Learning the ropes and on the rise

This is the second installment of a three-part feature story on the life and career of undefeated Glendale boxing phenom Vanes “The Nightmare” Martirosyan.

Even as he was enjoying a surprising run against the odds to the Round of 16 in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Vanes Martirosyan was beginning to sour on the Olympic experience.

Miffed at what he saw as a politicized qualifying process of making the U.S. team and further turned off by the Olympic scoring system and the way he was coached during the games, the uplifting story of his Olympic debut had underpinnings of frustration. The pride he felt in representing the U.S. and his strong desire to win a medal notwithstanding, an Olympic return in 2008 just didn’t seem to be in the cards.

“The Olympics was a great experience, I was very happy,” Martirosyan said. “But the coaching I can’t say was good, the styles weren’t clicking. I wish I had my own trainers with me [in my corner], and my dad. [The U.S. coaches] tried to change my style and they weren’t even helping me.”

The high-profile Shelly Finkel had a clear interest in representing Martirosyan when the games were over and the pieces were certainly in place for Martirosyan to enter the pro ranks as a raw but high-potential prospect with the backing of some of the top names in the sport.

But Norik Martirosyan still held out hope for his son taking another shot at Olympic glory.

“He really wanted [Vanes] to win some kind of a medal in the Olympics,” Vanes’ uncle Serg said of his brother. “For him, to represent the country and win a medal for the country has much bigger meaning [than a professional title]. He always thought it was his or his family’s way of thanking this country.”

In the end there were, perhaps, just too many factors in favor of turning pro that made the decision fairly clear cut.

“I’ve never seen, except in the case of Lennox Lewis, anyone who did not win [a gold medal] in one Olympics and won in the next,” Finkel says. “No matter how good you are, the amateurs just are a different animal [as far as] training and judging. I wouldn’t have stayed amateur for four more years because, at the end of that, if he didn’t win it, you’re beginning four years later.”