Frank Martin’s fifteen minutes of fame could come to a screeching halt if he accepts the fight that Shakur Stevenson is ready to make next.
Martin (17-0, 12 KOs) called out lightweight champions Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Devin Haney last Saturday night after his impressive lopsided 12 round unanimous decision win over Michel Rivera on Showtime at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
While being celebrated by the media for his victory over the badly flawed Ali-lookalike Rivera (24-1, 14 KOs), Martin made it known that he’d like to face WBA ‘regular’ 135-lb champion or undisputed champ Haney next.
Martin defeated the 24-year-old Rivera in their WBA lightweight title eliminator by the scores 120-107, 117-110, and 118-109. However, Haney and Tank Davis aren’t going to be available in the first half of 2023, which leaves the 27-year-old Martin with an open schedule for his next fight.
If Martin needs a big-name opponent to keep moving his career forward, Shakur is the guy. Now it’s up to the Errol Spence-promoted Frank Martin to decide if he’s willing to step inside the ring with the former two-division world champion Stevenson next or if he’s not up to the task, and would prefer another Rivera-like opponent.
“I promise you, I will fight the dude in a heartbeat. [He’s a] good fighter, nothing but respect. I’m like that I promise y’all 👍🏾” said Shakur Stevenson on Twitter, saying he wants Frank Martin fight.
If Martin wants to keep his popularity going upward, he’s got to accept the call out from Shakur and show that he’s capable of beating better fighters.
Martin’s management did their homework on Michel Rivera before they decided to take this fight because if they thought there was any chance that he would lose, they would have never taken it.
There would be a genuine chance that Martin would lose to Shakur Stevenson and be made to look bad in the process. But if Martin is as good as he, his fans, and some of the fawning media members believe him to be, he’s got to accept the Shakur fight.
If Martin can’t beat Shakur, he will not defeat Tank Davis and Devin Haney, and he might not even beat the contenders Vasyl Lomachenko, Isaac Cruz, or William Zepeda.