By Jake Donovan


Unbeaten junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan was surgical in soundly outpointing Richard Gutierrez in their Fox Deportes-televised main event Saturday evening at the Winstar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma.


Scores were 100-90 (twice) and 99-91.


Martirosyan came into the fight in desperate need of damage control. The brash Armenian, now based in Glendale, Calif., has spent the better part of the past year calling out a lot of fighters, yet with nothing at all to show for it. He had the chance to face Alfredo Angulo next weekend on HBO, but instead priced himself out and settled for a fight way off the radar.


Adding to the inferno was his coming in two pounds over the 156 lb. catchweight bout, which certainly didn’t make him any new friends.


When all else fails, all you have left is what brought you to the dance in the first place. Martirosyan’s instinct is to run his mouth, but his gift is in his fists. It’s what led him to a slot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic boxing squad, and what has allowed him to remain unbeaten through 31 fights as a pro.


On Saturday night, it allowed him to dominate a fringe but tough contender in Gutierrez, who never backed down but was outgunned in nearly every round.


Martirosyan survived a scare or two, but remained intent on making a statement, some 16 months after dissuading HBO brass from bringing him back for anything other than a B-side after a lethargic points win over Joe Greene.


There were no such lulls in this bout as Martirosyan kept coming forward. Even as he was unable to score a knockdown or force a stoppage, his constant pressure left no doubt as to which way this verdict would swing by night’s end.


With the win, Martirosyan advances to 31-0 (19KO). The 25-year old has also learned a valuable lesson on the business side, as he has openly promised to follow his handler’s lead in being smarter at the negotiating table in what he hopes will be a breakout campaign in 2012.


Valiant but outgunned in defeat, Gutierrez falls to 26-8-1 (16KO). Once a promising prospect, the 33-year old has won just twice in his past 10 contests, including four straight losses following tonight’s setback.


In the televised co-feature, Casey Ramos overcame an early knockdown to take a unanimous decision over Joselito Collado in an eight-round war between unbeaten super featherweights.


Ramos appeared to be in serious trouble when Collado floored him in the second round. Instead, the sequence served as a wakeup call, as he won every nearly every subsequent round on the judges’ scorecards. Collado made him earn it every step of the way, as the punches never stopped flying over the course of their eight round affair.


In the end, Ramos proved to be a little too much, as he advances to 15-0 (4KO). The 22-year old Austin native has become a fan favorite at the venue, playing the casino for the third time in his past four fights.


Collado suffers his first pro defeat as he falls to 12-1 (3KO).


Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.