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NEW SCHOOL PICK OF THE WEEK: VANES MARTIROSYAN
By Jake Donovan
BoxingScene.com, AR
Feb 7 2008
If there's anything worse than having a nightmare while sleeping,
it's living through one while you're awake.
Welcome to the world of anyone standing in the opposite corner of
undefeated junior middleweight Vanes "The Nightmare" Martirosyan.
It's been pure hell for each of Martirosyan's 18 opponents (and
counting) to date, as the transplanted Armenian has not lost a round,
never mind a fight, since turning pro in early 2005. That streak,
along with his winning ways (18-0, 12KO), both figure to continue
Thursday. On tap is once-beaten Midwestern junior middleweight Michi
Munoz, as Martirosyan is slated for his first scheduled ten-round
bout, which serves as the co-feature for the next installment of
VERSUS FIGHT NIGHT series.
The bad news gets worse for Munoz and all future opponents -
Martirosyan continues to improve with every fight. If there was a
single criticism to his game, it's that the Armenian all too often
sought the knockout without the benefit of a jab to set up his
attack. A typical Martirosyan fight went as follows: bell rings,
Vanes is in your face, launching power shots from all angles until
you either fall or have lost every round.
Not much has changed - well, two things to be exact. One is his
trainer. Having previously been shacked up with two-time Trainer
of the Year Freddie Roach, Martirosyan packed his bags late in 2007
and headed to Houston, where he now serves under the tutelage of the
well-respected Ronnie Shields.
The other change in his career: the kid now has a jab. You'll recognize
it quickly if you're his opponent: it's the long stick that's buried
in your face from the opening bell.
Though only 21 years old and still learning with each fight,
Martirosyan has already come a long way from his amateur days. Those
days began 14 years ago, when his father took him to the gym as a
7-year old living in heavily Armenian-populated Glendale, CA, where his
family moved from his native Armenia when he was just four years old.
The trip to the gym was a family affair, with his brothers (one
older, one younger) accompanying. All three took a liking to the
sweet science, but kids being kids, gravitated toward other sports as
well. His older brother eventually traded in his gloves for swimming
trunks, while baby bro turned to soccer. Vanes, who was home-schooled
throughout his childhood, took a liking to basketball, but his trainers
and father refused to stray from the ring, spotting something special
from the very beginning.
Their instincts were correct. Martirosyan led a brilliant amateur
career, going 120-10 in the non-pay ranks. All but one amateur loss
was eventually avenged, including a March 2004 win over Andre Berto.
The only one to go unchecked was in his final amateur fight, dropping
a decision to eventual Silver medalist Lorenzo Aragon in the second
round of the 2004 Olympics, where he represented the United States.
Aragon was a 30-year old, two-time amateur world champion at the time;
Martirosyan had just turned 18.
Simply put, experience prevailed over youth.
Turning pro in 2005, Martirosyan has been brought along at a steady
pace, while appearing on several networks in the preliminary stage
of his career. His first slice of limelight came in 2006, when Vanes
opened up a summer PPV telecast headlined by Oleg Maskaev's repeat
knockout win over Hasim Rahman. Martirosyan was riding a four-fight
knockout streak and had Marcus Brooks down and nearly out in the
opening round, but was forced to settle for a lopsided unanimous
decision.
The brash 6'0" junior middleweight has also managed face time on
Versus and Telefutura, though the lion's share of his bouts to date
have served as under card filler, mostly in Las Vegas. Whether or not
his fight makes its way to television is of little concern to the
Armenian; activity is far more important, or at least as important
as his pre-fight ritual, always putting on his right glove first.
It's a fitting superstition, as most of Martirosyan's fights end
courtesy of a big right hand. It's how his last televised fight came
to a close, with a fusillade of straight rights bombarding Dan Wallace
early and often before a final straight right sent him crashing to the
canvas. Wallace was left in a limp state, collapsing into the referee's
arm as the fight was waved off midway through the opening round.
What set up the right hands? A steady jab, with Vanes landing it the
moment he left his corner to begin the fight.
When Martirosyan isn't in your face, it's because he's taking a step
back to see where he can next land a shot. It can be a left hook to the
body, or a left hook upstairs. Quite often it's a 1-2 as he creeps back
inside to close the gap. It could also be a right uppercut from short
or long range, popping his opponent's head out of its protective shell
to set you up with a money shot, which these days could be any punch.
But it's not always about the power. Every so often, you run into
an opponent who refuses to go quietly. Martirosyan experienced that
in his last fight, just one month ago, when Clarence "Sonny Bono"
Taylor forced the Armenian to work every step of the way, even in
serving on the business end of a shutout. Martirosyan never wilted,
fighting fire with fire throughout on a cold and rainy night in Los
Angeles, even in realizing the night was not ending in a knockout.
Despite an influx of his fellow Armenians making the trip from Glendale
to cheer on their favorite son, Vanes remained poised beyond his 21
years, never feeling the need to try to do too much to impress the
crowd. Win today, look spectacular the next fight.
With each fight, Martirosyan becomes more and more of a complete
fighter, much to the delight of manager Shelly Finkel and promoter
Top Rank, both of whom have been with him since his pro debut. Both
have nothing but rave reviews for their star in the making, as his
consistent development becomes their dream come true. Though their
dream continues to serve as everyone else's nightmare.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America
and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His feature column runs every
Tuesday, and his Prospect of the Week series runs every Thursday. Jake
is also BoxingScene's official Telefutura correspondent.
http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show &id=12476
By Jake Donovan
BoxingScene.com, AR
Feb 7 2008
If there's anything worse than having a nightmare while sleeping,
it's living through one while you're awake.
Welcome to the world of anyone standing in the opposite corner of
undefeated junior middleweight Vanes "The Nightmare" Martirosyan.
It's been pure hell for each of Martirosyan's 18 opponents (and
counting) to date, as the transplanted Armenian has not lost a round,
never mind a fight, since turning pro in early 2005. That streak,
along with his winning ways (18-0, 12KO), both figure to continue
Thursday. On tap is once-beaten Midwestern junior middleweight Michi
Munoz, as Martirosyan is slated for his first scheduled ten-round
bout, which serves as the co-feature for the next installment of
VERSUS FIGHT NIGHT series.
The bad news gets worse for Munoz and all future opponents -
Martirosyan continues to improve with every fight. If there was a
single criticism to his game, it's that the Armenian all too often
sought the knockout without the benefit of a jab to set up his
attack. A typical Martirosyan fight went as follows: bell rings,
Vanes is in your face, launching power shots from all angles until
you either fall or have lost every round.
Not much has changed - well, two things to be exact. One is his
trainer. Having previously been shacked up with two-time Trainer
of the Year Freddie Roach, Martirosyan packed his bags late in 2007
and headed to Houston, where he now serves under the tutelage of the
well-respected Ronnie Shields.
The other change in his career: the kid now has a jab. You'll recognize
it quickly if you're his opponent: it's the long stick that's buried
in your face from the opening bell.
Though only 21 years old and still learning with each fight,
Martirosyan has already come a long way from his amateur days. Those
days began 14 years ago, when his father took him to the gym as a
7-year old living in heavily Armenian-populated Glendale, CA, where his
family moved from his native Armenia when he was just four years old.
The trip to the gym was a family affair, with his brothers (one
older, one younger) accompanying. All three took a liking to the
sweet science, but kids being kids, gravitated toward other sports as
well. His older brother eventually traded in his gloves for swimming
trunks, while baby bro turned to soccer. Vanes, who was home-schooled
throughout his childhood, took a liking to basketball, but his trainers
and father refused to stray from the ring, spotting something special
from the very beginning.
Their instincts were correct. Martirosyan led a brilliant amateur
career, going 120-10 in the non-pay ranks. All but one amateur loss
was eventually avenged, including a March 2004 win over Andre Berto.
The only one to go unchecked was in his final amateur fight, dropping
a decision to eventual Silver medalist Lorenzo Aragon in the second
round of the 2004 Olympics, where he represented the United States.
Aragon was a 30-year old, two-time amateur world champion at the time;
Martirosyan had just turned 18.
Simply put, experience prevailed over youth.
Turning pro in 2005, Martirosyan has been brought along at a steady
pace, while appearing on several networks in the preliminary stage
of his career. His first slice of limelight came in 2006, when Vanes
opened up a summer PPV telecast headlined by Oleg Maskaev's repeat
knockout win over Hasim Rahman. Martirosyan was riding a four-fight
knockout streak and had Marcus Brooks down and nearly out in the
opening round, but was forced to settle for a lopsided unanimous
decision.
The brash 6'0" junior middleweight has also managed face time on
Versus and Telefutura, though the lion's share of his bouts to date
have served as under card filler, mostly in Las Vegas. Whether or not
his fight makes its way to television is of little concern to the
Armenian; activity is far more important, or at least as important
as his pre-fight ritual, always putting on his right glove first.
It's a fitting superstition, as most of Martirosyan's fights end
courtesy of a big right hand. It's how his last televised fight came
to a close, with a fusillade of straight rights bombarding Dan Wallace
early and often before a final straight right sent him crashing to the
canvas. Wallace was left in a limp state, collapsing into the referee's
arm as the fight was waved off midway through the opening round.
What set up the right hands? A steady jab, with Vanes landing it the
moment he left his corner to begin the fight.
When Martirosyan isn't in your face, it's because he's taking a step
back to see where he can next land a shot. It can be a left hook to the
body, or a left hook upstairs. Quite often it's a 1-2 as he creeps back
inside to close the gap. It could also be a right uppercut from short
or long range, popping his opponent's head out of its protective shell
to set you up with a money shot, which these days could be any punch.
But it's not always about the power. Every so often, you run into
an opponent who refuses to go quietly. Martirosyan experienced that
in his last fight, just one month ago, when Clarence "Sonny Bono"
Taylor forced the Armenian to work every step of the way, even in
serving on the business end of a shutout. Martirosyan never wilted,
fighting fire with fire throughout on a cold and rainy night in Los
Angeles, even in realizing the night was not ending in a knockout.
Despite an influx of his fellow Armenians making the trip from Glendale
to cheer on their favorite son, Vanes remained poised beyond his 21
years, never feeling the need to try to do too much to impress the
crowd. Win today, look spectacular the next fight.
With each fight, Martirosyan becomes more and more of a complete
fighter, much to the delight of manager Shelly Finkel and promoter
Top Rank, both of whom have been with him since his pro debut. Both
have nothing but rave reviews for their star in the making, as his
consistent development becomes their dream come true. Though their
dream continues to serve as everyone else's nightmare.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America
and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His feature column runs every
Tuesday, and his Prospect of the Week series runs every Thursday. Jake
is also BoxingScene's official Telefutura correspondent.
http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show &id=12476