By: Sean
It’s happened many times before: A relatively unknown fighter steps into the boxing ring to take on an big name opponent and subsequently shocks the world. Twenty-nine year old lightweight Frank Martin hopes that his fight against Gervonta Davis on June 15th will end up being one of those instances. Although Martin has a perfect record of 18-0 it’s Davis who is bringing in all of the attention – and not without good reason. The Baltimore native has been at the top of the fight game for a while now after all. And while Martin has certainly bested his share of opponents, he’s never earned the kind of shockwave inducing victory Davis has against the likes Leo Santa Cruz and Ryan Garcia.
Martin, however, is ready for the occasion. “He’s going to bring the best out of me,” the Indianapolis fighter told TMZ. “I feel like I’ve got a lot of things that him (Davis), the world, a lot of people may not expect. I’m just ready to go in there and capitalize on the moment.” Sure enough, Martin doesn’t appear to be troubled by the fact that he’s the obvious underdog leading to next weekend’s bout. “I embrace it,” he says of his underdog status. “I’m eating off of it. It’s fueling me.”
The man is also grateful for the chance he has before him. For, should he beat the highly skilled, thunderously hard punching Davis, Martin will become the toast of boxing and beyond. “This moment don’t come by like that for a lot of fighters,” he told TMZ. “It’s a blessing to be able to have that type of opportunity.” True enough – and it’s a blessing Martin is clearly working to make the most of. “I hope I get the best version of you,” he directly told Davis, “because you’re going to get the best version of me.”
With that being said, there’s no doubt that Davis will be putting his best self out there when he answers the opening bell to face Martin at the MGM Grand in Vegas later this month. Davis takes his sport seriously. High level fighters are often criticized, but it’s hard to argue the fact Davis enters each battle prepared and ready to go. It’s worked extraordinarily well for the man so far. Whether it will again against Martin is anyone’s guess. No doubt each fighter has his own idea of how things will play out.