The full under-card for the (still not sold-out) Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor show is still to be announced, but it seems red-hot 130-pounder Gervonta Davies will make the second defence of his IBF title at The T-Mobile on August 26, against former WBO champ Roman “Rocky” Martinez.
Davies, 18-0(17) needs tougher, bigger fights perhaps, but at age 22, “Tank” needs time to fully develop into the great fighter many people think he can and will become, so a fight against the Puerto Rican makes decent enough sense – even if Martinez has done nothing to earn himself a shot at another world title.
Martinez, 29-3-3(17) didn’t do very well the last time he faced a southpaw, even though he was going up against the formidable skills belonging to Vasly Lomachenko in his last fight, back in June of last year. Lomachenko iced Martinez in spectacular, not to mention brutal fashion, and it’s hard to see Davies doing a more destructive job next month.
Make no mistake, the 34 year old from Vega Baja will enter the ring as one huge outsider against Davies, a fighter many good judges have tipped for super-stardom. With all due respect to Martinez and his toughness, this fight, if it actually happens, will be more of a showcase for Davies.
In his prime, Martinez was a very good fighter, beating the likes of Miguel Beltran Junior, Diego Magdaleno and Orlando Salido. Martinez back then was tough, tough, tough. But these big wins came between 2012 and 2015. And age aside, how much did that nasty KO loss at the hands of Lomachenko take out of Martinez?
This one looks like a pretty straightforward win for Davis, with the only question being, how long can “Rocky” last against the “Tank?” Davies, last seen proving way too good for Britain’s Liam Walsh in May, is currently fighting at a frequent pace, with the Martinez fight being his third bout of this year. And maybe, if he does away with Martinez without too much trouble, Davies will get a fourth fight in here in 2017.
