Gervonta Davis cemented his status as one of the best fighters in the sport on Saturday with another spectacular knockout.

One of Davis’ patented left uppercuts stunned Frank Martin, then a left cross sent the defenseless challenger to the mat in Round 8 for a count of 10. Davis, ESPN’s No. 7 pound-for-pound boxer, would later face Vasily Lomachenko year during a lithe summit meeting.

“Tank” Davis’ successful defense of his WBA lightweight title was billed as his 100th championship fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The fight was Davis’ first in 14 months – a seventh-round TKO of Ryan Garcia last April – and first since a 44-day jail stay last summer.

David Benavidez made his lithe heavyweight debut on PBC PPV with a comfortable unanimous decision victory over former champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk. While Benavidez didn’t secure a stoppage, he did make an impression as he prepared for much bigger fights at 175 pounds.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Australian Liam Paro suffered a major setback after winning a decision over Subriel Matias to capture the IBF junior welterweight title.

Here’s what we learned from each of these three fights, along with the title implications of the results:

in return, Davis’ explosive; Will Lomachenko be next?

Davis (30-0, 28 KO) reminded everyone that he is one of the most electrifying fighters in the sport and has another spectacular KO victory under his belt. Martin was in good form and took advantage of some early rounds with a piercing jab. All three judges gave Martin the first three rounds.

Fighting in his first title fight, Martin was able to mark Davis’ right eye with his left hand, punching from his back foot, but “Tank” tends to start snail-paced. This night was no different.

Davis’s developed pressure began to tire Martin after a southpaw jab, followed by explosive left hands. It was only a matter of time before one of those shots hit the mark, and when it did, Martin couldn’t accept it. He had never been knocked down before, but this was his first fight at an elite level.

When there is no next opponent at the age of 29, talks will resume with Davis from Baltimore to fight for the title unification for the first time at the age of 29. There have been preliminary talks to match Davis with IBF lightweight champion Lomachenko. Ukraine’s Lomachenko, ESPN’s No. 1 lightweight, is a future Hall of Famer.

Davis, ESPN’s No. 2 lightweight, can also expect to fight Shakur Stevenson in the fall. Stevenson will defend his WBC 135-pound title against Artem Harutyunyan on July 6 and will later become a free agent with the promotion, making it easier for him to fight Davis.

Benavidez dominates in 175-pound debut

One of the sport’s fastest rising stars, David Benavidez, had long lobbied for a chance to fight Canelo Alvarez, but when that fell through, he moved up to lithe heavyweight.

His first fight at 175 pounds was against Gvozdyk, a former lineal champion who once defeated Adonis Stevenson by TKO, but Artur Beterbiev sent him into retirement in 2019.

After 3.5 years out of the ring, Gvozdyk returned last year with three fights against lower-ranked opponents. Against Benavidez, he did well to stay the distance, but Gvozdyk never threatened to win the fight.

At his fresh weight, Benavidez did not unload his usual volume, but showed improved defense. He missed a lot of Gvozdyk’s shots, putting pressure on him, and took a lot of punches to his arms.

Benavidez crushed Gvozdyk and won by scores of 119-109, 117-111 and 116-112. Next up could be a fall fight with David Morrell, a super middleweight contender who is also moving up to 175 pounds. The Cuban will make his lithe heavyweight debut on August 3 against Radivoje Kalajdzic.

Benavidez’s marquee fight – apart from the meeting with Alvarez – is the winner of the undisputed lithe heavyweight championship fight on October 12 between Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Concerns now focus on Benavidez’s strength at his fresh weight. Despite all the damage he did to Gvozdyk, he never caused the Ukrainian any grave problems. Against a better fighter like Beterbiev or Bivol, Benavidez will likely have to be better.

“I was trying to get a feel for the lithe heavyweight division,” Benavidez, 27, said. “These guys here are hitting a little harder.… Two weeks ago I got a cut in my eye. … I had a torn tendon in my right hand and I didn’t think I would be able to do it today, but we did it.

Paro upset over Matias shakes up the 140-pound division

For the second time in three months, there has been a major upset in the junior welterweight title fight. First there was Ryan Garcia, who defeated Devin Haney three times in April, winning by decision, although the result could be overturned after Garcia tested positive for the banned substance ostarine.

Now it was Paro who defied the odds in her 140-pound title fight, defeating Matias in enemy territory.

Paro (24-0, 15 KO) did not give in to Matias’ merciless pressure and exchanged punches with forceful punches. The victory didn’t seem a fluke as the 28-year-old made adjustments and showed off his versatile arsenal in a career-best performance.

It was another away victory for Paro, who traveled to the United States in December to earn a sixth-round TKO victory over Montana Love. After two wins – this one over ESPN’s No. 2 140-pounder – the newly crowned champion could be in the top five in the division when the ESPN rankings are updated next week.

The division is heated. Jack Catterall rose to No. 4 in the rankings after beating Josh Taylor in a rematch last month. Lineal champion Teofimo Lopez will defend his IBF title against Steve Claggett on June 29 in Miami.

Paro has plenty of compelling matchups right now. Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has said he would like to secure a title defense in Australia, where Tim Tszyu and George Kambosos Jr. they competed in front of a vast audience.

The most appetizing of all is a rematch with Matias, especially Down Under. The fight was snail-paced and a rematch would have been positively received by fans.

Matias is at Matchroom, as are Catterall and Richardson Hitchins.