4 Best Opponents for Gervonta Davis After Win vs. Frank Martin

4 Best Opponents for Gervonta Davis After Win vs. Frank Martin0 of 4

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To others, not so much.

Regardless, there’s little debate that Gervonta Davis is a big deal.

The WBA’s champion at 135 pounds added another log to his pay-per-view fire on Saturday night with an eighth-round knockout of previously unbeaten contender Frank Martin in his first appearance atop an Amazon Prime Video show from the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

It was the 30th victory in as many fights for the 29-year-old Davis, who defended for the fifth time in a lightweight reign stretching back to 2019.

He’s won titles at 126, 130 and 140 pounds at one point or another, too, which keeps several options open going forward when it comes to possible options for his next appearance. The B/R combat team seized on that narrative to compile a list of possibilities for the “Tank” going forward and we invite you to take a look at what we came up with and drop a comment.

Who It Probably Will Be: Isaac Cruz1 of 4

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The first fight was nice, so why not do it twice?

That’d be a welcome result for the future if it means another fight between Davis and Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, who became the first man to go 12 full rounds with the “Tank” as a late substitute for Rolando Romero atop a Showtime pay-per-view show in December 2021.

Davis won seven rounds on two scorecards and eight on another to capture a narrow unanimous decision in the bout, which prompted calls—particularly from Cruz’s team—for a rematch, a prospect that’s gained traction now that Cruz has picked up a belt of his own (the WBA’s title at 140 pounds) with a KO of Romero three months ago in Las Vegas.

Davis fought Saturday. Cruz has a defense set for August.

Then, if Cruz gets his way, the holiday season becomes fight season.

“December is perfect,” his manager, Sean Gibbons, told Boxing Scene. “We’re not chasing Tank now that we have the belt, but everywhere we go, everyone wants to know when we’re fighting Gervonta Davis. He’ll fight. Then Pitbull will fight. And we’ll be ready.”

Who We Wish It Would Be: Shakur Stevenson2 of 4

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It’s an easy fight to wish for.

Davis and Shakur Stevenson share space atop the lightweight mountain with their respective claims to the WBA and WBC title belts, and they’re also frequently within a spot or two of one another on most respected pound-for-pound lists, including B/R’s rundown for June.

They’re both unbeaten and in their 20s, too, which makes it a super fight in the making.

But, because boxing is well, boxing…it’s not such a guarantee.

Davis is aligned with Al Haymon and the Premier Boxing Champions apparatus while Stevenson is promoted by Bob Arum and Top Rank, which makes the prospect of them meeting any time soon about as likely as a snowstorm on South Beach.

That doesn’t stop media types from clamoring for it. Nor does it keep either fighter from suggesting the other is at or near the top of his hit list.

“Trust me, Shakur is going to get that work,” Leonard Ellerbe, who serves as an advisor to Davis, told Boxing Scene. “He’s asking for it, and he’s going to get it. It ain’t what he thinks it is. I can’t wait for it to happen.”

Who It Could Be: Gary Antuanne Russell3 of 4

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So, like we said, boxing is boxing.

Which in this case means the most likely occurrence now that Davis has beaten Martin, who’s also a PBC-aligned fighter, is that he once again stays in the family and moves forward against another previously unbeaten PBC teammate, Gary Antuanne Russell, in his next time around.

Russell, the youngest of a family of boxing brothers, chased his 18th straight win on Saturday’s undercard but dropped a split decision to Alberto Puello that cost him the WBC’s dubious “interim” title belt one weight class up from Davis at 140 pounds.

Previously, his biggest victories came against ex-champions Viktor Postol (TKO 10) and Rances Barthelemy (TKO 6) in February and July of 2022.

He’s spent all of his seven-year career between 136.5 and 139.5 pounds while scoring KOs in all of his wins, but insists he could get to 135 if offered a Davis fight.

“It’d be Tank. Who wouldn’t want to see that,” Russell told The Boxing Voice.

“Me and Tank, that’s fireworks. That’s fireworks. I’m not laying down for nobody. My determination is just different from everybody else.”

What Would Break the Internet: Floyd Mayweather Jr.4 of 4

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This is why we have the internet anyway, right?

So fans and fighters and writer types can engage in device-to-device beefs and make wild suggestions about fantastical fights that could never exist without digital context.

Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Davis and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The two men began with a father/son or mentor/mentee relationship, to the point where Davis was the prime property in Mayweather’s business portfolio as he made the full-time transition from fighting to promoting after retiring from the ring in 2015.

Their union ended in 2021 and soon devolved into a flurry of insults and other snipes, moving to social media during the Martin fight week when Davis warned prospective clients against signing with Mayweather’s company.

“If you sign with this fraud..he will fu** up ya career,” Davis posted on Instagram. “He’s not a good businessman at all.”

That led Mayweather to post a Davis-Martin fight poster with a suggestion the event was canceled, and Davis smiled while including Mayweather on a list of possible foes during an interview with Marca.com, saying “September, November” and indicating that Mayweather, now 47 years old, would be the toughest opponent of the group.

“He feels I’m at this point where I’ll pass him,” Davis said. “And I’m doing it at a young age.”