What’s next for Gervonta Davis, David Benavidez and Subriel Matias after Saturday’s fights?
Gervonta Davis cemented his status Saturday as one of the sport’s best fighters with another highlight-reel KO.
One of Davis’ patented left uppercuts dazed Frank Martin before a left cross sent the defenseless challenger crashing to the mat for the count of 10 in Round 8. Davis, ESPN’s No. 7 pound-for-pound boxer, could face Vasiliy Lomachenko later this year in a lightweight summit meeting.
“Tank” Davis’ successful WBA lightweight title defense was billed as the 100th championship fight at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. The bout was Davis’ first in 14 months — a seventh-round TKO of Ryan Garcia last April — and first since a 44-day jail stint last summer.
David Benavidez made his light heavyweight debut in the PBC PPV co-feature with a comfortable unanimous-decision victory over former champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk. While Benavidez didn’t secure the stoppage, he did impress as he looks toward far bigger fights at 175 pounds.
Elsewhere Saturday, Australia’s Liam Paro scored a major upset with a decision win over Subriel Matias to capture the IBF junior welterweight title.
Here’s what we learned from each of those three fights, along with the title implications following the results:
Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) reminded everyone he’s one of the sport’s most-electrifying fighters with another spectacular KO victory. Martin was game and banked some early rounds with a sharp jab. All three judges gave Martin the first three rounds.
Fighting in his first title bout, Martin was able to mark up Davis’ right eye with left hands as he boxed off the back foot, but “Tank” is usually a slow starter. This night was no different.
Davis’ educated pressure began to wear Martin down behind his southpaw jab and followed with explosive left hands. It was a matter of time until one of those shots landed flush, and when it did, Martin couldn’t absorb it.
