Detroit native boxer Frank Martin looking to pull off upset versus Gervonta Davis

Frank “The Ghost” Martin is looking to shock the world when he challenges Gervonta “Tank” Davis for the WBA lightweight world title on June 15 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Born in Detroit and raised in Indianapolis, Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) has flown under the radar for some time but a win against Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) could propel his career into stardom.

“It’s a blessing to get this type of opportunity to come out and show the world what I’m about,” said Martin at a press conference ahead of the fight.

29-year-old Martin is a slick, savvy southpaw trained by ESPN’s 2022 Trainer of the Year, Derrick James. Martin is coming off a competitive unanimous decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan in July 2023.

Prior to that, he had a breakout performance against unbeaten Michel Rivera in 2022. Martin now seeks to secure his first world title against Davis.

From Baltimore, Maryland 29-year-old Davis is the self-proclaimed “face of boxing” with fight-ending power in either hand. He is coming off an impressive knockout victory over Ryan Garcia in April 2023.

He will make his first defense of the WBA lightweight world title that was bestowed upon him earlier this year after Devin Haney vacated the belts and moved up a weight class.

Some boxing fans criticize Davis due to his career proceeding in a way that seems to protect his undefeated record. Some argue this matchup is yet another safe fight that was cherrypicked by Davis’ promoter while others say it will be his toughest challenge.

Davis is a huge -700 favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook while Martin is a +450 underdog but Martin is embracing the underdog role.

“That’s something I embrace,” Martin said to TMZ about being the underdog against Tank. “I’m eating off of it. It’s fueling me so it is what it is. You know it ain’t going to change so, I just got to go out there and do the unexpected.”

Saturday won’t be the first time Davis and Martin have clashed in the ring as they are familiar to each other through sparring. During the intense buildup to the fight, Martin and Davis got into a heated argument over sparring sessions at a press conference.

Even though this is Martin‘s first pay-per-view fight, he remains confident that he can pull off the upset.

“I feel like all of my hard work done paid off,” said Martin in an interview with Premier Boxing Champions ahead of the fight. “All the work I’ve put in leading up to the fight and then just all the years and time I put into the sport, I feel like this is one of those moments where it’s life changing. Everything I’ve sacrificed and worked towards this is one of those moments for me to come out on top.”

The bout is the main event to a stacked night of boxing airing live on Amazon Prime at 8 p.m.. In the co-main event, super middleweight champion David Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) will challenge former champion Oleksandr Govzdyk (20-1, 16 KOs) for the WBC interim title. The card will also see bouts from notable contenders including Gary Antuanne Russell, Mark Magsayo, Elijah Garcia.