LAS VEGAS – By the time the eighth round arrived, the sight from the “tank” had been fixed on his target. Armanon was lowered and Gervonta “Tank” Davis fired a howitzer with his left hand, which at that point ended Frank “The Ghost” Martin’s challenge.

The devastating climactic knockout to close out Saturday’s fight was a fitting addition to every headliner, including some of the great stoppages the historic MGM Grand Garden Arena has seen in 100 nights of championship fighting.

Davis putting together a waste for Martin would fit brutally alongside the wonderful finishes these four walls witnessed: George Foreman equalizing Michael Moorer, Ricky Hatton flattened by Manny Pacquiao and Pacquaio buried by Juan Manel Marquez.

Davis retained his WBA lightweight title at the 1:29 mark of the deciding round, but by then the writing was on the wall.

This is what 13,249 saw.

As Martin awaited his fate in the ring and the entrance music, the place quieted with anticipation.

The “Ghostbusters” theme segued into OTR CHAZ’s “Nun 2 Me,” which had Davis in the ring, and the crowd went wild – and not for the last time. (Davis’ coach Calvin Ford wore a black T-shirt with a shiny Ghostbusters motif on the back.)

It was a far cry from the collective groans around the MGM lobby on Tuesday, when Davis dodged his large arrival to kick off the promotion. But the Baltimore Banger’s eventual arrival at the MGM Grand for Wednesday’s press conference was like a grenade of excitement thrown into the historic site as the fight and all around them waited for an explosion.

Davis didn’t just get rid of 14 months of inaction and frustration. He replied. He reported bad promotion, hence his no show on Tuesday. He had done some house arrest time last year, then went to prison for failing to adhere to the rules.

He said he learned his lesson, but lost ground and lost momentum.

Davis has not lost the popularity and intrigue that surrounds his fights. He was handed an ear-splitting ovation as he grooved his way to the ring. Fans eagerly awaited the detonation they paid for, hoping to see fellow southpaw Martin improve Davis’ stats to 30-0 with 28 KOs.

In the third, Martin bit his feint and Davis chuckled. He tried to make Martin flinch at the press conference, but he only got antagonized Martin to release something inside him. Not so here, where the danger was all too real.

Martin carried his right arm high, clearly wary of the danger posed by Davis’ left arm. The challenger would step forward exploratively and timidly, like a crab peering out of its shell to check if there’s danger.

Martin-left-left drew surprise from the crowd, and the militants exchanged verbal exchanges for bells.

It was warming up at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Due to the feed tank, every time he swung and missed, the Las Vegas audience was largely high-flying and celebrities AND .

The stars were out for Davis from the worlds of boxing, football and music. Davis became an item on boxing’s sizzling ticket. In the crowd were musicians 2 Chainz, Saweetie, Lil Jon, Cardi B and Flavor Flav, film producer Gavin Maloof, business mogul Mark Davis, football players Micah Parsons, Jayden Daniels, Ceedee Lamb, Davante Adams, NBA Stars including Damian Lillard and Stephen Jackson, and a host of fighters from James Toney to Andy Ruiz and Rafael Ruelas to Librado Andrade.

Martin, trained by Derrick James and promoted by Errol Spence Jr. Man Down Promotions,

Moreover, there should have been concern when Davis came out with a swagger in the fifth, low hands, attacking from distance and having some triumphs.

Importantly, the champion was not frustrated when Martin grabbed him, forcing referee Harvey Dock to intervene and break them up.

Davis landed a crisp left hook, right hook. The strikes were technically impressive and brutally effective.

Davis became increasingly successful, and while the difference could be put down to speed and skill, the main gap was power. It was tank against BB gun and increasingly ominous that as they circled past, Davis looked more relaxed each time.

Martin’s level of awareness and concentration did not deviate – it could not afford to – but it seemed that only one fighter was there enjoying himself. One of them was at work, one was in the game.

When Martin was caught in the corner in the sixth (a sight that became common), Davis thundered in his left hand, tracked Martin to another corner and homered a couple more. Davis also decided to move on some of the top spots in Martin’s midfield.

From the seventh, Davis began to close out the program. He stopped the challenger with a right hand, slammed Martin with a left and continued to work the body before moving up to finish his combinations.

Martin defiantly spat back, but he was being outgunned. He struggled against the ropes as the crowd grew louder and louder, sensing the build to climax.

It was a blast for Martin. His chances of survival decreased. His chances of victory could no longer be estimated.

There were more gulps from the crowd as Davis effortlessly got both hands in to start the eighth and trapped Martin in the corner again.

Then, to echo Jim Lampley’s celebrated words when he worked for HBO and pulled off George Foreman’s miraculous turnaround against Michael Moorener to capture the world heavyweight title at the age of 45: “It happened.”

The tank slammed domestic brutality and violence with both hands, and a clinical left hand spun Martin around in his boots.

Martin, behind 67-66 on all three cards at the time of the stoppage, crashed onto his back while looking at the historic MGM lights, and referee Harvey Dock waved it off.

For just a split second, it looked like Martin might be trying to gather something that had dragged himself back to his feet, but the Spirit left the “ghost” and remained on the canvas.

The roof went up on the green fight palace at the foot of the Las Vegas strip, and the roar of the crowd became even louder as Davis almost immediately climbed to the top rope and brooded backwards to the Earth. The finish also checked the fighters’ bitter argument over what happened during a sparring session between them a few years ago.

In what direction is the tank rolling now? Venerable foe Ryan Garcia was on the ring apron to congratulate Davis, but his fighting future hangs in the balance after two positive tests for PEDs following his April 20 fight with Devin Haney.

More likely, veteran Ukrainian maestro Vasiliy Lomachenko, the IBF champion.

“For sure, for sure,” Davis said when confronted about the prospect of a Lomachenko fight. “I’m ready to fight them all.… My prediction [for Loma]? Baptism time.

Lomachenko, of course, is one of the best fighters of the newfangled generation, a defensive genius and someone who is excruciatingly challenging to locate in viewfinder views.

But tonight Davis’s “ghost” disappeared.

LAS VEGAS — Gervonta Davis packed the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday in his first appearance in 14 months, then caused a frenzy with a vicious knockout.

Davis (30-0, 28 KO) knocked out Frank Martin with a left hand at 1:29 of the eighth round, successfully defending the WBA lightweight world championship. It was Davis’ first fight since his equally stunning knockout of Ryan Garcia in April 2023. It was also his first appearance since he spent 44 days in a Baltimore jail last summer for violating house arrest following a November 2020 hit-and-run accident that injured four people.

“Yes, there is some rust, but everything is fine. I’m back,” Davis said. “After a few rounds, I feel like I haven’t warmed up completely like I wanted to. I warmed up but got frosty as the fight unfolded in front of me. But it is OK. No excuses”.

At the time of the break, all three judges had Davis leading 67-66. Martin actually won the first three rounds, but it was all Davis the rest of the way.

Davis took his time early, taking Martin in stride, but rarely getting open with his notorious power. However, he began to settle in Round 4 and his power had a noticeable effect on Martin. The athlete reacted sharply to several of Davis’ feints, which drew laughter from both Davis and the 13,249 spectators who paid to witness his return.

A knockout seemed inevitable in the seventh set as Martin continued to drift away from the fight and found himself trapped in a corner. Davis maintained constant pressure and expertly chose his spots. He hit good body shots in the fourth round and brought the crowd to their feet in the sixth, seventh and eighth rounds.

Davis finished with a combination of a left uppercut and a straight left hand along the ropes. It was a befitting result for what was promoted as the 100th championship fight at MGM.

After knocking out Martin, Davis climbed the ropes and performed a backflip to celebrate.

“Boom, that was it,” Davis said of the left hand that ended the fight. “The brick just ended it. I’ve been training for 7 years and competing for 8. Do you know what I mean? It’s like second nature, you know what I mean? It’s just about staying focused and making sure my mind is on the goal, and that always comes out on top.”

Martin admitted that a lack of movement in the later rounds led to the knockout, although it didn’t seem like he was really able to escape Davis’ pressure. At first he was moving away from Davis’ threatening left hand, but as Davis noticeably began to raise his volume, Martin had no answer.

“At first I felt like I was in control, but then I got too comfortable,” Martin said. “I felt comfortable relaxing on the ropes, trying to find a bigger shot. He didn’t present himself. I stopped making my moves. … He came in and made a massive shot and I didn’t make it. See, really, I just didn’t see the shot.

Davis, of Baltimore, will have options for his next fight, including potential meetings with IBF titleholder Vasily Lomachenko, WBC titleholder Shakur Stevenson and WBO titleholder Denys Berinchyk.

Gervonta “Tank” Davis returns from a long absence from the ring to defend her second WBA 135-pound title tonight against Frank Martin in a 12-round main event on PBC on Prime Video PPV. The event starts at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Boxing News 24 will be bringing you live updates and results from today’s Tank vs. Martin.

Debuting at 175, former WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO) looked sluggish, sluggish and frail, winning by unanimous decision over 12 rounds Oleksandr Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KO) and winning the interim WBC featherlight heavyweight title. The scores were 116-112, 117-111 and 119-119-109.

Boxing News 24 scored 114-114. It wasn’t a huge shock that the judges gave this award to A-team fighter Benavidez with high marks because he is the one receiving a huge push to become the next “face of boxing” and this put Gwozdyk in a hard situation where he had to dominate to have a chance at winning.

In fact, it should have been a draw and Benavidez was lucky to score today because he was terrible.

Benavidez was completely gassed midway through the fight, and by the seventh round he was exhausted by the 37-year-old Gvozdyk. Early in the fight, Benavidez’s speed and punch combination allowed him to dominate the sluggish former WBC champion, but his power wasn’t available at all.

By the sixth game, Benavidez looked exhausted and from that point on, Gvozdyk attacked him. With the victory, Benavidez is now the WBC’s mandatory fighter for champion Artur Beterbiev’s title shot and will face the winner of his undisputed clash with Dmitry Bivol.

Upset former WBA champion Albert Puello (23-0, 10 KO) defeated a previously undefeated opponent Gary Antuanne Russell (17-1, 17 KO) via 12-round split decision to win the WBC interim 140-pound belt. The judges scored it 118-109 for Russell and 115-112, 114-113 for Puello.

Russell looked leisurely and immobile, which allowed Puello to overwhelm him with combinations and movement.

WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames (24-1, 18 KO) defeated Terrell Gausha (24-4-1, 12 KO), winning by unanimous decision of 12 rounds. The scores were 119-109, 118-110 and 118-110.

Adames hit a lot of huge shots, outperforming the weaker hitter Gausha. Much of the action came from Gausha, but it consisted mostly of jabs and frail shots that had little effect.

Super middleweight veteran Kyron Davis (18-3-1, 6 KO) earned a dubious ten-round split decision victory over the previously undefeated Elijah Garcia (16-1, 13 KOs).

The scores were 99-93, 97-93 for Kyrone and 98-92 for Garcia. Boxing News 24 scored for Garcia 98-92. To Kyrone’s surprise, he won because he spent virtually the entire fight pinned to the ropes.

It was hard to watch Kyrone win more than one or two rounds in the fight as he was receiving punches to the body from Garcia throughout the fight. He seemed unable to fight in the center of the ring against a younger, busier and stronger fighter.

Kyrone fought like an antique veteran, unable to take center stage against a younger fighter, and it was shocking that the judges awarded him the victory by such a high score.

The 21-year-old Garcia outworked PBC fighter Kyrone throughout the fight, holding him to the ropes, landing constant punches to his body and appearing to dominate the action.

In the ninth and 10th sets, Garcia stormed into the fray, hitting the 29-year-old Kyrone with challenging shots to control the action.

Benavidez is targeting the featherlight heavyweight title

The joint fight between David Benavidez and Oleksandr Gvozdyk is slightly more even than the main fight.

Benavidez (28-0, 24 KO), who is confident in his abilities and not afraid to make them known, moves up to 175 pounds for the first time in history to face Gwozdyk (20-1, 16 KO) for the interim title WBC featherlight heavyweight.

The winner of this fight will receive a big-money fight for the undisputed 175 championship, likely in Saudi Arabia. That’s why Benavidez decided to move up from 168 pounds.

Event details and full card

Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas
Start time: 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT.
Ring walks: approximately 11pm ET/4am UK time.

Main card on PBC on Prime Video Pay-Per-View at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT

Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Frank Martin
David Benavidez vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk fight
Gary Antuanne Russell vs. Alberto Puello
Carlos Adames Terrell Gausha fight

Preliminary activities at 5:30 PM ET/2:30 PM PT

Elijah Garcia vs. Kyrone Davis
Mark Magsayo Eduardo Ramirez fight
Willa Roiman vs. Ricardo Salas

Fans are curious how Tank Davis (29-0, 27 KO) will fare against his first A-level opponent when he defends against Frank Martin (18-0, 12 KO). These guys are huge hitters with a seek-and-destroy style.

Martin, 29, is back from an 11-month break and looks like he went through a bench press to gain weight on Friday. He will have plenty of time to hydrate before tonight’s fight against Tank Davis in their headliner.

If Davis finishes this fight with an impressive victory, he could next face a unification fight with the IBF lightweight champion.