Frank Martin has named the fighter he wants next after he faces Artem Harutyunyan this Saturday in Las Vegas.
Martin is unbeaten in his 17 professional fights, with 12 knockouts, and is often mentioned as a potential contender for a title fight at 135lbs.
Of course, right now, that is Devin Haney as the undisputed champion at lightweight, but with speculation that he will soon move up to junior welterweight as he finds weight cutting harder with age, plenty of fighters are jostling for position to be ready to land a challenge for at least one governing body’s strap.
Speaking to BoxingScene.com about his last fight, against Michel Rivera in December, he said it had increased the expectation he felt to perform well.
“I feel like it made it a little tougher, you know, because it brought out some things that people didn’t think I had,” Martin said.
“You know, so the fighters that was sleeping on me, it woke ‘em up to certain things I can do, as far as my skill set. But the way we moving right now, the top names gonna have to see me. So, I’ve just gotta keep working.”
Martin is a top-10 fight across the divisions, but he was cautious on his chances of getting a fight.
“I feel like them top guys ain’t just gonna be like, ‘Yeah, we gonna fight Frank Martin,’ ” he continued.
“They gonna look at me as a dangerous fight. You know, I feel like I can do it all.
“Right now, my team and everybody, they’re positioning me to get those type of fights right there.
“They’re putting me in that mandatory spot, so guys will have to eventually step up and take the fight.”
Apart from a title shot, he namechecked Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis as a fight he wants.
He said: “But I think [Davis is] a real dude. I think he a solid fighter. You know, we as fighters, we’ll eventually give a guy an opportunity once we feel they done did something, where, ‘OK, we gotta fight him.’ So, hopefully, he’ll be like, ‘Yeah, OK, let me see about him. Just give me that fight.’
“That’s why I train for the big fights. I don’t train day in and day out to just, you know, let those big fights slip past me.”
“I want the big fights. I want all the big names. I know I done name-dropped a few times. You know, sometimes you get a lotta backlash for name-dropping.
"People say you trying to get clout and this and that, so I really don’t feel like talking too much about individuals, naming them and stuff like that.
"I’m just ready for those top guys who everybody mentions as far as when people talk about the best 135-pounders. You know, I’m ready for every last one of ‘em.”