Vanes Martirosyan, Vic Darchinyan ready for respective showdowns in Texas

Boxing: Martirosyan vies for first world title against Andrade, Darchinyan looks for revenge against Donaire.

November 06, 2013|By Grant Gordon, grant.gordon@latimes.com

Boxer Vanes Martirosyan is preparing for his championship…

In an unbeaten career now 34 bouts, 160 rounds and more than eight years old, Vanes “Nightmare” Martirosyan has finally arrived upon the doorstep of claiming championship glory he believes he so richly deserves.

With a long list of titles won and battered opponents beaten behind him, Vic “The Raging Bull” Darchinyan isn’t looking to fulfill any new championship quests at the moment, but rather to settle an old score.

On Saturday night, live on HBO and emanating from the American Bank Center in Corpus Chris, Tex., Martirosyan will look to fulfill championship dreams a career in the making, while fellow countryman Darchinyan will look to gain revenge six years in the waiting.

Leading off HBO’s televised Top Rank Boxing triple header at 9:30 p.m. EST, Martirosyan has finally secured his first-ever world title shot, as he’ll face fellow unbeaten Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade for the vacant World Boxing Organization light middleweight (154 pounds) title.

Darchinyan will follow, as he gets the rematch he’s craved for so long when he faces off with Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire in a 10-round featherweight (126 pounds) bout.

Though Corpus Christi is roughly 1,500 miles from Glendale, with the Jewel City’s Martirosyan and Darchinyan at the forefront, the night is likely to be the biggest, as it relates to the Sweet Science, in the city’s history.

“This is really great for Glendale,” said Main Event Sports Club’s Roma Kalentaryan, a longtime trainer and strength and conditioning coach for Martirosyan. “I think, if not everybody, 80% of the Glendale people should be watching.

“I think pretty much everybody from Glendale should be cheering on Saturday, everybody from Southern California really.”

Now 27, Martirosyan (33-0-1, 21 knockouts) has fought twice before in world title elimination bouts, though neither resulted in the championship bout he’s clamored to receive. All the while, he’s endured criticism because his title quest has taken so long to come to fruition. Either way, Martirosyan’s chance at title glory is finally here.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” Martirosyan said. “I had a lot of opportunities slip away, I’m not gonna let this slip away.”

A 2004 United States Olympian, Martirosyan will face another former U.S. Olympian in Andrade (19-0, 13 KOs),a member of the 2008 squad.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Next

|

|

|