Gervonta “Tank” Davis will return from a lengthy absence from the ring to defend his WBA #2 135-pound title against Frank Martin in the 12-round main event tonight at PBC on Prime Video PPV. The event kicks off at 8pm ET.
Boxing News 24 will provide you with live updates and results from tonight's Tank vs Martin fight below.
Former WBC super middleweight champion making his debut at 175 pounds David Benavides (29-0, 24 KOs) looked slow, sluggish and weak, but won a 12-round unanimous decision. Oleksandr Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs) to win the WBC interim light heavyweight title by scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 119-119-109.
Boxing News 24 scored the fight 114-114. It wasn't a huge shock when the judges awarded the win by a wide margin to A-side fighter Benavidez, who is heavily pushed to be the next “face of boxing,” putting Gvozdyk in a position where he would have to dominate to have any chance of winning.
Realistically it should have been a draw, but Benavidez was so bad we were lucky to get the score tonight.
Benavidez was completely worn down by the middle of the bout and was outgunned by the 37-year-old Gvozdyk from the seventh round onwards. Early on, Benavidez overpowered the sluggish former WBC champion with his speed and punch combinations, but he lacked power.
By the sixth round, Benavidez looked exhausted and was dominated by Gvozdyk from that point on. The win puts Benavidez in the mandatory running for WBC champion Artur Beterbiev's title shot and he will face the winner of a matchup against unbeaten Dmitry Bivol.
Former WBA champion in upset Alberto Puelo (23-0, 10 KOs) Defeating an undefeated opponent Gary Antuan Russell (17-1, 17 KOs) by 12-round split decision to win the WBC interim 140-pound belt. The judges scored the fight 118-109 for Russell, 115-112 and 114-113 for Puello.
Russell looked slow and sluggish, and Puello was able to outmaneuver him with combinations and movement.
WBC Middleweight Champion Carlos Adames (24-1, 18KO) Lost due to punching power Terrell Gausha (24-4-1, 12 KOs), won by 12-round unanimous decision with scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 118-110.
Adames landed a lot of big power shots, giving him the advantage over the weaker puncher Gausha. Although Gausha was responsible for most of the attacks, they consisted mostly of jabs and weak shots that were not very effective.
Super middleweight veteran Kyron Davis (18-3-1, 6 KOs) won a 10-round split decision against a previously unbeaten opponent. Elijah Garcia (16 wins, 1 loss, 13 KOs).
The scores were 99-93, 97-93 for Chiron and 98-92 for Garcia. Boxing News 24 scored the fight 98-92 for Garcia. Surprisingly, Chiron was victorious as he spent almost the entire fight pinned against the ropes.
It was hard for Chiron to win more than a round or two in this bout, as he was taking body shots from Garcia throughout the bout, and he didn't seem equipped to compete in the center of the ring against a younger, busier and stronger fighter.
Chiron fought like a veteran and was unable to take the center of the ring against the younger fighter, so it was shocking that the referee awarded him the victory by such a large margin.
The 21-year-old Garcia dominated the PBC fighter throughout the bout, pinning him against the ropes and landing non-stop body punches as he appeared to be in control of the bout.
In the ninth and tenth rounds, Garcia headhunted, landing heavy power shots on the 29-year-old and taking control of the bout.
Benavidez aims for light heavyweight title
The semifinal bout between David Benavidez and Oleksandr Gvozdyk looks set to be a slightly more evenly matched contest than the main event.
Confident in his abilities and not afraid to let others know, Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) will move up to 175 pounds for the first time to face Gvozdyk (20-1, 16 KOs) for the WBC interim light heavyweight title.
The winner of this bout will likely compete in a big-money bout for the 175-pound title in Saudi Arabia, which is why Benavidez chose to move up from 168 pounds.
Event details and full card
Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas
Start time: 8:00pm ET/5:00pm PST.
Ring Walk: Around 11pm EST/4am UK time.
The main card will air on PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view at 8pm ET/5pm PT.
Gervonta Tank Davis vs. Frank Martin
David Benavidez vs Oleksandr Gvozdyk
Gary “Antuan” Russell vs. Alberto Puello
Carlos Adames vs. Terrell Gausha
Preliminary Judging begins at 5:30pm ET/2:30pm PST
Elijah Garcia vs. Kyron Davis
Mark Magsayo vs. Eduardo Ramirez
Royman Villa vs. Ricardo Salas
Fans will be curious to see how Tank Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) handles his first career A-level opponent when he defends his title against Frank Martin (18-0, 12 KOs). Both fighters are hard-hitting punchers with styles designed to attack and devastate.
The 29-year-old Martin is returning from an 11-month break and appears to have pushed himself hard to make weight for Friday's bout, so he'll have plenty of time to rehydrate before tonight's main event against Tank Davis.
If Davis can pull off a spectacular victory here, he could move on to a unification bout with the IBF lightweight champion.
