Gervonta Davis decided at the last minute to skip the grand arrivals for his fight against Frank Martin in Las Vegas, prompting concern that it would go ahead.

The Baltimore puncher is scheduled to put his WBA Lightweight World title on the line this coming Saturday against undefeated Martin – his first outing since a statement win over Ryan Garcia in 2023.

The PBC fight week didn’t get off to a great start when ‘Tank’ took to social media to announce that he was displeased with the promotion and therefore wouldn’t be showing face

“The promotion for this fight been ass. Now watch [I don’t] show up to the arrivals s**t today.”

Fans in attendance were indeed let down, and some then questioned what to expect for the rest of the week’s events in the lead-up to fight night

Speaking to FightHype, Davis’ coach Calvin Ford urged people not to read in to the no-show too much.

“How long y’all been knowing Tank man? I used to do the same thing y’all do. I stopped doing it. Let him just do what he do because at the end of the day that’s what makes Tank … I don’t know how his body is. You know sometimes y’all gotta go to work, do y’all feel like it all the time? We getting ready for the roll out to the world.”

Asked if he would make the press conference, Ford was optimistic.

“I’ve never seen Tank missing a press conference. Let’s look at history, let’s look at the stats.”

Davis – who was spotted out on a run in Vegas at the time of the Grand Arrivals – headlines the card against Martin this Saturday with the intriguing co-main event of David Benavidez stepping up to light-heavyweight for a WBC Interim title shot against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

Gervonta Davis got testy with his opponent Frank Martin at Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference.

Following the presser, the two boxers engaged in a tense staredown, jawing at each other. That’s when “Tank” Davis (29-0) feinted at Martin (18-0) and got him into defense mode, which cracked a good laugh for Davis.

You can watch their staredown from their pre-fight press conference in the video above.

Davis returns to the boxing ring this Saturday to defend his WBA lightweight title against Martin. The championship bout is scheduled to take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and will be available on pay-per-view through Prime Video.

After more than a year out of the ring, Gervonta Davis is all set to step back into it this Saturday, when he will take on undefeated Frank Martin for Tank’s WBA lightweight belt.

Davis is one of the biggest draws in the sport, so there should be a ton of hype for this one, but that hasn’t really been the case. Davis has expressed frustration with how the fight has been promoted, and even skipped the grand arrivals on Tuesday. And now, he’s taking out his frustration on Martin.

Tank Davis makes Frank Martin flinch durin face-off

At the face-off following Wednesday’s press conference, Davis stepped right up to Martin’s face and began trash-talking. He then faked like he was going to throw a punch, forcing Martin to flinch and get ready for battle.

Honestly, it was a very quick reaction from Martin in which he showcased his reaction time. But Davis wasn’t impressed and instead laughed at him. This came after Davis openly mocked Martin during the presser.

Davis looks genuinely annoyed during the lead-up to this event. That could be scary for Martin, or it could be an advantage if Tank is distracted even a little bit.

Gervonta Davis and Frank Martin have differing accounts of their infamous sparring session.

Davis and Martin will meet in a professional ring showdown this Saturday, with the former’s WBA lightweight world title on the line.

It will not be the first time that the pair touched gloves, as they met in front of boxing legend Floyd Mayweather at his gym in a heated sparring session.

The pair argued up on stage at their launch press conference over the exact outcome of the fiery encounter.

But Davis has since given a more detailed look at the training clash, telling PBC’s Gloves Off: “Me and Frank, we got history.

“When I was in Floyd’s gym, we used to spar everybody. So he’s seen me put people out, he’s seen me beat the hell out of people.

“So when we sparred, me being me, I rushed him cos I knew he was scared, and I didn’t want to get caught with his best punch; his left hand.

“And once he caught me with his left hand, that’s when I got mad.

“I caught him, and then he started grabbing me after that and I jumped on him and it turned into like a wrestling match.

“This happened because he kept grabbing me and stuff like that.”

Martin gave his own version of events, insisting Davis told lies in his account.

He said: “But there were some things that he said that was all cap [lies]. There were things he was saying, just to say.

“When I sparred him, a lot of people were there in the gym. He got in there and wanted to play. I hit him with the brick hand.

“Boom, he felt it. He ain’t calling it the brick hand for no reason. They kept coming in and having to break it up.

“He kept trying to put me in a headlock. We was just trying to hurt each other.”

It will no doubt be a continuation of their fiery exchanges, when they meet in the ring with Davis the overwhelming favourite.

A sparring feud will be settled in the ring, and ‘Tank’ could move on to bigger and better things including a rematch with rival Ryan Garcia.

LAS VEGAS — Gervonta Davis got one over on Frank Martin in their first faceoff ahead of their much-anticipated boxing match.

Davis (29-0) is scheduled to defend his WBA lightweight title against Martin (18-0) on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. On Wednesday, the two met for the event’s pre-fight press conference that was relatively uneventful until the faceoffs at the end.

“Tank” quickly got in Martin’s face and the pair spent a few minutes jawing back and forth, with Davis repeating that he is “going to touch you up” while Martin replied that they’ll see on Saturday. Tension continued to build as the faceoff prolonged, culminating in a moment at the end where Davis feinted, drawing out a flinch from “The Ghost.” Davis then laughed dismissively at the challenger as he and his team walked off.

Gervonta Davis is widely regarded as one of the best boxers in the sport’s recent history. At 29 years old, he still has a lot of fight left to carve out a truly unique legacy.

But getting to the pinnacle of the lightweight division didn’t come easy, although a lot of it was due to Tank himself. Davis has been marred by out-of-the-ring legal issues over the past seven years. One of those issues led to him spending 44 days in jail last summer.

Tank Davis says jail changed him as a person

During a recent interview with PBC, Davis spoke about those 44 days and how it changed him as a person.I felt like I wasn’t supposed to be in there. It was a learning experience. It showed me that’s not where I want to be. I got kids, I got to take care of, my family, friends and everything I’ve got to take care of… I’m fighting for my future, my kids’ future, my people’s future that’s coming behind me.

Prison can change any man, and it sounds like a month and a half played a role in reshaping Davis’ mindset. In December, Davis converted to Islam, another nod to his personal change.

Davis has stayed out of trouble in the lead-up to his fight against Frank Martin on June 15. Davis puts his WBA lightweight title on the line against the unbeaten 29-year-old with a lot to prove.

Gervonta Davis is already considered by some to be one of the best fighters of his era, but who does he look up to from days gone by?

The hard-hitting 29-year-old from Baltimore is undefeated in his campaign so far, scoring 27 stoppages from 29 wins spanning three divisions. With fights against other top dogs on the horizon and promised, he has the time to secure an impressive legacy.

Speaking to Bat Boys Baseball, ‘Tank’ named the three men he considers to be the sport’s greatest of all time.

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali was an enigma inside and outside of the ropes, becoming one of the most influential and significant figures not just in boxing but the sporting world entire. The star of both the Thrilla in Manilla and The Rumble in the Jungle backed up his famous trash talk in the ring with nimble footwork and stinging shots thrown from all angles. He won the world heavyweight championship three times and successfully defended his belts 19 times.

Mike Tyson

It’s easy to see why ‘Tank’ Davis looks up to ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson. The pair are unflappable in the build-up to big fights and intimidate opponents like not many others can. Tyson was known for his explosive power and peek-a-boo style with a 78% knockout-to-fight ratio. He has previously said that all he has in common with Davis is ‘trouble with the law’, but others feel many more comparisons can be made.

Floyd Mayweather

Despite an increasingly volatile relationship with Floyd Mayweather – his promoter and mentor for this first chapter of his career – ‘Tank’ still recognises the skills of the four-weight world champion. With some of the most impressive defensive skills the sport has ever seen, Mayweather became the biggest box office star in boxing on his journey to the famous 50-0 perfect record.

Davis returns to the ring this weekend to defend his WBA Lightweight World Title against fellow undefeated southpaw Frank Martin.