Just over a week remains for the ‘Tank’ war. Gervonta Davis (now Abdul Wahid) will defend his WBA lightweight title against Frank Martin at the MGM Grand Arena. The Baltimore Southpaw returns after a year-long break. The period saw his seesaw from the Ryan Garcia triumph to the brush with law. Fans’ spirits were finally lifted when the news came that he would be facing ‘The Ghost’. Predictably, talks about the fight and its potential outcome have become a staple across the board. Errol Spence Jr. now seems to have joined the fray. He shared the direction the June 15 headline fight might take.

However, the reaction soon met its share of detractors. Leonard Ellerbe, despite the bitter feud taking place between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and ‘Tank’ Davis, remains certain about one thing. Taking a dig at Spence Jr., the Mayweather Promotions CEO asserted that the lightweight champion isn’t going anywhere. There’s no way the former unified welterweight champion was going to let it slide.

Errol Spence Jr., it’s time for a change

“I’m not trying hear that shit what you saying is vice versa tank never faced what he facing June 15th either..,” said Errol Spence Jr., clearly refusing to buy Leonard Ellerbe’s post. The Mayweather Promotions, tweeting back to the former world champion’s statement, had tried giving a reality check. To be fair, Ellerbe acknowledged Frank Martin as a good boxer.

However, he then added that ‘The Ghost’ has yet to face a nightmare like ‘Tank’. Negating that Martin won’t succeed in dominating Davis, Leonard Ellerbe said, “If they think Tank going give rounds away, they crazy. Every fight/opponent is a diff approach. One thing for sure: he’s never faced anything like what he’s about to see 15 Jun. I can’t fkn wait [till] next Sat.”

So what precisely did Errol Spence Jr. say? Sharing that he foresees Frank Martin spinning a winner on June 15, the New York-born southpaw said, “I feel like he’s the most skilled talented fighter that Tank ever fought. Like, he’s one of those… he can’t take those early rounds off and feel like he’s gonna come in the seven-eighth round and hope for a knockout. I feel like Frank gonna dominate him first through the 12th round and win a fight.”

Spence Jr. accepted that, as a good fighter, Gervonta Davis might offer some potent resistance. But eventually he would capitulate in front of Frank Martin. ‘The Ghost’ is definitely the best opponent ‘Tank’  could be facing in his decade-long career. The Detroit-born southpaw’s speed and power are going to overwhelm the lightweight champion, Spence Jr. posited. Unsurprisingly, the former world champion’s clip received a response from the man in question as well. Laughing out loud, Gervonta David tweeted, “Get yo money, champ!!”

At the Crossroads: Continuing or Retiring?

Spence Jr. and Frank Martin go back as trainees at Derrick James‘ stable. The former and the award-winning coach are reportedly entangled in a lawsuit. However, as the video shows, the issue doesn’t seem to have clouded the former world champion’s views on a former stablemate. When asked about Errol Spence Jr.’s role in his life, Frank Martin, while speaking with DAZN Boxing a few years ago, revealed that ‘The Truth’ had always been a motivational figure to him.

In the build-up to his upcoming fight, lightweight Frank Martin, alongside trainer Derrick James, made an appearance at Children’s Health hospital in Dallas in support of the Derrick James Family Foundation.

Martin is set to face WBA lightweight titleholder Gervonta Davis on June 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Martin (18-0, 12 KOs), an underdog leading into the fight, is finding causes and people in his life to serve as motivation. Martin has never been a pay-per-view headliner and was only recently elevated to main event status after a star-making performance against Michel Rivera in 2022, winning a unanimous decision over the lightweight contender.

“Everything that I’m working towards is a lot bigger than me,” Martin said. “I do it for the kids, and I do it for my family and friends.”

Since that win, Martin won a close unanimous decision last July over Artem Harutyunyan, who now faces Shakur Stevenson on July 6. Martin was rumored to be an opponent for Stevenson, but the fight fell through and he hasn’t fought since. Despite his detractors and critics, Martin remains focused. He sparred with Davis some years back, which was a talking point of their rowdy press conference. Martin seems to be channeling the mindset of a teacher, looking to empower youth with his comments about the upcoming fight.

“I know that I can inspire others through what I do in the ring, and that’s why I’m putting everything I have into being at my best on June 15,” Martin said.

James also shared his perspective, emphasizing his role as a role model heading into this career-defining fight for Martin.

“I understand how fortunate I am and the opportunities I have been given,” James said. “I also understand my responsibility to the youth in my community. They inspire me to be my best, just like I hope I’m inspiring them.”

Gervonta Davis is set to face Frank Martin on June 15th, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The Baltimore native will be defending his WBA lightweight title against Martin. ‘Tank’ was last seen inside the boxing ring last year, when he fought Ryan Garcia in April 2023. It was one of the biggest fights of the year and amassed millions of dollars. However, is it the case this time around?

The 29-year-old has been out of action for more than a year now. Fans are eager to see him inside the squared circle. Gervonta Davis’ return to the ring has long been predicted to bring in a footfall, unlike other fights of the year. It is now estimated to bring in a gate collection of approximately $14 million. Is that good or bad?

Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin to have a poorer turnout than Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia?

BoxingTickets shared a post on X which read, “The 100 sections have not been opened up yet, leading to the correction of the total possible, “All in” gate potential. An estimate that does not include any production kills or comps. Which are unknown in Nevada due to commission change in reporting.” BoxingTickets revealed the numbers for the upcoming boxing event, and it looks a bit underwhelming despite it being a Gervonta Davis event with David Benavidez as a co-main event. The boxing ticket evaluator highlighted that the event is predicted to bring in a gate revenue of $13.6 million excluding the production costs. This looks disheartening especially for Gervonta Davis fans and for the PBC, the promotion that is putting together the event.

As per reports, the maximum estimated gate is $13.6 million. Comparing this to the gate revenue of Tank’s last fight with Ryan Garcia, the 2023 clash had a gate collection of $22.8 million. Most other big Vegas events have also had a gate collection of close to $30 million. In comparison, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao had a staggering gate collection of $41.4 million back in 2015 when the two fought each other. Whereas Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin II in 2017 saw a gate collection of $36 million. Considering that the event is an Amazon Prime Video PPV event, the PPV income may not be as substantial as it has been for all the other fights that had well-known telecasters like Showtime Boxing and DAZN to sell the fight. This may affect the overall income generated by the event.

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].”