Gervonta Davis is a 'star,' but there is a fight to win and a lot of big names awaiting their turn

What we know most about Gervonta Davis as a high-level boxing attraction is really that we don't know anything for certain. Davis faces Frank Martin for the WBA title Saturday in a battle of unbeaten lightweights in the main event of the 100th boxing card at the MGM Grand Garden. If you want to watch it and you're honest and don't steal the signal, you'll have to fork over $74.99 to buy it from PPV.com or Prime Video.

Back in the day when the Core Four of the pay-per-view era -- Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao -- were racking up massive numbers, there was plenty of misinformation because, after all, it's in a promoter's best interests to make things appear as significant as possible. Still, it was possible for reporters to find out the actual pay-per-view numbers because there was a larger pool of people who had access to the data.

As a result, there was an ability to understand who was truly big and who was not. With the advent of digital PPV sales, those numbers stay in-house, and so that ability no longer exists. We can't believe the numbers now because even if they are provided, they're provided by someone with a vested interest.

An athlete's social media following tells part of the story. So do crowds, and Davis has put butts in seats across the country. It's easy to paper a house and then announce wildly inflated gates. In the U.S., the public was able to obtain the actual gate figures. But after intense lobbying by promoters, those numbers and the fighters' purses are no longer public.

So, disinformation reigns.

That brings us to Davis, who is widely believed to be one of the biggest draws in boxing. You've heard it spoken about on YouTube, you've probably read it online and in the few print publications that dedicate any space at all to boxing these days.

Now, if a promoter says a guy is a star loud enough and long enough, the claim gets repeated and the fighter becomes a star in the eyes of those who cover boxing and, by extension, the fans who follow the sport most avidly.

There was an ability back in the day to use Nielsen ratings to determine how many people were interested in a fight or a fighter. The ratings existed for fights on network or cable television, but there is nothing similar for streaming sites. We have no idea how many people will watch a fight on, say, ESPN+ or DAZN because they're private companies who don't have to, and don't, report their numbers.

Have no doubt, Davis is a talented fighter. He's 29-0 with 27 knockouts and has one-punch KO power. But his list of opposition isn't the greatest. If you look at the divisional rankings put out by ESPN and Ring, Davis has fought two fighters currently ranked in the Top 10 at 130, 135, 140, and 147 pounds by ESPN and two ranked in the Top 10 in those classes by Ring.

For the record, Davis has wins over the following ranked ESPN fighters: Isaac Cruz, ranked No. 5 at 140 and Mario Barrios, ranked No. 5 at 147. He faces Martin on Saturday, who is ranked No. 5 at lightweight.

Of the ranked Ring fighters, Davis has faced Hector Garcia, seventh at 130; and Barrios, who is now fourth at welterweight. Ring has Martin ranked fifth at lightweight.

To be fair, he fought Ryan Garcia, who would be ranked by both but was removed when he failed a drug test.

Davis, though, has yet to face notable figures ranked at 135 like Shakur Stevenson, Vasiliy Lomachenko, and William Zepeda. He also hasn't met elite names like Teofimo Lopez, Subriel Matias, and Devin Haney at 140.

That makes Saturday's bout against Martin somewhat of a litmus test for Davis. In an era in which the best are suddenly fighting and calling out the best, Davis needs to look impressive against Martin and then call out one of the other elites. One of the problems from this vantage point is that the first thing that usually comes out of Davis' mouth is that he's the A-side and not that he wants to fight another highly regarded opponent.

Davis skipped Tuesday's arrival ceremony at the MGM because he was supposedly upset with the way the MGM has been promoting the fight. Well, MGM is the venue, not a promoter. There is a lot that goes on other than hanging posters in the hotel that fighters aren't necessarily aware of that builds the event.

He was engaging and available on Wednesday at the news conference, and he promised to give the fans their money's worth.

"Don’t get your popcorn, or your juice," Davis said. "Stay locked in, because I’ve been locked in for a long time now and my give back is going to be a great performance on Saturday night."

Calvin Ford, Davis' highly regarded trainer, urged Martin at the final news conference to keep talking, suggesting it would motivate Davis.

Now, the idea of massive fights out there for him with a win should be motivation enough, but whatever gets him to perform optimally is worth it.

“I want Frank to come with it, because I need him to push that button," Ford said. "I haven’t seen it yet. I know what’s under that hood, but there’s a button yet to be pushed. I’m asking Frank to please push that button. It’s nothing personal, but Frank is in the way.

“Tank is pushing forward to where he’s supposed to be at, and Frank is here for a reason. Y’all haven’t seen the real Tank yet until that button gets pushed.”

I want to believe Davis is that guy, but because he or his promoter says he is does not make it so. Tyson became that guy by the way he fought. Say what you want about his outside-the-ring escapades, but nobody was more eager to take on the best than De La Hoya, who faced eight men who are already in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. That number will increase to at least nine when Manny Pacquiao gets in, and it could go up to 11 if both Genaro Hernandez and Fernando Vargas eventually get elected.

Boxing needs stars and if Davis can handle Martin and move on to the truly big names in and around his weight class, he'd finally be a star in name and in deed.

Davis made Martin flinch after the two had posed for photos Wednesday, which got a lot of play on the internet. And Davis suggested Martin will soon be overcome by the moment.

“It hasn’t even hit him yet," Davis said. "He’ll see Saturday. It’s going to hit him, especially when I touch him. What is he bringing to the table that I haven’t seen?"

That's a good question. We know if it were Matias or Lopez or Zepeda or Haney or any one of a number of others, there might be an answer to that question.

As notable as he is, though, Davis still has much to prove.