Unbeaten lightweight Frank, ‘The Ghost’ Martin, has been invisible since turning down a fight with Shakur Stevenson and winding up missing in action since. Seeing Martin MIA list with no fight in sight is a stone waste of talent.
When the 28-year-old Martin turned down the Shakur fight, it was thought that he had a better option on the table. As it turns out, he’s got nothing happening and has been sitting on the sidelines.
A Promising Rise, Then Sudden Silence
Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) hasn’t fought since his narrow twelve-round unanimous decision win over Artem Harutyunyan five months ago in July 2023, barely winning by the scores 115-112, 115-112, and 114-113.
The fight was close and exciting enough to where a rematch would have been the right thing to do. At least Martin would have been busy, making money and being seen by the boxing public instead of vanishing in thin air.
It’s unclear what Martin’s management has in mind for him this year if anything at all. He’s heading to Amazon Prime Video for his fights this year, and it’s believed they only have 14 dates in 2024, which means Martin will likely be reduced to fighting on undercards because PBC has too many high-level fighters in their stable for them all to get a chance to headline.
The “Better Fight” That Never Was
It was thought that Martin’s reasoning for rejecting the offer to fight Shakur was that he had a better fight available for him, but it just looked like he didn’t want it.
‘Ghost’ Martin turns 29 on January 21st and has no fights scheduled, making it likely that he could sit inactive for the first half of this year.
For a fighter Martin’s age to sit idle, it’s not a good thing because he’s not a young chicken or one of the super wealthy fighters that can afford to stay on the sidelines for an entire year without fighting.
Rank #3 WBA, #6 WBC, and #6 WBO at lightweight. Martin could work himself into a title shot if he were busy, but that’s not happening.