It seems Gervonta Davis had been reflecting on it for some time. Only the random Twitter post probably gave Gervonta Davis the opportunity to get it off his chest. Following the Ryan Garcia win, the lightweight king returned from a year-long break to defend his title against Frank Martin. Notwithstanding the threat’ The Ghost’ posed, the Baltimorean registered yet another win in a typical trademark style. Talk about his next outing has occupied the general discourse ever since.

Excitement peaked when reports of a title unification fight with Vasyl Lomachenko surfaced. But it all came to naught as the Ukrainian champion decided to take a break until next year. Then rumors of a potential clash with Shakur Stevenson also emerged. Since then there have been several hints and suggestions about ‘Tank’ Davis’ second fight, possibly by December. So while he awaits, the sequence from the June 15 fight, where Martin shook him momentarily, had Davis ponder what might have gone wrong. Better still, what he would have done had he been in Martin’s shoes.

Gervonta Davis: That’s On Me

“No, I knew I f**ked up and did something I shouldn’t,” admitted Gervonta Davis. Further elaborating, he said that if he had been fighting in Frank Martin’s position, he would have exploited the moment to its fullest advantage and, who knows, secured an upset win!

The lightweight champion was actually responding to a tweet from a boxing channel. The post featured a sequence from the dying seconds of the seventh round. The message was simple: “Did Frank Martin hurt Tank Davis?🤔”

As in previous fights, ‘Tank’ Davis started slowly during the first title defense as a full champion. After giving away a few early rounds, he started picking up by the sixth. The action heated up in the seventh round.

The breakthrough that never was

With some one-and-a-half minutes left in the round, Gervonta Davis cornered Martin and threw a left uppercut, followed by a right hook to the body. Martin deftly stepped back and kept his right hand down to block the hook. But he missed the incoming left overhand.

However, ‘The Ghost’ continued. With some 25-odd seconds left in the round, he moved away from the ropes. It appears as if he was waiting for Gervonta Davis to attack. The 30-0 star seemingly took the bait and threw a probing jab followed by a straight left to face. But before his left could connect, a counter right from Martin landed perfectly on his face.

It was clear that the shot had hurt the champion. “Oh, counter left Martin that jolted Davis,” said one of the commentators. Another added, “That’s the counter he’s been looking for.” Thankfully for Davis, the setback proved fleeting; he promptly resumed his attack that finally culminated in sending Frank Martin down in the eighth round.

Post-fight, as he revisited the fight with commentator Jim Gray, the swelling under Davis’ right eye appeared quite prominent. He admitted that entering the ring after a long break he felt a bit ‘crusty’ and ‘rusty’.

Perhaps what Gervonta Davis observed may be valid, given his ring instincts. It would be unusual for him not to follow up on the straight right that landed cleanly. Who knows, had Frank Martin kept up the pressure, maybe the lightweight division would have welcomed a new champion to its roster.

Who would you want Gervonta Davis to fight next? Or do you feel he should move up a division?