The boxing weekend was centered in Las Vegas for the latest Amazon/PBC pay per view and while the card saw two upsets, the fights at the top of the slate played out as expected.
Frank Martin boxed well at the start of the fight but slowly became more stationary and when you are in punching range of Gervonta Davis, a fighter is always in the danger zone.
I had Martin slightly ahead at 67-66 after seven rounds but he wouldn't see another scored round as Davis landed a crunching uppercut followed by a left that knocked Martin down and out in round eight for the conclusive ending.
Davis retained his WBA lightweight title with the knockout and he called out the remaining three champions in the division after the win.
WBC champion Shakur Stevenson becomes a promotional free agent after his next fight which would be the biggest fight but would Stevenson accept the likely B-side payday for such a fight?
IBF champion Vasyl Lomachenko (Top Rank) is unlikely and Top Rank also holds options (I believe) on WBO boss Denys Baranchyk, who would likely leap at a career-best payday otherwise.
Davis's problem is that unless he willingly works with promoters outside the PBC brand, his list of potential opponents is small.
Martin's resume wasn't bulked with top names and he was the best PBC fighter at Davis's weight.
Should Davis move to 140, a rematch with WBA champion Isaac Cruz might have some mild appeal as the best option.
At 29, it's time for Gervonta Davis to decide what he wants his legacy in the sport to be.
Does he want to bank lots of money (which he has done and will continue to do) and add to a career that is filled with spectacular knockouts against good opponents who aren't the elite?
Or does he want to face the best and take a chance of losing with the upside of winning and being remembered as the best of his era?
The comparison is the career of another PBC performer- Deontay Wilder.
Like Davis, Wilder notched spectacular knockouts against average competition, accumulating a high quantity of wins rather than quality (Wilder's best wins in his career are his decision win over Bermane Steverne in their first fight and his two wins over Luis Ortiz) before finally stepping up for his first fight against Tyson Fury.
Wilder finished 0-2-1 in his three fights against Fury and if not for a one-round squash match KO of Robert Helenius, Wilder hasn't won a fight since November 2019.
Wilder falls just short of the Hall of Fame in my opinion and while Davis still has plenty of time for the legacy-setting fights, his best wins to date are over Isaac Cruz (a win that looks much better now than it did when the two squared off) with other good wins that all have asterisks beside them.
Ryan Garcia, who unwisely agreed to weight demands and essentially quit, an undersized and overrated Leo Santa Cruz, and Jose Pedraza, who has lost to the best that he has fought as well.
I'll give Davis credit for the Pedraza win as that was when Pedraza was at the top of his game and his opposition is better than Wilder's but it still lacks that signature victory that comes to mind when a great fighter's name is brought up in conversation.
Deontay Wilder would eventually take the chance against better opposition and it might be argued that had he made the decision earlier in his career, his career could been even better (I could see Wilder landing the right hand and taking out Anthony Joshua when both were unbeaten heavyweight champions), will Davis wait too long to make his move as well?
I think Gervonta Davis could beat any of the three other champions (could, not will).
The question is when will he take the risk?
I'll have the rest of the boxing weekend tomorrow.
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