Frank Martin remains confident that he will beat Gervonta Davis when they square off on June 15.

Martin chases his first world title as Davis defends his WBA Lightweight Title. Both fighters have a history of sparring with each other. The kick-off presser brought up their sparring session, with both fighters giving a conflicting narrative. Martin recalled buzzing Davis, who was then allegedly holding on to him. Davis hit back, stating Martin was scared to face him. He also claimed that Martin’s punch was nothing that made him feel worried, saying he responded in the session. 

Davis vs. Martin

“You caught me one time. I sparred already; he was scared to spar. I jumped on him. He’s a southpaw. He threw the brick hand. Boom! That’s what caught me. It wasn’t like, boom and… Hell no. Everybody in here know, if I get touched, I’m coming on that,” Davis stated

Martin’s last fight tested his resolve. He won via a unanimous decision only after Artem Harutyunyan took a knee in the final round. Before that, Artem was outboxing Martin, who appeared on course for his first defeat. While styles do make fights, facing Davis is a whole other level.  Davis has questioned Martin’s ability to cut it at the top level, feeling that the pressure will get to him. 

Davis also has plenty of critics to satisfy. His last fight was a seventh-round stoppage of Ryan Garcia. However, the victory was questioned after Garcia said that his 136-pound catch weight and ten-pound rehydration had weakened him. Tank has also been accused of ducking the big names, as fights with Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez have not been made. Martin backed himself to be victorious. 

Martin Reacts

“I feel like I got a lot of things that he, the world, and a lot of people don’t expect that I got. I’m just ready to go in there and capitalize off of this moment. That’s something I embrace. I’m eating off of it. It’s fueling me. It’s not going to change, though. I just got to out there and do the unexpected.

“It means everything. It doesn’t come by for a lot of fighters. Me going in there and getting it and changing the seat [dethroning Gervonta of WBA ‘regular’ 135-lb title]. It’s a blessing to have that type of opportunity. You got to see me June 15th. I hope I get the best version of you. You going to get the best version of me for sure,” Martin said 

To hype the fight, the WBC has added their ‘Freedom’ belt for the winner. Boxing has been accused of having too many belts. Boxers are responsible for paying additional sanctioning fees for the titles they hold. This has the impact of discouraging fighters from keeping hold of their belts, as it will come out of their purse. Davis has addressed this previously, stating that he is not a fan of sanctioning fees. His attitude for this fight has remained the same. During an interaction with former boxer Andre Berto, Davis said he would not pay any fee. 

Berto: “The question is are they gonna have pay sanction fees for it?”

Davis: “I’m not paying…[nothing].”