It seemed only a matter of time until the patented Gervonta “Tank” Davis knockout punch was coming as he continued to back Frank Martin into the corner Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden. That didn’t make the decisive blow any less dramatic on the historic arena’s 100th night of championship boxing . Davis staggered Martin with a flurry in the corner early in the eighth round and then landed a thunderous walk-off left hand, sprinting across the ring and climbing the ropes to celebrate before the referee could even begin his anticlimactic count.
“It was the uppercut (that hurt him),” Davis said. “Then boom!” Davis (30-0, 28 knockouts) retained the WBA world lightweight title. In the co-featured bout, star David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) claimed the WBC interim world title in his first fight moving up to light heavyweight with a unanimous decision over former world champ Oleksandr Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs).
Davis was far flashier with his victory in the headliner. Martin (18-1, 12 KOs) had success early, but the power of Davis started to take a toll and slow Martin down. He started to regularly seek relief in the corner, which only made him more of a sitting target.
“I got to chilling too much on the ropes,” Martin conceded. “That damn sure wasn’t part of the game plan.” Eventually, Davis found the range and unloaded a left hand with Martin’s defenses down and his wits momentarily absent.
There was little doubt the fight was over from there. “I just ha.
