Frank Martin Ignored Derrick James’ Instructions Before the Eighth Round Against Gervonta Davis and Paid the Price in Blood

“A teacher can only guide; it’s the student who must take the test,” so goes the saying. To all appearances, boxing might appear as an individual sport. However, there’s machinery that stands behind the boxer dueling in the ring. More than anyone else, the trainer is perhaps the most important cog in the wheel. Why? For, most of the times, they have been there and seen that. Hence, they are in a vantage position to guide the charge in the best possible way. But more often than not, their counsel falls on deaf ears. To what end? The boxer eventually suffers unbearable repercussions.

Frank Martin, as some of the corner footage displays, received some instructions from his trainer before his eighth-round knockout. However, ‘The Ghost’, it’s been suggested, instead opted for a different route. Then, as it happened, it only gave Gervonta Davis an opportunity that saw Martin cruising to the dreamland. Clips of the corner discussion between Martin and his trainer, Derrick James, have been garnering some attention on social media.

Favorable recommendations to bust the ‘Ghostbusters’

“Break before going into the 8th round,” the caption of the tweet from @dantheboxingman read. He further wrote, “Derrick James telling Frank Martin that when he’s in the ropes to go the left, ..not the right, where he’d basically be walking into one of Tank’s punches.“

So the clip shows Derrick James addressing Frank Martin before the eighth round. While the cutman is tending to the latter’s face, referee Harvey Dock could be seen checking with Martin to see if he was all right. On account of the high level of noise at the venue, the audio of the discussion between James and Frank Martin is not very clear.

However, from his hand actions and the few words that were distinct, it could be made out that Derrick James wanted Frank Martin to move to his left instead of the right whenever ‘Tank’ pushed him to the ropes. As most fans know, the Baltimorean, a southpaw himself, would invariably throw his powerful left-hand shots if Martin walked into the range. They may eventually prove fatal for the Philadelphian.

So what’s the tactical recourse? Stay out of Davis’ left-hand by shifting to his right (Martin’s left). That way, ‘Tank’ would shoot his arsenal diagonally, and that might off-balance him.

Frank Martin: About Turn!

But it seems things didn’t happen the way Derrick James wanted. Frank Martin increasingly found himself pushed to the ropes. To escape from ‘Tank’s onslaught, he instead started moving to his right. It only led the Baltimorean to land more accurate punches. With dangerous efficiency, Gervonta Davis was able to make more connections to Frank Martin’s body and head with relative ease.

‘The Ghost’ started the eighth round on a strong note. However, ‘Tank’ soon pushed him to a corner and started with a left cross to the face. What was Frank Martin doing? To clear out, he kept on moving to his right. Then a right upper cut boxed him. The epilogue saw him first swirl with ‘Tank’s right hook. The following left uppercut had Frank Martin dazed. With both his hands down, all it needed was Gervonta Davis’ powerful left hand to clinch the deal.

It should be understood that, like a battle, a fight in the ring is a fluid situation. Both boxers need to constantly improvise, change, and adjust themselves according to the opponent’s moves. Hence, it is difficult to gauge what exactly is going on in a boxer’s mind in a particular situation. So it would be unfair to judge Frank Martin based on the decisions he took inside the ring. So whether he could have turned the tables on Gervonta Davis had he followed Derrick James’ instructions? May be or may be not .

Remember, he was facing a predator with 29 wins under his belt? So it would be naive to expect that ‘Tank’ wouldn’t have adapted had Martin started moving to his left, per what his trainer told him.

What’s your take on the fight footage? Do you think Derrick James’s valuable advice would have worked for Frank Martin?