Tank Provoked Martin, Benavidez Trained with Son

On June 15 in Las Vegas, USA, Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) will defend his WBA lightweight title (up to 61.2 kg) against Frank Martin (18-0, 12 KOs), and David Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) will face Oleksandr Gvozdyk (20-1, 16 KOs) for the interim WBC light heavyweight title (up to 79.4 kg).

Gervonta Davis and Frank Martin held their final press conference and stare-down. Martin shared that he is fully focused on the fight: "Don’t miss, don’t stumble. If he does – you will all see Gervonta Davis knocked out. If he acts crazy, he will go to sleep. We know Davis gets outboxed. Even during his last fight when he knocked out Ryan Garcia, Garcia was outboxing him. I just need to go through 12 rounds with him.

You need to be alert all the time. Every second of every round, you need to be ready. Keep your eyes open at all times. The fight is 80% mental preparation and 20% physical. Gervonta is good at confusing his opponents. Everything that has happened has prepared me for what can happen mentally. I’m ready for this. When it comes my way – I’m ready."

Gervonta, who skipped the official fighter arrival, was energetic this time, trying to intimidate Frank during the stare-down, provoking him with words, and even taking a swing at him.

"I’m not a bad guy. I’m a good guy. Just involved in an important sport. That’s all. I don’t fall for anything. I’m not a puppet. I say what I think.

I want to be the best version of myself. I want people to treat me as the best version, as the person I present myself to be. I hate it when someone treats me worse than I am," Davis said.

David Benavidez and Oleksandr Gvozdyk held an open workout where David trained alongside his son.

Oleksandr commented on the upcoming fight, stating that his opponent is ready for the light heavyweight division: "My debut as a professional was at the MGM in Las Vegas. Ten years later, I’m still here, fighting for a title against a top opponent – what could be better? No one is friendly in the ring. I think Benavidez is ready for the light heavyweight division. So we will fight and exchange punches.

I’m in great shape, one of the best in my life. David usually pressures his opponents a lot, throws combinations. I expect a tough fight, but I’m ready for all challenges. I did my preparation very well. I know how to handle him. We’ll see how everything plays out. But I’m ready for any scenario. He will press a lot, and I will try to use my timing. So, I’m ready for all scenarios."

Benavidez’s father and trainer, Jose Benavidez, shared that after the fight with the Ukrainian, he would like his son to face Dmitry Bivol: "Bivol defeated Saul Alvarez, so we wouldn’t mind facing and defeating this guy. It would be an honor for us to fight Bivol because he beat Ramirez, he beat Canelo. If we can deal with the guy who beat the so-called face of boxing, then I think David will be in a better position than he is now."