It is finally over! Gervonta “Tank” Davis’ fight with Frank Martin ended with a bang. The knockout blow came after relentlessly fighting for 8 rounds before “Tank” Davis decided to corner Frank “The Ghost” Martin at 1:29 of the eighth round. Of course, word traveled around the NFL, but Lamar Jackson, Saquon Barkley, and Sauce Gardner were already hooked on the fight.
The Ravens quarterback took to X and had some strong affirmations about Gervonta Davis as he wrote, “Tank CBFW .”
Just like Jackson, Saquon Barkley had the same emotions about the fight as he also took to X and posted, “Tank really like that !!”
Also, the Jets cornerback Suace Gardner also chimed in and commended the boxers on great sportsmanship. “DAMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN.. GGs,” write Gardner on X.
But that’s not all, because the Tank Davis craze has consumed the football world like some kind of a virus. San Francisco 49ers WR Deebo Samuel sounded a bit disappointed for Frank Martin as he wrote, “Welpp!!!!!”
Even LeSean McCoy came out and gave his two cents, “Tank bout to knock him out .. I ain’t never see tank go straight forward all night .. he making FRANK FIGHT with all that pressure.”
Davis is now the undefeated WBA Lightweight Champion with 30-0-0 record and 28 KOs after defeating The Ghost and leaving him with a chip on his shoulder as he stands 18-1-0 and 12 KOs in his career. Since his debut in 2013, Tank has won world titles across three different weight classes: super featherweight, lightweight, and super lightweight respectively.
Davis’ last fight was against Ryan Garcia in April 2023, where the Baltimore native also won by a knockout win. This is the first loss in Frank Martin’s career as Davis retained the title of worlds lightweight champion.
But coming back to football for a second, ever wondered why so many football players are obsessed with boxing? The obsession has gotten to point where a lot of NFL players tried putting a glove on their hands and became pro boxers.
The NFL-Boxing relationship dates decades back
There have been at least 8 football players since 1953 that have tried their hands at pro boxing. Starting with Charley Powell, who was the youngest player to be drafted in NFLs history. The 49ers DE hung up his cleats to pick up gloves in ’53 and had a 25-11-3 boxing career. One of the greatest fights of his career was against Nino Valdes in 1959, which lasted for 8 rounds and Powell ended up winning.
He even fought Mohammed Ali in 1969, which lasted for 3 rounds and Ali stopped Powell’s from winning the fight. Other honorable mentions would be Ed Jones of the Dallas Cowboys who boxed between 1979-80, Mark Gastineau of the Jets, who had a 15-2 boxing career between 1991-96. Also, Alonzo Highsmith, the Buccaneers fullback had a 27-1-2 career between 1995-98.
