Frank Martin Opens Up About Giving Up on His NFL Dream

Frank Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) will battle it out for the WBA lightweight title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday. However, boxing was not exactly the first career choice that Martin had in mind. In fact, he recently opened up about giving up on his NFL dream.

Martin donned his boxing gloves in his late teens, picking up the sport at the age of 18. In an interview with the Sun, Martin revealed that his mother disallowed him from boxing prior to that. “I used to street fight a lot, and I wanted to fight when I was younger but my mom wouldn’t let me,” he said. “I hit 18, and I ended up signing up on my own, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Martin added that he used to wrestle for fun but had never considered taking it up as a career. On the other hand, football happened to be the sport for which he had big aspirations. He even hoped to play professional football in the NFL. This comes as no surprise, as Martin’s cousin, Jaylon Smith, was the former linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants.

“We were in the same year; we both got out of school the same year, but I just wasn’t able to move forward with it,” he said. “But around that time – he was a bigger name in football – but me, I was also a big name. He just had hella’ top scholarships. I could have definitely done something in the sport. I was one of those top athletes.”

“A Different Kind of Motivation”

After his highly publicized beef with Davis, it certainly looks like Floyd Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) has shifted his alliances. In his recent appearance at the Pivot Podcast, Martin shed light on Mayweather’s advice.

“He could tell you, ‘Man, go run at 2 in the morning’. [Because] 9 times out of 10, we know your opponent sleeps at that time,” he said. Martin added that while the advice might seem common, taking it from an athlete like Mayweather gives him an added drive. “You are going to take a lot of heed to it, and it’s going to give you a different type of motivation when you do it,” he said.

Joshua Ben Joseph

Joshua Ben Joseph is a Boxing writer renowned for his unparalleled coverage of live events and insightful interviews with prominent athletes in the world of combat sports. With a career spanning over several years, he has authored more than 800 articles. As an experienced editorial cartoonist and investigative journalist, Joshua has a keen eye for detail and a passion for delivering quality content. Aside from his writing, Joshua is an avid powerlifter and solo traveler, embodying the same spirit of determination and exploration that he brings to his work. With a deep love for the sport of boxing that dates back to childhood, he is committed to delivering the highest quality content and helping to build a more transparent and credible industry.

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