No risk, no reward?
Lightweight contender Frank Martin knows it’s a gamble fighting fellow rising star Michel Rivera in a title eliminator on Saturday at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas (Showtime). The winner could get a title shot in a fight or two. The loser will have to rebuild.
Martin is ready to roll the dice because he believes in himself.
“This is the fight that’s going to take me to the next level,” he told Boxing Junkie. “…Once they told me it was a title eliminator, I was all in. I know it’s a fight that’s [early] to take at the moment in our two careers. A lot of guys close to the No. 1 spot wouldn’t have taken it.
“If that’s what it takes to take it to the next level, I had to take it. It’s just one of those fights that you have to bite into and accept and go from there.
Martin (16-0, 12 KOs) spends a lot of time around two fighters who have risen to the top, Errol Spence Jr. and Jermell Charlo. All three are coached by Derrick James. And Spence is his promoter.
Spence, the unified welterweight titleholder, has been by Martin’s side at every step of his current journey, which has been invaluable for a young boxer whose most important fights are just around the corner. They train together in Dallas.
“[Spence] keeps me motivated,” Martin said. “He helped me a lot, especially for this fight. He was really locked up with me. We go to strength and conditioning together, stay together at the Airbnb, eat the same things, exercise at the same time.
“He worked with me a lot, helping me, pushing me.”
Martin. 27, is confident he’ll end up where Spence is now, on pound-for-pound lists. Next up is a win over Rivera, whom Martin respects but believes is inferior to him in every aspect of the game.
The fight is being billed as a WBA title eliminator, meaning the winner will be in line to face the dreaded Gervonta Davis, who holds the sanctioning body’s secondary 135-pound title (which Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize).
That’s what Martin wants. And that could happen if Davis defeats Ryan Garcia in a scheduled showdown next year. Yes, Martin thinks big.
“Yeah, life changing,” he said. “That’s what I feel I have to do. I have to go out there and fight superstars to become a superstar. Some superstars don’t have to fight a lot of top guys. I am not one of them. I will fight superstars to become one.
Life changing, indeed. Martin is about to do some special things that could make him a star and earn him a fortune. However, he doesn’t want to show off.
It’s one step at a time. And Rivera is the next step. That’s what he’s focusing on right now.
“I don’t let these opportunities confuse me,” he said. “They just keep me locked up more.”
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