Rolando “Rolee” Romero predicts WBA “regular” lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis will win his title defense against Frank Martin tonight in Las Vegas.
Lawrie, who earned the biggest payday of his career in 2022 after a sixth-round knockout by Tank, thinks he’s up for a big win against the unbeaten Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) in the main event of the PBC on Prime Video PPV at MGM Garden Arena.
“Tank is going to beat him,” Rolando “Rolee” Romero told FightHype, predicting former champion Tank Davis will win tonight.
Tank returns from a long break
It's unclear how the 29-year-old Gervonta Davis will perform given that he's been out of the ring for 14 months since his win over Ryan Garcia in April 2023 and hasn't shown much interest in his career since winning the huge money.
When boxers take an extended break of a year or more to enjoy the millions of dollars they've earned, they're rarely in top form when they return to the ring.
Tank will be facing Frank Martin instead of a powerhouse at 135lbs so maybe he'll be OK this time, maybe not. Davis has taken his foot off the gas in his career, much like Adrien Broner did in his career, and we saw what happened to him.
If Tank follows his usual pattern, he will take a year off from his bout with Martin and return to the ring in the summer of 2025. He has a penchant for going on long winning streaks while enjoying the fruits of his labor.
Boxing is hard work and it's no fun to go back into the ring and struggle with training and dieting, so it's hard to blame Tank for not wanting to continue.
Martin is the guy who can be beaten, but Tank was chosen as a semi-conditioned opponent because he would likely not take a long break to face high-risk opponents like Shakur Stevenson, Vasiliy Lomachenko, or William Cepeda.
Lawrie's desperate plea for a rematch?
What's unclear is whether Lawrie is trying to appease Tank Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) and bait him into getting one last reward in a much-needed rematch, or whether he believes he's going to win tonight's bout.
It is no secret that former WBA light welterweight champion Rory's career is currently in jeopardy after losing his title to Isaac “Pit Bull” Cruz by eighth-round knockout in March of last year.
Based on how Rory looked in that fight and the one before that, it's hard to see him going much further for the rest of his career unless a miracle occurs, as we saw in his controversial stoppage win over Ismael Barroso in May 2023.
Advice for Frank Martin
“You can't stand in front of Gervonta Davis. Frank Martin, step up and move. Don't stand in front of that guy,” Stephen A. Smith said on his YouTube channel, giving Frank Martin some advice on what to do when he takes on Tank tonight.
“I care about your health. You want to get far away from Gervonta Davis. You don't want this guy following you around and chasing you around while he's throwing some hard punches.
“No, not a tank. You wouldn't see that. Gervonta has iron in both his hands. They call him the lightweight Iron Mike Tyson.”
