Cutting weight isn't easy for any lightweight, but for one-time title challenger
Frank Martin, it appeared as though he had to work twice as hard as anyone else.
The 30-year-old is built like a mini tank. But in order to make the 135-pound weight limit, he spends time stripping off his muscle mass. For the most part, he's found a way to make it work but as he's aged while getting bigger and stronger, the process hasn't been easy.
In his most recent trip to the ring against
Gervonta Davis twelve months ago, Martin hoped his weight-cut issues were a thing of the past. Davis represented the biggest name and puncher he ever encountered in the professional ranks, meaning he needed to be on his A-game and free from any issues to have the best chance of ending his unbeaten streak.
Unfortunately for him though, that wasn't the case. Martin (18-1, 12 KOs) fought a good fight, especially during those first few rounds but as the minutes and seconds ticked off the clock, the 30-year-old grew increasingly weak.
Since being on the wrong end of a brutal eighth-round knockout defeat, the first of his career, Martin hasn't been spotten much. While putting that night behind him, the Detroit native revealed to the world what truly went wrong.
"I got a lot of muscle, everybody knows that," Martin told FightHype.com during a recent interview. "I just feel like my last two weight cuts were real tough on me. In my last fight, my legs started getting tired in probably the fifth round. It felt like my body shut down."
After a year-long layoff, Martin hopes for activity but doesn't have an opponent lined up, nor a fight date to return. One thing he does have, however, is a new weight class to operate in.
"I'm a cause hell at 140," he continued while smiling. "Whoever wants it, come get it."