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🥊 A Busy Weekend
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Fight With Teddy Atlas Newsletter, your one-stop shop for all things combat sports related, brought to you by Teddy and The Fight team.
Every Friday We Bring You:
A combat sports news digest with all the headlines you need to know from Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts.
Highlights from the podcast and across the fight world.
Fight times and information you need to know ahead of time.
Fight News From Around The 🌍
A 0 Has To Go
Gervonta “Tank” Davis returns to the ring on Saturday to face Frank Martin in a pay-per-view main event defence of his WBA lightweight title.
Following his knockout win over Ryan Garcia just over a year ago, one of the sport’s most talented fighters became embroiled in a series of legal issues that kept him from competing for longer than he would have liked.
Welcoming him back to the ring, is Frank “The Ghost” Martin.
Martin, whose career is being guided by Errol Spence Jr, is looking to this his career breakout occasion, with Tank representing a significant step up in profile and talent compared to the other names on his 18-0 record.
Power-wise, he doesn’t pack as much of a punch as Davis, but expect him to rival the Baltimore native with speed, ring IQ and defensive awareness.
Throw in the fact that he’s a former collegiate-level footballer with natural athleticism and the confidence to match it, and you have the ingredients for a really interesting matchup for the returning Davis.
Despite them being the same age (29), Tank has that all-important edge when it comes to big-fight experience and the depth of his resume.
In a fight that technically could end up being well-balanced, that extra experience may prove crucial down the stretch, as Tank will be looking to remind the boxing world just why he’s considered by many to be the “face of boxing”.
Moving On Up
The co-main event of the Davis vs Martin card could very much steal the show, as former 168 lbs champion David Benavidez makes his 175 lbs debut against former champion Oleksandr “The Nail” Gvozdyk.
Already a huge super middleweight throughout his 2x title-winning spell there, Benavidez will be looking to announce himself in a new division by becoming only the second man to defeat Gvozdyk in the professional ranks.
Gvozdyk, an Olympic bronze medallist and defending WBC titleholder, has only lost to the pound-for-pound mainstay Artur Beterbiev, who stopped him in the 10th round of their unification fight back in 2019.
He announced his retirement from the sport shortly after but has since returned, notching 3 victories since February 2023 to position himself for another run at a light heavyweight title.
Despite being 10 years older than Benavidez, due to his time off and relatively war-free pro career, he is a much fresher fighter than his age would suggest, and the undoubtedly talented Benavidez would be wise to not overlook the threat he poses.
Teddy, who trained Gvozdyk to his WBC title win, breaks down the fight in more detail below.
Homecoming King
Over in Puerto Rico, IBF light-welterweight champion Subriel Matias makes his long-awaited homecoming against the undefeated Aussie Liam Paro.
Matias, who Teddy has compared to his all-time favourite fighter, has stopped every single opponent he has faced in the professional ranks, having avenged his lone defeat to Petros Ananyan by 9th-round KO a couple of years after losing to him by majority decision.
He hasn’t looked back since picking up impressive stoppage wins in the two championship bouts he’s been involved in since.
Fighting at home for the first time in 5 years, he will be looking for nothing less than another victory within the distance in front of his fans.
The man standing between Matias and a glorious homecoming, Liam Paro, will have different ideas.
Paro, whose team requested the fight upon Matias’ signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, has obviously seen something within the champion that he can exploit.
Whether it’s his slick movement or his deceptively powerful straight left, Paro has the ingredients to be a potential banana peel for Matias if he doesn’t bring his A-game on the night.
Both men have their points to prove and the talent to back them up, so it should make for a great fight to round off a fantastic weekend of boxing.
Teddy’s Top Picks
Fight ⏰ for this weekend
Boxing: Davis vs Martin (Saturday 13th/Sunday 14th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 9pm Eastern/ 6pm Pacific | Main Event: 11pm Eastern/ 8pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 2am | Main Event: 4am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 11am Eastern/ 9am Western | Main event: 1pm Eastern/ 11am Western
Boxing: Matias vs Paro (Saturday 13th/Sunday 14th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 7pm Eastern/ 4pm Pacific | Main Event: 9pm Eastern/ 6pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 12am | Main Event: 2am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 9am Eastern/ 7am Western | Main event: 11am Eastern/ 9am Western
Boxing: Billam-Smith vs Riakporhe (Saturday 13th/Sunday 14th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 2pm Eastern/ 11am Pacific | Main Event: 5pm Eastern/ 2pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 7pm| Main Event: 10pm
🇦🇺 Full Card: 4am Eastern/ 2am Western | Main event: 7am Eastern/ 5am Western
MMA: Perez vs Taira (Saturday 15th/Sunday 16th)
🇺🇸 Full Card: 11pm Eastern/ 8pm Pacific | Main Event: 1am Eastern/ 10pm Pacific
🇬🇧 Full Card: 4am | Main Event: 6am
🇦🇺 Full Card: 1pm Eastern/ 11am Western | Main event: 3pm Eastern/ 1pm Western