Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions continues to bolster its stable of fighters.
The Los Angeles-based promotional outfit has re-signed Armenian super bantamweight Azat Hovhannisyan (18-3, 15 KOs) to a new promotional deal Monday.
Nicknamed "Crazy A", Hovhannisyan will return to the ring March 28 to fight Jose Sanmartin (30-5-1) for the interim vacant WBA super bantamweight title at The Forum in Los Angeles. The fight will be staged on the undercard of the Vergil Ortiz Jr. versus Samuel Vargas fight on DAZN.
The 31-year-old hard-hitting and explosive Hovhannisyan is riding a four-fight winning streak since dropping a competitive decision to Rey Vargas in 2018. The Freddie Roach-trained Hovhannisyan destroyed Franklin Manzanilla in four rounds in September in a WBA eliminator.
“Ever since signing with Golden Boy, my career has been taken to another level,” said Hovhannisyan. “I got many great opportunities, including a fight against Ronny Rios and a world title challenge against Rey Vargas. Now that I’m fighting for an interim title on March 28, I’m happy to sign with Golden Boy again so we can score a great win and then look for even bigger fights.”
Hovhannisyan's new deal continues Golden Boy's trend of signing contenders and touted prospects alike to its roster. Last week, they signed Hawaiian amateur standouts Dalis Kaleiopu and Asa Stevens, as well as Shane Mosley Jr. Last year, they also extended Ortiz Jr., Ryan Garcia and Alexis Rocha to new deals.
“Azat Hovhannisyan’s career is a perfect example of the outstanding way that we develop our talent,” said De La Hoya. “Make no mistake, Hovhannisyan had a tough start to his career, despite being very talented. But, working together with his excellent team, we were able to hone his brutal instinct in such a way that would maximize his potential and make him into of the most dangerous contenders in the super bantamweight division. I’m positive that he will become a world champion.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the LA Times, Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports and hosts his own radio show in Los Angeles. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk.akopyan@gmail.com.