Notebook: Martin ready to put lightweight division on notice
Gervonta Davis released from jail; Tszyu making plans without Charlo; Hrgovic-McKean added to Joshua-Whyte 2 card; BetUS show; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Trainer Derrick James’ Dallas-area gym is home to some of the biggest names in boxing.
Training there are unified welterweight titleholder Errol Spence Jr., who is preparing for his mega undisputed title fight with Terence Crawford on July 29; undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo, who is scheduled to challenge undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 30; former two-time heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua, who will face Dillian Whyte in a rematch on Aug. 12; and lightweight star Ryan Garcia, who is aiming for a fall return.
And then there is the fighter with the least name recognition but also big-time talent in Frank “The Ghost” Martin.
Martin doesn’t get the hype of the other fighters James trains or the stars of the lightweight division such as Gervonta Davis, Garcia, undisputed champion Devin Haney, Shakur Stevenson and Vasiliy Lomachenko. But Martin has a critical fight against Artem Harutyunyan in a WBC lightweight eliminator in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions tripleheader Saturday (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET) at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Martin is looking to put the division on notice.
“I’m gonna do what ghosts do; I’m gonna spook the whole division,” Martin said at the fight-week news conference, which Harutyunyan missed due to having to go through the licensing procedure with the Nevada commission. “It’s gonna be a dominant performance. I’m gonna come out strong.”
Insiders have known about Martin (17-0, 12 KOs), 28, a southpaw from Indianapolis, but he put himself on the map in June in a Showtime main event when he dropped then-unbeaten Michel Rivera in the seventh round and easily won a unanimous decision.
Now Martin is back against 2016 Germany Olympic bronze medalist Artem Harutyunyan (12-0, 7 KOs), 32, who will fight outside of Germany for the first time.
“I’m not looking past Artem, but he’s in the way of me getting the big fights,” Martin said. “I stay in the gym so I’m always ready for the top names. I’m coming for it. I just want a dominant performance. I’m ready for whatever he’s got. He’s a come-forward fighter who tries to switch it up and be awkward. If he comes at me too aggressively, then it’s gonna be man down.”
Martin believes he stacks up with anyone at 135 pounds.
“I’m right up there with anyone in the division. I’m ready for everyone,” Martin said. “I don’t train in the gym day in and day out to not be ready for the best. When the opportunities come, I’m gonna be ready to take them out.
“Everybody in Derrick James’ camp is in there working. There’s even more energy in there to feed off of. Having Errol Spence Jr. and all those other guys in the gym really creates a special atmosphere. They’re gonna see a beast. I have speed, power and defense. They’re gonna see everything on Saturday night.
“Some people don’t respect my opponent because they don’t know who he is, but he’s an Olympic bronze medalist. I have to get Artem out of there and do it in spectacular fashion. I want the stoppage on Saturday night.”
Also on the telecast are two 10-rounders:
In the co-feature, junior welterweight Elvis Rodriguez (14-1-1, 12 KOs), 27, a southpaw from the Dominican Republic, will face former titlist Viktor Postol (31-4, 12 KOs), 39, of Ukraine, with whom he sparred many rounds when they shared trainer Freddie Roach. Postol has lost two fights in a row — a majority decision challenging then-unified titlist Jose Ramirez in August 2020 followed by a 10th-round knockout to Gary Antuanne Russell in February 2022.
Welterweight prospect Freudis Rojas (10-0, 10 KOs), 24, of Las Vegas, and Diego Sanchez (19-2, 16 KOs), 23, a Mexico native fighting out of San Diego.
Davis out of jail
Gervonta “Tank” Davis, the WBA “regular” lightweight titleholder and one of boxing’s biggest stars, was released from a Baltimore jail on Friday, according to the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
On May 5, Davis, 28, a Baltimore native, was sentenced by Baltimore Circuit Judge Althea M. Handy to 90 days of home confinement, three years of probation and 200 hours of community service, which was a suspended term from the 26 months she originally gave him. He pleaded guilty to four of 14 charges, including one felony, in connection to a November 2020 hit-and-run accident while driving without a license in Baltimore that left four people injured, including a pregnant woman.
However, when the judge learned in early June that Davis had broken his home confinement sentence by moving into a luxury hotel and then a new home he had purchased without getting permission from the court, Handy sent him to jail, where served 44 days.
The initial sentencing in May came just 13 days after Davis knocked out Ryan Garcia in the seventh round for the biggest win of his career on April 22 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in a mega event. The Showtime PPV event generated 1.2 million buys and sold $22.8 million in tickets, the fifth-highest gate in Nevada boxing history.
Davis is expected to return to the ring later this year.
Tszyu moving on
When undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo got the unexpected shot at undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, a fight set for Sept. 30 (Showtime PPV) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, it left Tim Tszyu in out in the cold.
Australia’s Tszyu has been Charlo’s long overdue WBO mandatory challenger and had already seen Charlo forced to postpone their Showtime main event scheduled for Jan. 28 due to due to a broken hand and then not be ready to reschedule it in June, as was the plan.
Tszyu stayed busy, winning two fights, including the vacant interim belt and one defense, and plans were being made to reschedule Charlo-Tszyu for the fall. Then Canelo came calling and there went the fight.
Although Tszyu (23-0, 17 KOs), 28, has wanted to fight Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs), 33, of Houston, for quite some time, and is disappointed he won’t get him, Tszyu promoter George Rose of No Limit Boxing told Fight Freaks Unite that nobody on their side is angry at Charlo for opting to fight Alvarez.
“Any man in boxing presented with the opportunity to fight Canelo has to seriously consider or take it,” Rose said. “It’s a chance for one of the biggest payday fights and the chance to make history in defeating one of the greatest fighters of this generation, who has arguably been the face of boxing since Floyd (Mayweather) finished. The frustrating part for us is we know Tim is ready. We know that Tim in September was ready to become undisputed. Very few men have had the chance to become undisputed champion of the world and the Charlo fight was that opportunity.
“I get it though. In Australia, Tim Tszyu is the top dog, so Tim’s fight is always sorted first then everything else falls into place. At PBC, Canelo is a top dog so his fight needs to be sorted first and everything else falls into place. I respect the process. Our target has always been Charlo and those four belts, so every discussion for us has always been focused. On that, we want those belts and that Charlo fight.”
Rose said they will now just go about their business of planning his next fight, staying active and hoping Charlo might want to fight Tszyu after Canelo.
“(Tszyu) wants his next fight locked away and wants to keep fighting,” Rose said. “The inactive boxer lifestyle is not for him. So, he will be back in the ring again soon and then back again and keep fighting his way through the best guys out there. The beauty of Tim Tszyu is you’ll get to see him in action four times per year. He’s focused and ready to go again.”
Charlo has multiple mandatories stacked up with Tszyu supposed to be next up, but none of the organizations have yet clarified their 154-pound title situation in the wake of Charlo signing to fight Alvarez.
Hrgovic-McKean on AJ-Whyte II card
Heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic, the IBF mandatory challenger, will risk the position when he faces fellow unbeaten Demsey McKean on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua-Dillian Whyte heavyweight rematch on Aug. 12 at The O2 in London, Matchroom Boxing announced on Friday, confirming the Fight Freaks Unite report from last week that the bout would land on the card.
The event will stream on DAZN in the United States and worldwide except in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it will be DAZN PPV.
Hrgovic (15-0, 12 KOs), 31, of Croatia, will be coming off a one-year layoff since outpointing Zhilei Zhang in the IBF eliminator, a win the looks even better since Zhang has since stopped Joe Joyce for the WBO interim title.
“The heavyweight champions cannot avoid me any longer and once I have defeated Demsey McKean, they will have no other option but to face me,” Hrgovic said. “I have waited patiently and bided my time but the game is up. ‘El Animal’ is coming for you and is ready to take the belts back to Croatia. McKean will be a tough and strong opponent, but he has never faced anyone as powerful and skilful as me.”
Unified titlist Oleksandr Usyk makes his WBA mandatory defense against Daniel Dubois on Aug. 26 and the winner’s next due mandatory will be the IBF mandatory, meaning if Hrgovic, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, wins he could get his title shot this fall.
McKean (22-0, 14 KOs), 32, an Australian southpaw based in England, is taking a big step up in class.
“I’ve been grinding a big portion of my life for a fight like this,” McKean said. “I’m (potentially) one win away from fighting Usyk for four world titles. This is my world title fight.”
Matchroom also announced that British heavyweight Johnny Fisher (9-0, 8 KOs), 24, will face countryman Harry Armstrong (5-1-1), 30, in a 10-rounder on the card.
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and handicapped three Saturday night fights: the Frank Martin-Artem Harutyunyan WBC lightweight eliminator that headlines the PBC/Showtime card, the junior welterweight co-feature between Elvis Rodriguez and Viktor Postol, and Alycia Baumgardner defending the undisputed women’s junior lightweight title in a rematch against Christina Linardatou, the only women to defeat her, in the Matchroom Boxing/DAZN main event. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Quick hits
Weights from Detroit for Saturday’s Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN (8 p.m. ET): Alycia Baumgardner 129.4 pounds, Christina Linardatou 129.8 (rematch for Baumgardner’s undisputed women’s junior lightweight title); Andy Cruz 134.6, Juan Carlos Burgos 134.2; Jermaine Franklin 241.2, Isaac Munoz 257.4; Ja’Rico O’Quinn 121.2, Carlos Mujica 122.6; Jermarco Holloway 141.8, Angelo Snow 143.6; Cameran Pankey 167.6, Misael Reyes, 123.6; Joseph Hicks 167.6, Ramses Agaton 169.8; Joshua James Pagan 146.2, Gabriel Smith 147.4.
Weights from Las Vegas for Saturday’s PBC card on Showtime (10 p.m. ET): Frank Martin 135 pounds, Artem Harutyunyan 134.6 (WBC lightweight eliminator); Elvis Rodriguez 141.8, Viktor Postol 141.6; Freudis Rojas 146, Diego Sanchez 146.6; Quinton Randall 147.25, Willie Jones 148; Justin Cardona 134.25, Angel Barrera 133.4; Anthony Cuba 134.4, Angel Rebollar 134.4; Alex Holley 146.6, Michael De La Cruz 146.8.
The WBC has signed off on allowing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to face former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in a 10-round nontitle fight on Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The WBC said it approved Fury’s participation because he does not yet have a mandatory defense due. “Tyson Fury received special permission from the WBC to fight Francis Ngannou as there is no official challenger,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said this week. Sulaiman noted that Fury attempted to make fights with Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr., but with no agreement in place for any of them, Fury was approved to fight without the WBC title on the line.
Show and tell
In 1994, Lennox Lewis lost his heavyweight world title by massive upset second-round knockout to Oliver McCall in front of a hometown crowd in London. Lewis would eventually regain it by stopping McCall in the fifth round when McCall had a mental breakdown in the ring. Later, Lewis would become the undisputed champion and, finally, after six years of not fighting in England, it was time for him to have a homecoming fight in London as the undisputed champion. He faced veteran Francois Botha, whose only losses going into the fight had come by stoppage against Mike Tyson and Michael Moorer. Lewis was, of course, the heavy favorite, and this time lived up to that billing by drilling Botha in the second round with one of the fiercest combinations he ever threw in his career. It was a sensational knockout that I picked as the knockout of the year when I was working at USA Today. On the undercard, Wladimir Klitschko dropped Monte Barrett five times en route to a seventh-round stoppage in the bout before winning the first heavyweight world title of his legendary career. The card was on July 15, 2000 — 23 years ago on Saturday. Here is the site poster in my collection.
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Photos: Martin-Harutyunyan: Stephanie Trapp/Showtime; Davis: Amanda Westcott/Showtime; Tszyu: Esther Lin/Showtime; Baumgardner-Linardatou: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing
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Hrgovic McKean will be a good fight
What a letdown that the possible heavyweight showdowns that could have been the culmination of a run of top rung matchups have fizzled. Joshua isn’t exactly climbing back to the elite level with a rerun fight. It’s a high level fight, but it isn’t the sort of fight that I’m really excited to see. Is it all just a gamble that there is a big old pot of Saudi gold that everyone is waiting on?