Grant Gordon
Glendale's own Vanes Martirosyan suffered a setback of sorts and it
came without even setting foot in a boxing ring.
"The Nightmare," as the former Olympic boxer and Glendale resident
is known, was set to fight his third professional fight on the
undercard of the July 30 "Million-Dollar Lady" pay-per-view card, but
it was cancelled earlier this week.
Lucia Rijker, the co-star of the film "Million-Dollar Baby" was
set to fight in the main event against Kristy Martin. Rijker ruptured
her Achilles tendon during training on Tuesday, however, and the card
was called to a halt.
Still, Martirosyan (2-0, one knockout), who's trained by the
world-renowned Freddie Roach, said he wasn't fazed by the
cancellation.
"When you train with Freddie Roach, you're always ready," said
Martirosyan, who KO'd Jovanni Rubio in the first round of their super
welterweight bout on May 28. "We're always working every day."
Then again, fighting at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on another
pay-per-view card -- his previous fight was on the undercard of a
Julio Cesar Chavez Showtime pay-per-view -- had him intrigued.
"I was really excited [to fight in Las Vegas for the first time],"
he said.
He'll have his chance on Oct. 8, however, when he'll fight on the
undercard of a Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout in Las Vegas.
Martirosyan has quite a bit on his schedule before that, however.
Looking to make up for his fight -- which was against an as-of-yet
unnamed opponent -- Lee Samuels, the public relations director for
Top Rank, Martirosyan's promotional body headed by Bob Arum, said his
next fight date will be announced Monday.
"Bob Arum's trying to have another card in August, if he does, I'm
on it," Martirosyan said.
After that, he's set to fight on the undercard of an Erik Morales
bout, Sept. 10 at Staples Center.
That fight will mark the start of a per-month fight schedule for
Martirosyan, who has his eyes forward on a bright future.
"I'm scheduled to fight every month right now, so I'm always
ready," said Martirosyan, who isn't about to sulk over the July 30
mishap. "Everything happens for a reason."
* GRANT GORDON covers sports. He can be reached at (818) 637-3225
or by e-mail at grant.gordon@latimes.com.
