Reporters’ star ratings for main events and undercards are based on in-ring entertainment, competitiveness and whether overall expectation was met
Alan Dawson
@AlanDawsonSport
RINGSIDE
THERE is no crowd in boxing with a reaction more raucous than when Gervonta Davis adds another knockout to his highlight reel.
‘Tank’ Davis is typically a slower starter, and doesn’t just throw for the sake of throwing. He’s patient. The tension builds. But then once he’s found his spots and he puts his punches in bunches, it rouses his fans who have come to expect only one thing from him — a brutal, calculated, beatdown.
Against Frank ‘The Ghost’ Martin, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, June 15, Martin lasted to the eighth before succumbing to Tank’s exorcism.
In the middle of the round, when Martin had his back to a neutral corner, Davis launched a right hook-left uppercut-left hook combination that sent his lightweight rival to the canvas. Martin lay flat on the ground. His eyes, though wide open, looked vacant. There was barely any point in administering a count. It was over.
That moment, when Davis secures a finish so nasty you can’t help but wonder if the opponent is even okay, is the most electrifying in all sports. There’s really nothing like it. There are
