By Alan Dawson
LAS VEGAS — Ever since a kick-off press conference on the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia fight week in Las Vegas last month, Gervonta Davis has been determined to expose what he perceives as Frank Martin’s weaknesses.
Back in May, at a particularly heated media event attended by Boxing News at the MGM Grand, ‘Tank’ Davis pointed a finger at Martin and asserted, “You don’t like body shots!”
He then showed Martin alleged sparring footage involving them both.
Davis wanted to portray to the media that the clip illustrated Martin’s vulnerability when taking body blows. That’s how Martin perceived it.
“He didn’t show me anything,” Martin told Boxing News and other reporters after a workout at the Pound For Pound gym in Las Vegas last week. “He made it seem like he was showing me footage of us sparring.
“But the video he showed on his phone wasn’t us throwing punches; it was more like wrestling, not exchanging blows.”
Tank Davis and Frank Martin at the final press conference
Martin stated that if weaknesses were evident in the footage, the media would have already seen it. “He just wanted to make it seem like it was something,” the 29-year-old said to us. “That’s who he is. He’s trying to convince you all.”
Fast forward five days and Davis is continuing to highlight what he sees as Martin’s weaknesses.
This included observations like how Martin appeared nervous at Wednesday’s press conference at the MGM Grand, his “fake” foot movement, and being a mediocre opponent. Davis even criticized Martin for being from “the suburbs.”
“When he came on stage, he was shaking,” Davis remarked. “He seemed a bit scared. He was talking tough yesterday, but today he’s shaking up there.”
Davis kept belittling Martin, questioning what Martin brings to the table that he hasn’t already seen.
Tensions rose 30 minutes into the press conference when Martin recounted their sparring session and claimed, “He got clipped, grabbed, and his legs shook.”
Davis raised his voice and refuted the claim, insisting that Martin did not clip him. He then confronted Martin on stage.
Martin maintained his composure compared to Davis, stating, “[The fight] can go down however he wants it to. If he acts up, he’ll get knocked out. Power, this and that … if he comes in acting crazy, he’ll be put to sleep.”
On Saturday, Davis will have the chance to substantiate his claims publicly over the last month that Martin is scared, susceptible to body shots, and has questionable footwork. They headline a Premier Boxing Champions event on Prime Video and PPV.com following a chief support fight at light heavyweight between David Benavidez and Oleksandr Gvozdyk.