By Jake Donovan
A week that began with Vanes Martirosyan mistakenly assumed for a fighter with the same last name involved in a middleweight eliminator, ended with another undefeated junior middleweight calling him out in the press.
Somewhere in the middle, confirmation of his next fight date managed to land as the least significant recent news item involving his name.
No stranger to calling out fighters through the media, Martirosyan (28-0, 17KO) actually took a break from challenging everyone in and around the junior middleweight division, as he was awaiting news of his next fight.
Instead, one of his peers decided to flip the script.
A
by Golden Boy Promotions had undefeated junior middleweight prospect Erislandy Lara calling out the transplanted Armenian. This year proved to be a breakout campaign for the Cuban, who hopes to end 2010 with a bang in lobbying for the B-side slot against Martirosyan on December 4.
“I’ve proven myself, especially this year,” Lara stated in the release. “[N]ow I want to let Vanes and fans around the world know that when you talk and my name comes out of your mouth, you better be ready to back it up. If Vanes spent as much time in the gym as he did on the Internet talking about real fighters, he might have been a world champion by now.
“I want the world to know that the talking stops here. I’ve told my team to make this fight and now it’s up to Vaes to see if he’s ready to put his money where his mouth is.”
Naturally, the news didn’t sit well with Martirosyan.
"Lara is making me shake in my boots,” Martirosyan said in a mocking tone to Boxingscene.com late Friday evening, when alerted of Lara’s comments. “Didn't I make it clear that I want to fight top 10 guys? I'm done with amateurs. I don't want to be involved in his little American dream bullsh*t."
It remains unknown who will be in the other corner for Martirosyan’s fight on December 4, which comes on the undercard of the Top Rank PPV show in Anaheim, California. The headliner has Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. squaring off against Alfonso Gomez.
Martirosyan’s name was originally mentioned as a possible headliner for a Fox Sports Top Rank Live broadcast on December 18, though the date is now occupied by Arum’s business partner across the border, Fernando Beltran.
A Martirosyan-Lara fight will make for a nice headline attraction in 2011, whether in a title fight or as an elimination bout. Staging it on a Top Rank PPV undercard on short notice with nothing at stake is not only a non-starter from a business perspective, but also the boxing equivalent of selling wolf tickets.
This fact is not lost on Martirosyan, who is in position to where a title fight in 2011 is a distinct possibility. While willing to do the fight when the time is right, he’s not going to entertain the notion of someone else using his name for no other purpose than to make headlines.
"Lara needs to get off my nuts. I'm not his golden ticket. I said I want champions or top rated guys. Lara can go get a belt then we can talk."
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com
