At the age of seven, Vanes Martirosyan, the fighter who would one day be called, “The Nightmare”, stepped into the boxing ring to face his first foe. As fear and doubt crept in, his father, Norik Martirosyan, offered unforgettable words of wisdom that shaped the fighter’s outlook and paved the way for him to become a boxing victor, 36 times over. Since that day, it has been Martirosyan’s dream and motivation to one day strap a championship belt around his father’s waist in honor of the life he devoted to his son’s career, and the places where its taken him today.
On May 5, 2018, Martirosyan will be met with the opportunity to make his dreams a reality as he faces off against current WBA and WBC champion, Gennady Golovkin, known in the ring as Triple G. Far from being a sudden Cinderella happening, the bout with GGG is a fight that Martirosyan has kept himself prepared for. A fighter turned pro at the age of twenty, Vanes fought and won thirty-two straight times before a technical draw against Erislandy Lara in 2012. In the middle of his winning streak, he traveled to Athens, Greece as an Olympian with team U.S.A, during the 2004 Olympics. On May 5th, Martirosyan will step into the ring with a career total twenty-one knockouts, of thirty-six wins. The question on everyone’s mind is, will it be enough?
Undeniably the fight of Martirosyan’s life, critics are measuring the fact that Vanes has not fought in two years against GGG’s advanced age to predict who they think will win in Golovkin vs Martirosyan. As the current champion, Triple G is expected to be victorious in his next fight over The Nightmare Vanes. Still, others claim that Golovkin is far past his prime at the age of thirty-six. Vanes, on the other hand, is either impressive or impeded depending how you look at the fact that he is not a natural middleweight and is moving up a weight class to qualify for the fight. All these things considered, and adding less than one month of training to prepare, it would be an enormous upset for GGG if Martirosyan rises from the ring victorious.
Improbable, but not impossible. Vanes is not only younger and taller, but he boasts the same reach as Triple G and is entering the ring with plenty to prove. Plus, if generations have learned anything from the tortoise and the hare it’s that being underestimated is a favorable advantage. For Golovkin the match is easily just another HBO Boxing gig to tick off the GGG fight schedule.
Which brings the point to this – How did an albeit unknown fighter like Martirosyan come to be paired up against a both feared and respected, likely to be in the hall-of-fame someday, champion like Gennady Golovkin?
Golovkin was always going to enter the ring on May 5th but was originally measured up against longtime rival, Canelo Alvarez. To say the fight was much anticipated is a gross understatement. The May 5th GGG vs. Canelo fight was to be the rematch of the century after their controversial draw in September 2017. The melee, however, was canceled after Canelo tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Results he attributed to the consumption of contaminated meats in Mexico where he trains.
With Canelo out, Golovkin began the search for a fighter who would agree to be in. Never an easy task in GGG’s career, he traveled a long road to boxing stardom primarily because other fighter’s constantly dodged invitations to meet him in the ring. Triple G’s fight on May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, was seemingly headed in the same direction. After Alvarez failed random drug testing in February, canceling the Canelo vs. GGG fight, Spike O’Sullivan nearly claimed the ticket but talks fell through when the money on the table failed to entice the Irishman.
Martirosyan emerged as the opponent willing to face GGG after the champion negated Demetrius Andrade, Billy Joe Saunders, and Jaime Munguia as possible replacements.
Like he did at the age of seven when he took on his first challenger, Vanes will face Triple G willingly and without fear. The steadfast fighter has said that he’s willing to give respect to Triple G so long as Golovkin returns it when Vanes does something worthy of receiving it. Whoever happened to fall into the opponent slot of Triple G’s next fight, would be all that was standing in the way of Golovkin claiming the title of most consecutive middleweight title defenses; tied with Bernard Hopkins at 20. Martirosyan, with his father standing behind him, has his own reasons to contend for the championship belt.
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As the leading innovator of on-demand car wash services, MobileWash is proud to be sponsoring The Nightmare, Vanes Martirosyan as he squares off against Gennady GGG Golovkin in the fight of his life. A true underdog vs champion fight, see who will win when Gennady Golovkin and Vanes Martirosyan meet on Saturday, May 5, for WBA (Super), WBC, and IBO middleweight titles. Boxing schedule, the card begins at 11 p.m. on HBO, for HBO Boxing.