Tank Davis vs. Frank Martin Confirmed, "Pitbull" Threatens Move Back to 135, Jamel Herring Gets Robbed Down Under!

Gervonta Davis has found his next opponent. The rumors have been circling Frank Martin for months, and they are now being confirmed by none other than “The Ghost” himself.

Martin went on Cigar Talk to discuss the recent happenings in the Derrick James camp, but while navigating several topics with host Naji, he spilled details of the fight. Al Haymon's super-promotion Premier Boxing Champions has not yet made an official announcement of the fight, so Frank Martin's announcement through YouTube is the first anyone's heard of it outside of fan pages spreading rumors to build hype. PBC-Amazon's first official event was a smash hit, so it's hard to see them dropping the ball with the Frank Martin - “Tank” Davis fight.

During the interview, Martin also cleared up the rumors of a sparring session that he had with “Tank”. For years, it was speculated that Marin and the Baltimore 3-division world champion went to war in a sparring session that the public never saw.

To this day, the footage of this session has not been released. Unlike the Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia sparring session, it is unknown who has the footage. When asked about the sparring, Martin avoided going into detail, but he did make it known who got the best of who. “In the sparring, I could tell he could crack,” Frank said of Tank's power.

“The sparring was like, we were fighting. We were fighting in there. When we first started, I could tell he had power.” Frank went the extra mile and exposed the fact that he hurt “Tank” in sparring. “Yeah, I hurt that n****, I don't know why he lied and said he hurt me.” This got a laugh from the interviewer, but to the combat sports world, this is no laughing matter. If what Frank Martin said is true, this means there are holes in the armor of Davis.

The current WBA Lightweight Super World Champion is known for his knockout power and defense, but Frank Martin could be the neutralizer to his game. The same was said of Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, who many believe is still “Tank” Davis' hardest test to date.

There is no telling whether or not Martin's story is true as long as the footage is being kept under wraps. Whether or not Davis can keep up with the speed and counterpunching ability of Frank Martin will have to be seen when the match happens this summer. The rumor is that this event will be co-main evented by David Benavidez, who will make his debut at 175 lbs in an interim title match. The card would take place in Dallas, Texas.

["Pitbull" Cruz Questions Future at Super-Lightweight!]

Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz and his team are making serious moves within the 135 and 140 lb divisions. Two weeks ago, Cruz was able to knock Rolando “Rolly” Romero out in a world title contest for the WBA Super-Lightweight Championship. Here's a short recap of the super-lightweight division for those who have missed out on the DQ w/ Damani Podcast.

After being viciously knocked out by Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Rolly Romero quickly moved up to super-lightweight in search of bigger fights and a bigger payday. Romero didn't find either in his first outing at 140 lbs, instead, he found himself in a WBA Championship match against a 40-year-old Ismael Barroso. Barroso lost to Romero by controversial knockout stoppage, and he was able to evade a rematch by setting up a potential fight with Ryan Garcia.

When this fell through, Romero agreed to defend his title against “Pitbull” Cruz, a more dangerous challenge. After Cruz's victory, the champions in the weight class have now become definitive. Puerto Rican boogeyman Subriel Matias holds the IBF's version of the 140-lb world title, Devin Haney the WBC, Teofimo Lopez holds the WBO, and finally, the IBO's champion is Zhankosh Turarov.

The problem with this is that “Pitbull” Cruz and his father, Isaac Sr., have announced that they are considering vacating the WBA Super-Lightweight World Championship. 140 lbs is a stacked division, and it may seem that this decision is irrational at first glance. Cruz and his father, however, see this situation differently. “I'll adjust to 140 lbs,” Cruz began.

“But at a lighter weight, I feel stronger. We will wait for a big name or a big opportunity if it's good for us and we will work towards that.” He sounds confident in his abilities as usual, but this news is disappointing for Mexican fans who hoped to see him unify. The best fight on the table immediately for the fans would be a WBA-IBF Super-Lightweight World Championship unification between Cruz and Matias.

The Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry still dominates boxing as it has for many generations in the past, and it is hard to see the greater combat sports community not support it. If Matias can defeat Liam Paro in Puerto Rico this summer and “Pitbull” Cruz decides to stay at 140 lbs, there should be no arguments against the fight. Despite all of our wishful thinking, there is one potential roadblock to this fight being made. Boxing politics.

Eddie Hearn is behind Subriel Matias in a co-promotional deal that was made a few months ago. Al Haymon stands behind Cruz, who is known for doing very few fights with other promotions. PBC's history with co-promotional world championship fights is spotty.

Haymon and associates such as Mayweather Promotions prefer to keep title fights in-house. If Hearn and Haymon can make this fight happen, it would be financially rewarding.

Financial gain isn't always enough for these fights to materialize. If Cruz and Haymon find a suitable opponent in-house, then it is very likely that a unification won't be on the table any longer.

If Cruz vacates the WBA title at 140 lbs, there will be a power vacuum within the division. Teofimo Lopez and Top Rank could make a play for the title and have a vacant championship unification match, similar to how Sebastian Fundora and Tim Tszyu were able to make a title unification match last minute. Regardless of Cruz's direction, there are rewards for all the power players to be had.

[Richardson Hitchins Gets The Nod In Close War!]

Richardson Hitchins is one of the most dangerous fighters at 140 lbs currently. However, this past weekend's DAZN card in Las Vegas showed he has serious gaps in his defensive game.

These shortcomings need to be addressed immediately, considering his level of opposition is increasing dramatically now. As the victor in his most recent fight, he is not the mandatory challenger for Subriel Matias' world championship. An undefeated boxer from Brooklyn, Hitchins stepped into the ring against Gustavo Lemos for a scheduled twelve-round IBF Super-Lightweight title eliminator on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

This fight headlined a DAZN broadcast card. Preceding this main event, super-middleweights David Pacheco and Shawn McCalman faced off in a ten-round match. The main event of the evening commenced with Hitchins employing a strategic approach, utilizing a "stick and move" tactic in the opening round while Lemos aggressively advanced and landed effective punches, particularly towards the end of the round.

Lemos continued to target Hitchins' body early to tire him out in the second round and landed significant blows as the round progressed. By the third round, it was evident that Hitchins was facing a formidable opponent in Lemos, who seemed to have the upper hand in terms of landing punches.

Despite Lemos' aggression, Hitchins started to find his rhythm in the fifth round, effectively using his jab and throwing combinations, which appeared to shift the momentum of the fight. These combinations froze Lemos in the middle of the ring, stopping his forward pressure temporarily. It seemed as if Hitchins had finally mastered the game of bull and matador, but the fight once again shifted in the opposite direction. Lemos regained control in the sixth round, maintaining a high pace and making it an intense and competitive battle.

The seventh round saw Hitchins landing some solid shots but also resorting to holding, indicating that he might be feeling the effects of Lemos' punches. Hitchins rallied towards the end of the eighth round, showing resilience and determination.

The ninth round was chaotic, with Hitchins trying to engage in hit-and-hold tactics while Lemos continued to press forward aggressively. Both fighters showed signs of exhaustion in the tenth round, but Lemos remained relentless in his pursuit.

Lemos' energy was particularly remarkable in the eleventh round, as he continued to attack Hitchins relentlessly. Lemos wanted to knock Hitchins out, fully aware of the fact that the decision could easily go towards Hitchins. In the final round, Lemos maintained a crouched position while Hitchins fought valiantly until the end.

After the completion of the fight, the judges scored the bout in favor of Hitchins, declaring him the winner by unanimous decision. However, in a typical boxing fashion, one of the judges' scores was surprisingly wide, adding a controversial element to the outcome. At the end of the night, the scorecards read 115-113, 115-113, 117-111, all in favor of Richardson Hitchins.

[Jamel Herring Gets Robbed in Australia!]

Jamel "Semper Fi" Herring suffered the fifth loss of his career last weekend. The fight didn't receive much coverage since it took place in Australia. As mentioned in March 23rd's weekly article, Australia has a market that operates independently of America's.

America has the largest market internationally by far, generating what many consider to be the most yearly revenue while other markets send their best fighters over. The only people to evade this in the modern era are Naoya Inoue and his brothers, who have continued to build their profiles outside of America. Inoue was able to cross over to America but ultimately elected to have larger unifications and his undisputed fight in Japan.

For Herring, going to Australia was a massive risk. He had no fanbase there and the judges, despite being unbiased, would sometimes score rounds inattentively. Herring was robbed in a decision that should have gone in his favor. The problem with this loss is that it sets Herring back further than he was prior. A loss like this doesn't make sense logically, but in the eyes of promotions and potential opponents, a fight won't be as lucrative.

Herring is a former world champion in his own right and deserves to be respected, but promotions in this day and age do not see the playing field as equal when boxing records are called into question. The fewer losses, the better for world championship-level fighters.

Prospects salivate at the idea of fighting someone like Herring because he could be considered a gatekeeper, but Herring's goals do not align with this level of opposition. The best thing to do is to find another ranked opponent in the United States, which may be difficult depending on promotions and managers.

Many variables can shift the career of a fighter, but Jamel Herring has made the right moves in the past. It can be assumed that he'll continue to make educated business decisions for himself, and get himself back into world championship contention.