By Norm Frauenheim —Tank Davis looked vulnerable. The sign was there in an ugly bruise, going from red to crimson, beneath his right eye.
But the bruise might as well have been a mask.
For a while, it hid what has always been there. Davis’ quick-strike power is a dynamic that never stays hidden for long.
It struck all over again, this time dropping a gutsy Frank Martin onto his back alongside the ropes Saturday night in a devastating eighth-round knockout at MGM’s Grand Garden Arena in an Amazon Prime fight for the lightweight title.
“No question, I’m back,’’ Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) said. “No question.’’
No doubt, either.
Questions, however, were lurking after about 14-month stretch of no bouts and time in jail at home in Baltimore.
Martin hoped he had the ability to exploit them. And, for a while, it looked as if he might. He danced away. He moved inside, he moved outside with enough agility and courage to bruise Davis.
“But I knew, I knew, he’d tire out,’’ Davis said.
He did. Martin’s quick feet began to slow, round-after-round absorbing Tank’s wicked combinations.
At 1:29 of the eighth, it was finally over. Davis rocked Martin (19-1, 12 KOs) with a succession of punches. It looked as if Martin was ready to fall. Davis made sure of it with a left-handed shot that began at his hip and traveled like a menacing meteor in a direct strike on Martin’s exposed chin.
It was over, an exclamation point, a reminder of Davis’ pound-for-pound credentials and perhaps an even bigger opportunity to prove himself on a bigger stage against Vasiliy Lomachenko later this year.
Benavidez scores unanimous decision in 175-pound debut
It was a debut that demanded a difference.
A different David Benavidez.
That’s what he delivered in his first fight at a heavier weight against an experienced and toughened light-heavyweight.
Oleksandr Gvozydk, a former 175-pound champion, endured Benavidez’ whirlwind arsenal early and tested him with his own fundamental power later.
In losing a unanimous decision to Benavidez Saturday night at the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena, the Ukrainian didn’t tame The Monster in a fighter feared at super-middleweight.
But he did counter his evident mean streak with a durability Benavidez has never really encountered.
“I felt like I had a great fight against a great fighter,’’ said Benavidez, who also said he came into the fight with two injuries – a cut over his right eyelid and a torn tendon in his right hand – suffered two weeks ago. “It was a new weight, a different weight.’’
Benavidez left the ring with two things unchanged. He’s still unbeaten (29-0, 24 KOs). And he still intends to pursue a title at super-middleweight. That means Canelo Alvarez, of course.
“We’re going to go back to 168 and go after the title as a mandatory challenger or maybe if the title becomes vacant,’’ Benavidez said.
That of course, depends on what Canelo decides. But it’s safe to assume he was watching.
Early on, what he and a roaring crowd saw was the Benavidez they witnessed at super-middle.
He came out in the first round, shuffling, side
to-side while displaying some newfound head movement.
His father and trainer, Jose Benavidez Sr. had promised a renewed emphasis on defense and his son didn’t disappoint, at least not through the first three minutes.
In the second and third, there were moments when the 27-year-old Benavidez made the 37-year-old Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs) look stiff, if not awkward.
The Ukrainian wasn’t exactly a stationary target. But he was there, in front of Benavidez, and open to a wide variety of punches thrown at alternating angles and speeds.
Gvozdyk couldn’t dodge them all. Benavidez’ punches are like debris in a tornado. They’re coming from everywhere. Example: In the sixth round, it looked as if Gvozdyk had begun to find his range with straight-handed shots.
They were beginning to slow down Benavidez. But in a momentary switch of momentum, Benavidez unleashed a triple shot – three right hands, each from a different angle and all three travelling at a blinding velocity.
From round-to-later round, however, Gvozdyk was there, an edifice impossible to bring down. Benavidez tried in an apparent attempt to fulfill his promised knockout.
Instead of a KO, however, there was only fatigue to go along with another victory in his introduction to a bout that also provided a reminder: There’s a reason for weight classes.
Puello scores SD over Russell/Tank-Martin card
Alberto Puello survived.
He survived a penalty for holding.
He survived a scorecard that suggested he never had a chance.
Turns out, survival was sweet.
Puello scored a split decision over a stronger, quicker Gary Russell (17-1, 17 KOs) for an interim junior-welterweight belt Saturday on the Amazon Prime card featuring David Benavidez-OleksansdrGvodzykand Tank Davis-Frank Martin Saturday at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.
Puello (23-0, 10 KOs), of The Dominican Republic, won on two cards, 114-113 and 115-113. It was a close fight from almost every perspective but one. Judge David Hudson scored it for Russell, 118-109
It was a hard fight to watch. A hard fight to score, too.
But Carlos Adames (24-1, 18 KOs) did what he had to, keeping the World Boxing Council’s version of the middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Terrell Gausha Saturday on the Amazon Prime card featuring David Benavidez-Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Tank Davis-Frank Martin.
One-sided scorecards — 118-110, 119-109, 118-110 — make it sound as if Adames, of The Dominican Republic, had an easy day at the office. He didn’t. Gausha (24-4-1, 12 KOs) tested him repeatedly in the later rounds. But it was never quite enough for the middleweight from Encino CA to sore an upset.
Kyrone Davis scores split-decision over Elijah Garcia
Elijah Garcia made the weight.
But lost the fight.
Kyrone Davis (19-3-1, 6 KOs) took some of the promise out of Garcia’s ambitious career Saturday with a careful, yet effective pace Saturday, scoring a split decision over the Phoenix middleweight in a bout that was preceded by controversy.
Late Friday, there were doubts about whether the bout, already postponed once, would even happen.
Garcia missed weight, coming in at 165.4 pounds and then 163. Davis was at 160.4.
Davis trainer Stephen Breadman Edwards demanded that Garcia weigh-in again Saturday morning, a few hours before opening bell at MGM’s Grand Garden Arena.
Breadman threatened to cancel the bout if Gracia was heavier than 173 pounds in the morning weigh-in. He wasn’t. According to the official bout sheet, he was at 163.2. The fight was on, but the early pace belonged to Davis.
He came into the ring looking angry, perhaps anxious to take out some frustration on Garcia (16-1, 13 KOs). At opening bell, however, he exhibited only poise. He patiently measured the distance between him and Gracia with a jab. Then, he followed with repeated rights.
For four or five rounds, Gracia looked tentative, perhaps because of the weight controversy or maybe because of Davis’ tactical patience.
Whatever it was, the slow start proved costly. Davis won on two cards, both by 97-93 scores. On the third card, it was 98-92 for Garcia, who stepped up the pace and his level of aggression, especially from the seventh through the 10th rounds. The Arizona southpaw moved forward, trying to walk down Davis while also landing a succession of head-rocking combos.
But, in the end, it wasn’t enough to save Garcia from his first pro defeat, a loss and perhaps a lesson for a young fighter
Magsayo wins one-sided decision
Mark Magsayo (26-2, 17 KOs), a Filipino junior-lightweight, scored a third-round knockdown and then scored repeatedly over the next seven rounds for a decision — as thorough as it was unanimous — over Mexican Eduardo Ramirez (28-4-3,13 KOs) in the sixth bout on the Tank-Martin card Saturday.
After Magsayo rocked Ramirez with an uppercut and then dropped him with a straight hand, Los Mochis fighter continued, but never with much purpose or energy in what what turned into a dull bout.
Justin Viloria stays unbeaten, scores fifth-round TKO
Justin Villoria (6-0, 4 KOs), a 19-year-old junior-lightweight from Whittier CA, had all of the energy and most of the punches in overwhelming Mexican Angel Contreras Saturday on the Tank Davis-Frank Martin card.
Villoria knocked down Contreras (15-9, 9 KOs) in the fourth and again the fifth, both times with body punches. Seconds after the second knockdown, an exhausted Contreras took a knee, a TKO surrender at 2:02 of the fifth round.
Phoenix junior-featherweight impressive in pro debut
Hello, Brayan Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, a junior-featherweight from Phoenix, was impressive in his professional debut, scoring a first-round knockdown and staggering James Mulder again in the fourth in an afternoon bout hours before the Tank Davis-Frank Martin main event..
Mulder (0-2), of Antioch CA, never had a chance. Never scored a point either. It was 40-35 on all three cards, all for Gonzalez (1-0).
Benavidez-trained Blancas stays unbeaten with first-round stoppage
David Benavidez’ stable is 2-0 through the early fights on a card that will feature its star attraction Saturday night in a light-heavyweight debut against Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
Daniel Blancas (10-0, 5 KOs), a super-middleweight from Milwaukee, didn’t waste any time, flashing Benavidez-like power with a sweeping hook for a first-round stoppage of German Aro Schwartz (23-8-1, 15 KOs).
Ohio junior lightweight does enough to win majority decision
It was a hard fight to score. Neither fighter did much, but Peggy Whitmore (3-0), a junior-lightweight from Ohio, did more, winning a majority decision (39–37, 39-37, 38-38) over Mia Ellis (7-3, 6 KOs), of Baltimore, in the second bout on the Tank Davis-Frank Martin card
First Bell: Benavidez-trained featherweight opens marathon show with unanimous decision
First bell sounded like a morning alarm.
It echoed through an empty arena, signaling a noon-time start to a card that eventually will feature David Benavidez-versus-Oleksandr Gvozydk in a light-heavyweight fight and Tank Davis-versus-Frank Martin for the lightweight title Saturday at the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena.
Reina Tellez (8-0-1, 5 KOs), a San Antonio featherweight and a fighter in the Benavidez stable, got the marathon started, winning a four-round, unanimous decision over a taller, yet slower Beta Dudek ((4-2, 4 KOs) of Slovakia.
