By Allan Fox: Trainer Derrick James believes his fighter Frank Martin is now ready for the big time against top lightweights Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, Shakur Stevenson & Ryan Garcia after his impressive 12 round unanimous decision win over previously unbeaten fringe contender Michel Rivera on December 17th on Showtime in Las Vegas.
James maintains that the 27-year-old Martin (17-0, 12 KOs) still hasn’t shown everything he has in his toolbox after shellacking highly respected Rivera with one-sided scores 120107, 117110, and 118109.
It might be too big of a jump up in competition for Detroit, Michigan southpaw Frank Martin to go from fighting the likes of Rivera and Jackson Marinez to taking on the murderer’s row of the 135-lb division against Tank Davis, Shakur Stevenson, and Ryan Garcia.
Although Martin is older than Shakur & Ryan, he hasn’t faced a transition guy that would prepare him to fight those guys or Tank. Ideally, you’d like to see the Errol Spence Jr-promoted Frank fight some of these guys before he faces Tank, Ryan, or Shakur:
- Jamaine Ortiz
- William Zepeda
- Isaac Cruz
- Chris Colbert
- George Kambosos Jr
- Jeremiah Nakathilia
- Edwin De La Santos
“Frank Martin is an amazing fighter. The thing about Frank is that people haven’t seen the best version of him yet. He hasn’t been pushed to use all the other tools,” said trainer Derrick James to The Last Stand podcast when asked about lightweight contender Frank Martin.
“He gets a victory over Michel Rivera, and it shows that he’s really a serious fighter, and he’s really somebody that people should look at as a serious contender.
“I think he’s at that level,” said James when asked if Frank Martin is ready for Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, Shakur Stevenson, and Ryan Garcia.
“My prospect of the year is Frank Martin,” said Chris Mannix to DAZN Boxing Show. “If you look at the body of work that Frank Martin had in 2022, he collected some impressive wins as he put his name on the map in the 135-lb division.
“He started the year beating Romero Duno, who is not what he was a couple of years ago when he fought Ryan Garcia, but that was solid. He goes in the middle of the year and beats Jackson Marinez by a knockout.
“Again, Jackson Marinez is not what he was a couple of years ago, but this is still the same guy that was robbed by Rolly Romero in a couple of fights before that. Jackson Marinez is a solid win.
“He [Martin] finished the year beating Michel Rivera, which was a prospect vs. prospect showdown. It was the kind of fight that you don’t see at this level.
“Not until these guys get a few more wins. They can avoid each other and maybe get in title contention. You don’t see fights like that happen. Frank Martin took that fight, and he dominated that fight.
“For my money, Frank Martin is the best prospect in boxing and the prospect of the year,” said Mannix.
“Chris Mannix, you’re a writer. You should know what the word prospect means,” said Sergio Mora. “Frank Martin is 27 years old. That’s not a prospect. He has 17 fights; that’s not a prospect.
“Prospects usually have under ten fights. For me and for everyone that knows boxing, Keyshawn Davis is your man. That’s a fighter that has only seven fights. He’s only 23 years old, and he has the goods. He’s an Olympian.
“That’s your prospect of thee years. That’s the one with the sky being the limit. We know what Frank Martin is already. He’s a fringe contender. He knows he’s going to be something special, but at 27 years old, you can’t call him a prospect anymore,” said Mora.
