It’s likely he didn’t know then that it would lead him to where he is now. But a year ago, his goal of bringing the sport he loves to the city he calls home began to take shape. And tonight it becomes an undisputed accomplishment.
“It was a very big goal for him and he worked very hard for it,” Tarverdyan says. “It’s something very big.”
On what is forecasted to be a Saturday with clouds and a chance of drizzle, Harutyunyan hopes to awake with reason to celebrate.
With an iPhone that rarely seems to quiet and an agenda that never appears to wane, Harutyunyan tirelessly pushed forward in the days leading up to him reaching Glendale Glory. He did so even with his first-born son due at any day.
“We might have a show without me,” he smiles.
He hopes by Saturday he’ll be celebrating the birth of his baby boy, the health of his wife, the success of Glendale Glory and the future of his career in boxing, outside and inside the ring.
Harutyunyan’s never uttered the words retirement as it relates to his boxing career.
“I think he has one last fight in him, I do,” Krabbe says. “When he gives you his word, he sticks to it and he’s never said he’s retired. When he sets his mind to anything he accomplishes it.”
And, “if everything was right, I would definitely do it,” says Harutyunyan, who has begun training again, of a potential comeback.
Harutyunyan’s never hesitated that his hopes are that tonight is merely the beginning of boxing in Glendale and his career promoting.
“He’s motivated, he’s determined,” Bash says. “That translates to why he’s still here doing this, getting bigger and better.”
As a father, a fighter and a promoter, there all kinds of possibilities for Harutyunyan. And, as well as anyone, he knows that in the world of boxing, success and opportunity are things that must be fought for — whether inside or outside the ropes.
But if his hands are to continue grasping an iPhone or wrapped by gloves, the one certainty is that Harutyunyan has become the man who brought boxing back to Glendale.
“This is something I feel very passionate about,” he says. “After everything with the city council, the city and the sports fans, I feel enormous responsibility to our city to make this a successful event.
“It became a personal and a community issue. It was on my word and my shoulders to get it done.”
