LAS VEGAS — Frank “The Ghost” Martin became easier to see the more the fight went on, and undefeated lightweight Gervonta “Tank” Davis caught him with a left hook in the eighth round for a knockout Saturday night in front of 13,249 fans at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“I knew he was going to tire out,” Davis said, “and then I started picking him apart.”
Davis, the WBA world champion, walked out to the ring to the “Ghostbusters” theme song with a big smile. Martin was the more active fighter and won most of the early rounds, but Davis started to wind up on some big punches in the second round, landing an uppercut.
And as the fight went on, he landed more body shots and started to stalk Martin, who kept backing himself into the corner.
Earlier, David Benavidez coasted in his light heavyweight debut against Oleksandr Gvozdyk. With the win, Benavidez becomes the mandatory challenger for the winner of Artur Beterbiev’s bout with Dmitry Bivol at 175 pounds. Benavidez is also the mandatory for Canelo Alvarez — and has been calling him out — at 168 pounds.
Davis improved to 30-0 (28 knockouts) after a 14-month layoff. Martin fell to 18-1.
Davis’ last fight was a big seventh-round win with a body punch over Ryan Garcia on April 22, 2023, followed by a 44-day stay in a Baltimore detention center after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges from a 2020 hit-and-run accident.
Davis, like Benavidez, was a 7-to-1 favorite.
In the co-main event, Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) won the interim WBC light heavyweight title by a unanimous decisions (scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 119-109). It was light work against his former sparring partner, who was effective with a jab in the first round but never sat on any of his punches.
Ukraine’s Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs) was too slow for Benavidez, who started connecting on combinations to the head after attacking the body early.
Benavidez said after the fight that he had sustained a cut by his eye three weeks ago and was also fighting with an injured hand.
“I went up in weight … had him hurt a couple of times,” Benavidez said. “I wasn’t throwing a lot of combinations because I reinjured my hand in the third round. I tore my right ligament four weeks before the fight and I hurt my left hand in camp.
“I’m proud of myself because I also got a cut three weeks ago and I pushed through and gave the fans a good fight.”
Saturday night marked the 100th championship fight night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, including Evander Holyfield versus Mike Tyson, George Foreman versus Michael Moorer, Floyd Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao and Tyson Fury versus Deontay Wilder.
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(Photo: Steve Marcus / Getty Images)