Frank Martin lives up to his “The Ghost” moniker in more ways than one.
Inside the ring, the 28-year-old rising lightweight’s (17-0) rapid movements and elusiveness represent a ghost, making him hard to pinpoint in one location.
But he acts like a ghost outside the ring as well, seemingly sneaking up on the rest of the 135-pound division.
As he returns to the ring Saturday night against Artem Harutyunyan (12-0) in a 12-round lightweight bout as the main event on Showtime’s card at The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Martin is currently No. 7 or higher in all four rankings in the division.
“I think there’s a story behind the ghost,” Martin told The Post. “I came out of the blue. And it’s been going on since I started boxing. Me coming out of the blue and achieving a lot in a short amount of time. Things like that. Even on the outside of the ring. I feel like the nickname, it goes with who I am, for sure.”
Martin’s last bout in December against Michel Rivera, who entered with a 24-0 record, drew ample intrigue with most expecting it to be a tight contest.
Rivera had emerged in the top 10 of the lightweight rankings as well, and was Martin’s first real test against that caliber of opponent.
Additionally, the fight was forecasted to establish who was ready to take that often elusive next step from prospect to contender among the division’s top dogs.
Martin revealed himself to be on a different level, cruising to a unanimous decision victory and scoring the sole knockdown in the bout.
“I’m different,” Martin said. “Time is gonna tell that I’m just one of those special fighters.
“I definitely feel like that fight right there woke a lot of people up. Woke a lot of people up where they’re like, ‘Oh, he’s up to something.’ But they’re still questioning it, they still want to see more. That’s cool, I’m gonna keep showing them. I’m gonna give them more to see.”
The star-studded lightweight division is beginning to open up a bit in front of Martin, who works with highly-acclaimed 2022 Trainer of the Year Derrick James.
James also has undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo, unified welterweight champion Errol Spence and former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in his stable.
Spence also serves as Martin’s promoter.
Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney is likely to either rematch Vasiliy Lomachenko or move up to super lightweight.
And if he does fight Lomachenko, Haney is still likely to move up to the 140-pound division thereafter.
A move to the super lightweight division looms for superstar Gervonta Davis, who has emerged as the biggest attraction at lightweight.
Ryan Garcia, who Davis knocked out in April in one of boxing’s biggest fights of the year, has since moved up to super lightweight full-time.
With another loss to Haney, the 35-year-old Lomachenko would take a large step back from title contention.
Former lightweight king Teofimo Lopez has fought three times already at super lightweight.
“I feel like [the lightweight division] is up for grabs,” Martin said. “Even with Haney having those belts, it’s still anybody’s division. It’s not safe. Anybody can come to one of the top guys right now and upset one of the guys with the belts or one of those big names. There’s a lot of us right now who are gunning for that top spot.”
Soft-spoken without an overly-large social media presence, Martin’s name doesn’t carry as much recognition as those top guys, and his ascension has received far less fanfare than the previous stars listed.
But Martin’s win over Rivera launched him right into their company.
And with a win over Harutyunyan, “The Ghost” will be in a strong position to haunt one of them, regardless of whether they saw him coming.
“I’m ready for that, the highest level of the division,” Martin said. “I’m ready for all those guys… A lot of the top guys right now haven’t even really fought top guys. I’m one of the top guys who’s ready for the top guy.”
