By Chris Robinson

As he gets ready to close out his 2010 campaign, Armenian born Vanes Martirosyan seems set for a big 2011 if everything goes according to plan. Seeing his name in the headlines at a healthy rate, the 24-year old junior middleweight has been rumored with a myriad of possible opponents as well as having gotten caught up in a war of words with more than a few pugilists.

Martirosyan came to America at a young at young age and boxing seemed to be the perfect fit for his wired temperament. Sporting a 28-0 record with 17 knockouts and guided by Las Vegas-based Top Rank promotions, Martirosyan seems to be on the cusp of something very meaningful but he will have write the rest of his stories inside of the ring.

The latest rumors swirling around the Glendale, California resident are of him traveling overseas to help assist Manny Pacquiao with his training for his November 13th bout with Antonio Margarito and returning to face Pawel Wolak on December 18th in his hometown. For the moment nothing seems to be concrete but the ambitious charge is obviously ready for the ride.

I recently caught up with Vanes and spoke about a wide range of topics. Continue reading below to see what he had to say about life inside of the Wild Card Gym, his stable mates such as Pacquiao and Amir Khan, a potential clash with Miguel Cotto down the road and much more…

Born in Armenia…
“I was born in Armenia. I moved to the United States when I was four. I had a good childhood. I don’t remember much but I remember the park in Abovyan where I stayed at, where we lived, my hometown. I remember the statue over there was a bull. It was a matador holding the bull down. I used to always hang out over there.”

Coming to America…
“It was [exciting] because we flew from Russia to New York. From New York to here so we actually went on a little road trip and it was a lot of fun. Over here we basically moved from Armenia to Armenia. Because there are a lot of Armenians over here. It was kind of like a feeling of being back. It was great. I was a little troublemaker and that’s why I got into boxing. Well I got into boxing because of my father, he was a fighter. Since I was little troublemaker he saw it in me and he took me to the boxing gym when I was seven.”

Learning about boxing…
“It’s more of a chess match than anything. It’s more mental than physical strength. You prepare for the fight on your own physically and mentally but when you step in the ring, I think if you got a guy off the street and if his mind is right for the fight he could beat you. If he wants you more.”

A new home…
“When I was younger I used to train at Freddie’s gym. Freddie was there, Pep was there and all the guys were there. Freddie wasn’t my trainer but I would go there to use his gym to work out. He knew who I was and he told me when I turned professional to come back and we would go from there. I stayed there and I trained and when I came back from the Olympics and I wanted to go pro Freddie said ‘Sure, this is your home’”.

Working with Freddie Roach…
“It’s great because it’s like the Los Angeles Lakers having Phil Jackson. It’s a great honor, a good opportunity and it’s a blessing every day. Freddie has been so great to everybody. It doesn’t matter whoever is working out, he gives everybody their time. He works with you during that time. He spends more time with me than he has ever before. He spends the same time me as he does with Manny, Amir and he just loves his fighters a lot and it shows.”

Rumors of traveling to the Philippines to join Team Pacquiao…
“I haven’t heard anything from Freddie or anybody yet. I haven’t’ heard from his assistant Marie who told me I would be going next week or something like that. I’ve been hearing next week so I think it’s next week.”

A potential fight with Miguel Cotto…
“My thoughts on Miguel is that I know him outside of the ring and he is a great guy. Inside of the ring he is a warrior. I was really excited that me and him were going to fight. I understand why he doesn’t want to fight and I wish him the best. I hope that one day he is ready and we could fight with each other. I think it would be a great fight. Well we got to sit down with Freddie and I am sure he has a great game plan for that fight. If that fight happens I know at the end of the night we would be victorious.”

Thoughts on Alfredo Angulo…
“Well right now for Angulo I don’t want to say much about fighting him. All I can say is that I wish him the best. We need fighters like him in boxing because he’s an exciting fighter and I love when he fights. I love to watch him fight. I wish him the best and I hope everything gets taken care of and he can get back in the gym and get back in shape and fight.”

Training with Amir Khan…
“Amir is a funny guy. He is a character. Amir is good. I am close with Amir more than I am with Manny. Me and Amir do everything together. We run, we swim and basically we train together when we have fights. It’s funny, every time we both have fights it’s usually around the same time so we are always training together.”

Meeting Julio Cesar Chavez Jr….
“The first day we stared training, when he started working with Alex and Freddie, was my last day with Freddie and Alex before I was heading up to New York. We got to run together that day and we got lost in the mountains. It was outside of Hollywood. We ran up there and we ended up talking and chit chatting a bit. He’s a good kid.”

The personality of Manny Pacquiao…
“With Manny he’s the best fighter in the world right now. He’s proven himself every fight. He’s not taking light fights. Every fight he has taken is a big fight. It’s not maybe the best guy in that weight class but it’s one of the best and it’s someone who people don’t want to fight. For him to move up and do that is amazing. He’s breaking records and I wish Manny the best. Training with him, Manny is a friend and when he spars he looks at me and he winks at me. He’s a great guy outside of the ring. The way he fights is like his personality outside of the ring but in a good way.”

A possible December 18th fight with Pawel Wolak…
“Pawel Wolak was offered three times to fight me and three times he didn’t want to fight me so let’s see if this time it comes through. Every time they mention his name I am like ‘Alright, let’s see if he wants to fight. I mean, he’s a good kid, he’s a good fighter and I know he has a heart of a champion. He keeps coming forward and I think that when we fight it will be a great fight but I know I will be victorious.”

Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. An archive of his work can be found here, and he can be reached at Trimond@aol.com