Two-time welterweight beltholder Paul Williams is being considered for a bout with WBC junior middleweight titleholder Saul Alvarez in September.
Martirosyan ready to prove he's a contender
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It seems as if Vanes Martirosyan has been one of those “hot prospects to watch” ever since the 23-year-old junior middleweight turned pro in 2005. Martirosyan (26-0, 17 knockouts) was impressive enough in 2009 to convince some corners of the boxing world that he’s a bona fide contender. Brutal stoppages of fringe contenders Andrey Tsurkan and Willie Lee earned the 2004 U.S. Olympian a No. 9 ranking in THE RING’s junior middleweight ratings by the end of last year, but most observers still consider the Armenia-born Southern Californian to be a prospect. Maybe a decisive victory over battle-tested Kassim Ouma will convince the majority that he’s ready to take on the best fighters in his division. Martirosyan faces the former 154-pound beltholder in the 10-round main event of a Fox Sports Net-televised card Saturday from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. On one hand, Ouma (26-6-1, 16 KOs) is the most-advanced opponent Martirosyan has faced. The Florida-based Ugandan owns two victories over former titleholder Verno Philips and he gave Jermain Taylor a spirited 12-round challenge in a failed bid for the middleweight title. But on the other hand, Ouma appears ready to be taken by a talented young fighter like Martirosyan. The 31-year-old veteran has lost four of his last five fights and hasn’t recorded a significant victory since out-hustling then-undefeated prospect Sechew Powell in 2006. So even if Martirosyan beats Ouma in impressive fashion, fans and boxing writers may still be split on whether he’s accomplished enough to be considered a contender. Martirosyan doesn’t care what others think. He knows he’s the goods and he says his sparring sessions at trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club prove it. “I’m always boxing with fighters who are ranked in the gym,” said Martirosyan, who grew up in Glendale, Calif., which isn’t far from the famous Hollywood gym. “Sparring with those top guys made me think boxing is what I’m meant to do and winning a world title is my destiny. “When you face someone who has a name and you handle them easily in sparring, it gives you confidence. Sometimes I wish there were cameras set up at the Wild Card so I could show everybody what I can do.” Martirosyan says he’s extra motivated for Ouma because the fight is on Fox Sports Net, which is in 82 million U.S. households. “I’m finally fighting a guy with a good name and a good record on national television,” he said. “I’m going to show him who the better man is.” The matchmakers at Top Rank, which has promoted Martirosyan since he turned pro, are confident in the Armenian-American’s ability but a little bit leery of Saturday’s fight because of his age. Ouma, who has been training hard at Johnny Tocco’s gym in Las Vegas since late December, may not be what he used to be, but he’s still a handful for a 23-year-old fighter who has only twice gone the 10-round distance. Roach isn’t worried about his young pupil. He believes Martirosyan has matured dramatically over the past year and is actually hoping that Ouma gives him a tough fight on Saturday. “I told (Top Rank matchmaker) Bruce Trampler that he’s ready for Ouma and anybody else,” Roach said. “He’s 26-0 now. How much more ready can he get? We know Ouma is tough and that he’s got experience, but that’s a good thing because he will give us rounds, which is what we need. I’m expecting a hard 10 rounds from Ouma.” Roach wants Martirosyan to get as many quality rounds under his belt as he can early in the year because he would like to target one of the titleholders by the fall. The fact that all the current 154-pound belt holders -- Sergio Martinez, Sergei Dzindziruk, Cory Spinks and Yuri Foreman -- are experienced boxers with difficult styles and another big player, Alfredo Angulo, is a bruising pressure fighter, doesn’t phase Roach. “Vanes wants a challenge, be it a title shot or a fight with one of the big names, and I think it’s what he needs to bring out his best,” Roach said. “Vanes fights up or down to the level of his opponent. I’ve put him in with Zab Judah’s brother, the light heavyweight (Daniel Judah), and Roman Karmazin in the gym and he handles them. But if I have him spar with an average boxer off the street, he looks average. “The higher the level of his opponent, the better he does.” Craig McEwan, one of Martirosyan’s regular sparring partners at Wild Card, has seen and experienced the young fighter’s development over the years. “I think he has matured as a fighter, but outside of the ring as well,” said the undefeated junior middleweight from Scotland. “It’s the way he carries himself now. He seems more secure and confident in his ability. He doesn’t have the chip on his shoulder he did a few years ago. When he was younger, he was trying to knock out everybody he sparred with. He was going all out all the time. I was the same way when I was his age. “A young fighter tries so hard to impress that he can forget that he has boxing ability. I used to do that. He used to that. But there’s a big difference between then and now. The way Vanes moves his quick feet and hands, but still settles down on his punches, I think he can hold his own with anyone.” And that includes Ouma. “If Vanes boxes Ouma the way he’s been sparring lately, I don’t think Ouma will lay a glove on him the whole fight,” McEwan said. To say that Roach is confident is an understatement. “His movement, combinations and hand speed will be too much for Ouma,” Roach said. “Vanes may stop him late because he’s got great power when he uses it. But he can also box. Against a guy like (Alfredo) Angulo, he would use his boxing skills. Against the boxers of the division, like Yuri Foreman, he would be more offensive. “The bottom line is that I think he can compete with guys like Foreman and Angulo. I’d even put him in with Paul Williams at 154 pounds.” Martirosyan loves it when his trainer says things like that. The former amateur standout, who was such a ring terror that he earned the nickname “The Nightmare” when he was only 16, wants to fight the kind of opponents that will earn him the recognition his amateur peers and rivals have already realized in the professional ranks. Martirosyan beat Timothy Bradley and split two close fights with Andre Berto on his way to representing the U.S. in the 152-pound division in the 2004 Olympic Games. Bradley, THE RING’s top-rated junior welterweight, is an undefeated pro who has already won two titles. Berto, an undefeated welterweight beltholder, will fight ring legend Shane Mosley on Jan. 30. “I’m the last man to beat Bradley and one of the last fighters to beat Berto,” Martirosyan said. “It’s a point of pride for me, but that was then and this is now. This is the pros and it’s all about what I do today. That’s why I would love to fight Paul Williams. I was calling him out before he fought Sergio Martinez. I think Martinez showed the world some of the flaws that I saw in Williams but he couldn’t finish him. I guarantee that if I landed my left hook like Martinez landed his right hook in the first round against Williams, he wouldn’t have got up.” For now Martirosyan says he’s content to take on Ouma. “I’m just happy that more people will get to see me do my thing,” he said. “I want to show my talent to a wide audience and I want to entertain people. This is my time. “Sooner or later the people who don’t realize it will see who I am.” Doug Fischer can be reached at dougiefischer@yahoo.com |