Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis’ next pay-per-view headliner will now carry a third major title fight.
The Ring has confirmed that Alberto Puello is set to defend his WBC 140-pound belt against mandatory challenger Sandor Martin. Their scheduled twelve-round contest will take place on a March 1Prime PPV event from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Headlining the show, Baltimore’s Davis (30-0, 28 KOs), The Ring’s No. 1 lightweight, risks his WBA lightweight title defense against Lamont Roach Jr. (25-1-1, 10 KOs), The Ring’s No. 3 junior lightweight who will move up in weight.
The fight serves as an uncommon collaboration between PBC and Top Rank, the latter who represents Spain’s Martin (42-3, 15 KOs). It will also mark the first defense for Puello (23-0, 10 KOs), The Ring’s No. 3 junior welterweight who trains in Las Vegas.
It is also the second straight time that the unbeaten Dominican is placed on Davis’ undercard. His interim title-winning effort over then-unbeaten Gary Antuanne Russell took place on the June 15 PPV undercard topped by Davis’ eighth-round knockout of Frank Martin (then 18-0, 12 KOs) at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Puello was upgraded to full titlist when Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs; 1 No-Contest) was forced to relinquish his belt—fittingly, for refusal to honor a purse bid won by Top Rank to defend against Martin.
As previously reported by The Ring, Russell (17-1, 17 KOs) will also appear on the March 1 undercard against WBA 140-pound titlist and The Ring No. 10 contender Jose Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs).
Puello became a two-time junior welterweight titleholder with the win. He previously owned the WBA title but was stripped of the belt after he tested positive for Clomiphene ahead of a canceled May 2023 title defense against Rolando Romero in Las Vegas.
The development resulted in a suspension and fine, which left Puello inactive for 16 months. Two wins have followed, including his split decision victory over Russell to claim the WBC strap.
Martin has been the mandatory challenger in waiting for more than a year. He remains best known for his Oct. 2021 upset win over former four-division titlist Mikey Garcia (40-2, 30 KOs).
More than a year later, Martin was considered unlucky to come up short in a Dec. 2022 ten-round, split decision defeat to Teofimo Lope (21-1, 13 KOs) at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Lopez went on to win The Ring and WBO junior welterweight crown in a June 2023 victory over unbeaten champ Josh Taylor at MSG’s Hulu Theater.
Martin has won two in a row against pedestrian opposition but has not fought since Dec. 2023 while he awaited his title shot. It nearly came when he was ordered to face Haney for the WBC title, but those plans fell through when Haney decided to head in a different direction.
Jake Donovan is part of the U.S. team for The Ring. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.