Frank Martin, Nahir Albright Fight Ends in Draw After DAZN Card Showdown
frank martin and Nahir Albright fought to a draw on Saturday night on the DAZN pay-per-view card, producing an inconclusive finish to a bout many saw as a test of Martin’s 140-pound transition. The result matters because it interrupts Martin’s planned trajectory toward WBA and IBF titlists while leaving open the same stylistic questions posed before the bell.
Frank Martin and Nahir Albright: The Result and Records
The final verdict was a draw. Martin entered the ring listed at 19-1 with 13 knockouts and Albright at 17-2 with 7 knockouts. Both men had built distinct pre-fight narratives: Martin as a comeback candidate aiming to reassert himself at junior welterweight, and Albright as a busy, occasionally combative contender whose June victory over Kelvin Davis produced a backstage confrontation.
LAS VEGAS Build: Expectations from Camp and Press
The fight took place in Las Vegas on a DAZN pay-per-view card headlined by Mario Barrios defending the WBC welterweight title against Ryan Garcia. Start times listed for the event placed the bout on Saturday at 6: 00 pm local time, 6: 00 pm ET and 11: 00 pm UK. Pre-fight talk focused on early pressure and whether the contest would be a stand-up exchange or a chase around the ring.
Buddy McGirt and Martin’s Redemption Narrative
Martin came into the fight cornered by Buddy McGirt, an International Boxing Hall of Fame member who has long emphasized comeback arcs. McGirt — whose 15-year, 80-fight career included losing a 140-pound title to Meldrick Taylor, then winning 17 consecutive fights and capturing the WBC welterweight title three years later, and later two losses to Pernell Whitaker — used his experience to press the theme of recovery. He told Martin that when you suffer a loss, who you are is defined by how you come back, and added, "Today, everybody wants to protect that zero, but sometimes shit happens to make you a bet" (fragment in the provided context).
Pre-Fight Mechanics: Pressure, Pocket Work and Punching at 140
In public sessions before the bout Martin insisted early contact would force Albright off his spot, saying that once he started "touching on him" the dynamics would shift and the ring would grow larger for Albright. Martin repeatedly framed the matchup as a physical test in which timing, snap and stepping in behind the jab would be decisive. Albright responded that he could "stay in the pocket" and could both box and trade when required, but Martin continued to stress that clean leather would change the realities of the pocket.
Martin also described settling into 140 pounds, saying the weight sits better on him with "more snap, better legs, a stronger base" and an explicit comment: "I feel a lot stronger at 140. Strength, speed, everything. I feel more comfortable with the weight. " Analysts and matchmakers had noted that a ten-round fight often changes after round four, when pace and conditioning are tested — a factor both fighters acknowledged going in.
WBA Rankings, Title Path and Card Context
Martin had been ranked No. 7 by the WBA, positioned behind Premier Boxing Champions stablemate Gary Antuanne Russell, who holds the WBA title. Also on the card were 140-pound titlists Richardson Hitchins (IBF) and Gary Antuanne Russell (WBA); Hitchins was scheduled to defend his belt against third-ranked Oscar Duarte. A Martin victory had been projected to accelerate his climb toward those champions and to potentially set up matchups involving other figures such as Keyshawn Davis, who had expressed interest in fighting Albright. Martin had attended Keyshawn Davis’ recent win over Jamaine Ortiz at Madison Square Garden the month before the bout.
Contextual Notes and Unclear Items
One pre-fight listing bore the placeholder headline "Just a moment... "; the content of that item is unclear in the provided context. What makes this notable is how the draw preserves many of the pre-fight questions—about early pressure, Martin’s adjustment to 140 and Albright’s ability to hold ground—rather than resolving them. The immediate effect is that neither man advances decisively toward the title match-ups that had been discussed; the broader implication is that both will need further performances to change their trajectories.
Overall, the draw leaves Martin’s attempt to author a definitive bounceback incomplete, even as it confirms the physical themes both camps emphasized in the build-up: pressure, timing and whether a fast, compact 140-pound Martin can force opponents out of the pocket by the middle rounds.
