Reports have surfaced detailing that Frank Martin has pulled out of the recently-announced title fight with Shakur Stevenson for the vacant WBC lightweight title. The fight was officially announced on November 6th by the involved parties, including the WBC sanctioning body, but the match has apparently now been canceled after it was alleged that Frank Martin withdrew from the bout.
ESPN reported as such on Saturday, September 9th, detailing that Top Rank [Stevenson’s promoter] had been informed on Wednesday, September 6th, that Frank Martin would no longer proceed with the fight against Shakur Stevenson. On the same day, September 6th, the WBC announced that the purse bid that was set by the WBC on September 5th was canceled as both fighters’ parties had reached an agreement.
According to Top Rank president Tom duBoef, Martin was the sole driving force in the fight with Stevenson collapsing.
“We contracted with TGB (Promotions) for Frank Martin, and we got the chicken guy, Frank Perdue, instead,” duBoef told the Dan Rafael-founded media outlet Fight Freaks Unite (FFU).
“We agreed to terms for the fight and we sent them a contract, and now the guy doesn’t want the fight.“
Though he didn’t specify what exactly occurred, it can be deduced from his statements to FFU that Martin informed them he would no longer fight Shakur Stevenson, as ESPN’s report corroborates.
Inexplicably, neither the promoter of Frank Martin, TGB Promotions, nor Martin’s coach could be reached for any statement on this matter, according to ESPN. Although their silence on the matter does not confirm whether the rumors of Frank Martin’s withdrawal are true, the lack of any communication on this matter does not help Martin’s case.
Frank Martin did release a Twitter post today with a statement reading “I ain’t duck sh**”, but the lack of any clarification on the matter is likely not to help the assumption that he ducked.
TGB Promotions is also known as a close affiliate of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), headed by Al Haymon, and Showtime on whose network they often showcase their fights in conjunction with the PBC ― which further manages TGB fighters who can therefore be considered PBC fighters as an extension.
While Martin’s motivations for withdrawing are not known, it can be theorized that other parties ― whether the PBC, TGB, or otherwise ― have influenced him to withdraw from the Stevenson bout. As a PBC fighter, there are other PBC fighters in the lightweight division who Martin could potentially have more lucrative fights against, including the likes of Isaac Cruz and Gervonta Davis.
However, a fight with Stevenson would still have earned him a reported seven-figures of $1,000,000 [according to sports journalist Chris Mannix] and would have seen him fight for the vacant WBC title.
If Martin truly pulled out by his own decision, it shows it to be a blatant way to ‘duck’ or avoid fighting Stevenson for whatever reason. Without any explanation from Martin himself or anyone associated with him, and with Top Rank mainly blaming him, his withdrawal can be taken as fact, and his career can suffer from the inexcusable act of avoiding another fighter.
An official announcement from the WBC to clear up the matter will likely become available in the upcoming days, as they are the organization in charge of sanctioning this bout.
