The noise has died down around Frank Martin but some fans won’t let him hear the end of it.
The 28-year-old has always wanted to become a champion. Although the lightweight division is filled with killers, he seemed just fine with going through whomever to reach his goals. Shakur Stevenson, a former Olympic silver medalist and multi-divisional champ, was offered to the Detroit native. To make it more interesting, the vacant WBC title was on the line.
Several names at 135 pounds eschewed the chance to fight Stevenson but Martin quickly accepted. Once news broke, fans began drooling. Two slick southpaws going at it for a title? What more could they ask for? But while they began playing out different scenarios in their minds, Martin pulled out, immediately becoming the bad guy. It’s still unknown the full extent of his reasonings, but Martin did allude to a financial disagreement being the main factor.
Stevenson, unsurprisingly, went on to score a victory over Edwin De Los Santos. Martin, in the meanwhile, is on the hunt for his next opponent.
Normally soft-spoken and a bit aloof when it comes to his competition, Martin isn’t the biggest fan of calling fighters out. However, this time around, he made an exception.
“I really want William Zepeda,” said Martin on ThaBoxingVoice.
Wanting Zepeda and actually getting his hands on him are two completely different things. The undefeated Mexican contender had an explosive year, stopping both Jaime Arboleda and Mercito Gesta.
Ultimately, the decision might be out of his hands. Martin is currently associated with Premier Boxing Champions and Zepeda fights under the promotional thumb of Golden Boy Promotions.
The issues they’ll have at the negotiating table are inevitable but Martin plans on putting his foot down. For the smooth-lefty, beating Zepeda would mean a lot to him. With Devin Haney now competing at 140 pounds, unless he makes his way back down in weight, his three lightweight titles will become vacant sometime soon.
At the moment, Martin is ranked highly in all four sanctioning bodies but the WBA, in particular, has taken a liking to him. The organization has him ranked as their third-best contender with Zepeda checking in at number two.
It won’t be easy, but in the coming months, Martin plans on doing his best to set up their showdown.
“I’m a have a sit down with my team. I’m a see if they can push for that for me and I can get that WBA belt.”