first time in the fight, the two men meet in the middle of the ring and try to work inside, with neither one willing to back down. They clench and try to impose their will on the other, trading flurries of short inside hands, and Gausha is coming out the better of the two in that scenario.
Straight onto the front foot, Adames marches Gausha back and taps away with that single jab. Gausha counters in flurries although not many land cleanly, but with the sheer volume of punches, it is difficult to hand these rounds to Adames. Although the champ clearly has better power, his reluctance to let his hands go is allowing Gausha to get into a fight that he has no business being in.
After an exciting seventh, the pace grinds to a halt in the eighth as both men switch back to single jabs, feints and wary movement. Gausha lands perhaps more shots although most of them on the elbows and the guard of Adames.
As Gausha comes in high for a right hand, Adames lands a lovely right uppercut to the mid section as the round ends.
Both fighters come out determined to go tit for tat and it is Gausha who lands the better shots. A jab, a right hook to the ribs, a great three punch combo to the mid section and it is Adames who is on the back foot now.
A big overhand right hand lands by Adames and Gausha is clearly starting to feel some of that power differential. The opening barrage seems to have woken Adames up and he finally lets his hands go to an extent.
With 30 seconds to go, the pace slows again and Adames lets Gausha get the final word in with another three punch combo.
Adames opens with a double jab, right hand but again backs off and throws more feints than actual shots. Gausha is working almost exclusively off the back foot and while Adames should be entirely dictating the pace of this fight, it is actually Gausha who is benefitting from this slow style of bout. As the round comes to a close, Adames is still cagey.
Adames looks to be ready to step on the front foot finally and comes forward with a one-two but Gausha counters with a lovely four punch combo. Another thrust from Adames draws another combo from Gausha, and at some point Adames is going to have to turn the screw. He is walking forward, looking for a single shot, but refusing to stay on the attack, unwilling to cut the ring off, and allowing Gausha to stay in the fight.
Gausha tries to double up his jabs and starts throwing multiple shots as he comes in. Adames counters with loaded up right hands and lands that overhand but needs to follow it up with the left uppercut to make it really pay off.
Gausha is even more wary but needing to land shots, he is still trying to get those jabs in.
Still evenly drawn, both are sticking to their cautious jab and move plan. This slow pace actually favors Gausha and Adames' corner is screaming for him to pick up the pace. On the one minute mark, he lands an overhand right, following it up with a right hook but Gausha does a good job of countering it with a left hook on the way out.
Gausha tries to stem the flow but Adames is steady and marching forward, landing a handful of shots, not enough to do damage, but keeping Gausha on the defensive, wondering where that right hand is coming from.
Adames jumps onto the attack and tries to hold the center of the ring. Straight probing jabs and compact footwork see him keep Gausha guessing. At the halfway point in the round, Gausha begins to tap back, trying to keep Adames at distance but an overhand right lands on the clapper for the champ.
Carlos Adames vs. Terrell Gausha [WBC middleweight title]
Now we move to our main card with the first title bout of the evening as Carlos Adames takes on Terrell Gausha for the WBC middleweight title.
Preliminary bout results
Reina Tellez vs. Beata Dudek [Women’s featherweight]
In a four-round opening bout, San Antonio’s Reina Tellez outworked her Hungarian opponent Beata Dudek to get a unanimous decision win and move to 8-0-1.
Brayan Gonzalez vs. James Mulder [Super bantamweight]
A young southpaw making his pro debut, Arizona’s Brayan Gonzalez got a comfortable unanimous decision win over James Mulder.
Mia Ellis vs. Margaret Whitmore [Women’s super featherweight]
Ohio’s Margaret Whitmore went to war with Baltimore’s Mia Ellis and got a tight majority decision win after banging toe to toe for four rounds.
Daniel Blancas vs. Aro Schwartz [Super middleweight]
In a lightning fast start, Milwaukee’s Daniel Blancas drops and stops Germany’s Aro Schwartz just a minute into the opening round. Blancas moves to 10-0 with that win.
Justin Viloria vs. Angelo Antonio Contreras [Super featherweight]
Viloria managed to take early control of the bout and drop Contreras with a stiff body shot in the fourth. While the Mexican managed to get back to his feet, the onslaught never slowed down and Contreras went down twice more in the fifth before the referee called a halt to the proceedings. Justin Viloria moves to 6-0.
Mark Magsayo vs. Eduardo Ramirez [Super featherweight]
The Filipino Magsayo started to come into his own in the second round before really establishing his dominance in the third, dropping a bewildered Ramirez before somehow backing off and allowing the Mexican to recompose himself. The fight went the full ten rounds but it was always one way traffic as Mark Magsayo moves to 26-2.
Elijah Garcia vs. Kyrone Davis [Middleweight]
While Elijah Garcia was meant to sharpen himself on a tough competitor, Kyrone Davis proved to be more than Garcia bargained for. A counter right hand that was on the money saw Davis win every round between the second and eighth to take a controversial split decision win and move to 18-3-1 while handing Garcia his first loss to move to 16-1.
The Full Card
Main Card
Tank Davis vs. Frank Martin [WBA lightweight title]
David Benavidez vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk [WBC interim light heavyweight title]
Gary Antuanne Russell vs. Alberto Puello [WBC interim super lightweight title]
Carlos Adames vs. Terrell Gausha [WBC middleweight title]
Preliminary Card
Mark Magsayo vs. Eduardo Ramirez [Super featherweight]
Romain Villa vs. Ricardo Salas Rodriguez [Welterweight]
Elijah Garcia vs. Kyrone Davis [Middleweight]
Daniel Blancas vs. Aro Schwartz [Super middleweight]
Justin Viloria vs. Angelo Antonio Contreras [Super featherweight]
Kevin Ayala vs. Jimmy Delgadillo [Featherweight]
Stacey Selby vs. Kevin Walker [Super lightweight]
Mia Ellis vs. Margaret Whitmore [Women’s super featherweight]
Brayan Gonzalez vs. James Mulder [Super bantamweight]
Reina Tellez vs. Beata Dudek [Women’s featherweight]
The main undercard is set to get underway at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
Tale of the tape
Gervonta Davis
Age: 29
Country: United States of America
Stance: Southpaw
Height: 5ft 5.5in
Reach: 67.5”
Record: 29-0-0
Frank Martin
Age: 29
Country: United States of America
Stance: Southpaw
Height: 5ft 8in
Reach: 68”
Record: 18-0-0
David Benavidez
Age: 27
Country: United States of America
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 6ft 2in
Reach: 74.5”
Record: 28-0-0
Oleksandr Gvozdyk
Age: 37
Country: Ukraine
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 6ft 2in
Reach: 75.5”
Record: 20-1-0
The Tank seeks to defend his title and post victory number 30. Challenger Frank Martin, also undefeated, says he has come to Vegas “to whip his ass".
See what is on the line right here.
The man who has Canelo Álvarez ducking like crazy will share the bill with Gervonta Davis as he moves up to light heavyweight to face Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
Read the whole story here.
WELCOME!!!
Welcome to Diario AS USA’s live coverage of the double bill of Gervonta Davis - Frank Martin and David Benavidez - Oleksandr Gvozdyk from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
One of the best pound for pound fighters in the world gets back into the ring after a prolonged period of inactivity as Gervonta “Tank” Davis defends his WBA Lightweight title against Frank Martin. Tank is going to battle ring rust as much as the opponent in this bout after a fourteen month hiatus from the sport.
In his last outing, Tank took Ryan Garcia apart, making the young face of boxing look like a rank amateur and knocking him out cold in seven rounds.
While the focus is on the champ, the challenger is a dangerous man who has more than earned his place in the ring. Frank Martin is undefeated in 18 bouts and has ended 12 of those inside the distance.
The co-main event is also a cracker as David Benavidez, who many see as the true challenger for Canelo Álvarez’s super middleweight crown, is moving up in weight to face the former Light Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC interim title in that division.