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From what I gather, the tickets for this weekend’s heavyweight title fight between Hasim Rahman and Oleg Maskaev at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas aren't exactly a coveted commodity. The crowd will most likely resemble a UNLV hoops game post-Jerry Tarkanian.
But there is one fighter who will have a rabid following that has bought their share of tickets - junior middleweight prospect Vanes Martirosyan - who faces Marcus Brooks in the opening bout on the night’s pay-per-view telecast.
Just as he had in performing on the undercards of Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales in October at the Thomas and Mack, Antonio Margarito in Feburary, and Floyd Mayweather-Zab Judah in April, Martirosyan has sold a cadre of tickets to his fans in the Armenian-filled population of Glendale, California.
"He is tremendously popular with the fans," said Bob Arum of Top Rank, which promotes the 9-0 boxer. And his ticket selling prowess extends to shows without big main events. "I remember when that Klitschko-Rahman fight fell out and we did the thing in the ballroom at Wynn, they fell in love with Vanes. And Vanes, you can count on him bringing to any event that he's in - at least in Las Vegas - over 200 people."
On June 3rd, after the rubbermatch between Castillo and Corrales was shelved when the Mexican stalwart (again) failed to make the lightweight limit, the undercard - featuring a title defense from IBF flyweight titlist Vic Darchinyan (another boxer of Armenian
descent) - was saved, and a sparse crowd showed up at the Thomas and Mack - the large majority of which came to see Martirosyan while waving the flag of their country. He would dispatch of Oscar Gonzalez in one round, bringing about a loud ovation from the cavernous, empty arena.
"He's from that area, Glendale, which has a very big Armenian population, and they're close knit and they're fans and they come for him," says Arum, who insists with his ticket selling potential that he will not rush his progression. "And you saw that Darchinyan got the benefit, because when he fought, they were waving the same flags they were waving for Vanes."
In the past, Martirosyan's bouts have been scheduled in the late afternoon, hours before the TV cameras go on. Yet his loyal following is among the first to arrive in the arena for the night’s proceedings. To them, the main event takes place long before the sun goes down.
"The more people I see, the more excited I am, the more happy I am," Martirosyan tells Maxboxing. "I feel stronger. I just go out there and do my best and make my fans happy."
And he can feel the groundswell of support in his hometown of Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles.
“When I walk down the street, people always come by, they take pictures of me and they say hi. When I'm running, they always honk and say good luck. So it feels great," he says.
But he's even been taken aback by the multitude of his people that show up.
"Sometimes I'm surprised when I get to my fights and see all these Armenians there and I'm like, 'Wow, what are those guys doing here?'"
Martirosyan says that his uncle and his friends, along with local merchants in the area, are in charge of selling and distributing the tickets. There are even fight posters made up promoting his appearances. For his June 3rd date, there was a fight poster featuring the images of he and Darchinyan, with no mention of Castillo-Corrales III, almost treating that scheduled affair as a walk-out bout. That poster ended up being prophetic.
"I think the most amazing thing is that Vanes, for each of his Las Vegas fights, has sold at least $10,000 worth of tickets," said Nick Khan, who co-manages 'the Nightmare' with Shelly Finkel. "And if you consider the fact that most of those are the $50 and $100 tickets, the let’s say, not-most-expensive tickets, it's pretty amazing how many people are driving a minimum of five hours to see him. And this has been since his first Las Vegas fight, so it's tremendous to see the support he gets in Glendale."
There was a time long ago - before television networks put up exorbitant license fees - that fighters’ purses were directly tied into their ability to put butts into seats. At many club shows today, there are still promoters and fighters who make deals for fighters to get paid in tickets, which they will sell to their friends and family.
"Bob has been kind enough basically to give Vanes as many tickets as he needs. Vanes will then sell them and return whatever he can't sell, obviously in a timely fashion, to Bob," explained Khan of their protocol. And the selling of tickets has become a community and ethnic affair. "Not only with local merchants," Khan points out, "but literally between non-merchants just over the phone. And there's no surcharge, no one's making any money off of it. It's basically a word-of-mouth thing, 'Hey, I have access to good tickets on Vanes' fight, here's the face value, that's what I'm selling them for, do you want them?' And all of these people basically pool their money, they give it to Vanes and he sends it to Top Rank."
No, he isn't selling out arenas, but to put this into perspective, Martirosyan, a 2004 United States Olympian, has less than ten pro bouts under his belt, has never headlined his own show or broadcast, and yet can still move some ducats to fights that they know may not be particularly competitive, and which take place in another state. And it's not like the Armenians have a broad history in this sport either.
Could he be the first Armenian box-office attraction?
“Good question," says Arum. "I don't know any other Armenians."
But the 20-year old hopeful embraces both cultures.
"I'm Armenian-American," he states proudly, "because I represented the United States, I'm proud to be a US citizen and I'm also proud to be Armenian. So I'm Armenian inside but I also have USA on my back. So I'm proud to be an American."
And this outing is a chance to broaden his fan base across the country.
"All my Armenian fans, they come early because they know me from around here. But I'm happy I get to fight later on because now all my American fans get to see what I can do," he says.
"It's by far his biggest showcase," says Khan of this opportunity to fight under the bright lights of HBO Pay-Per-View. "The opening fight of a heavyweight championship pay-per-view, he's 9-0 with six knockouts - the important thing to keep in mind is at one point he was 4-0 with one knockout. So over the course of his last five fights, they've all ended by knockout. He's definitely developing into the professional that we all thought he would and everyone’s excited to have him showcase it on TV."
One thing that will make him appealing to the masses is his hell-bent for leather style. Martirosyan is a slugger who looks to **** out his foes in a fast and furious fashion. He doesn't so much spar, but brawl with headgear and 14-ounce gloves on. He's like that race-car driver who just can't cruise at 60 mph or that thoroughbred that can't just stretch his legs at a nice, leisurely pace.
"Yeah,” agreed his trainer, Freddie Roach. “He's OK - till he gets hit. And in boxing that doesn't always take too long, so once he gets hit, he gets a little aggressive, forgets about the gameplan and wants to kill his opponent or take him out. He's explosive, but he's young. So that does happen with young fighters sometimes."
Funny thing is, Martirosyan thinks he is actually toning it down.
“In sparring I try to take it easy," he claims. But asked later if he is instructed by his trainer to gear down in sparring, he admits, "Yeah, he tells me to calm down sometimes. I get too excited. But I always try to look good in sparring; I take every sparring session like it's a fight. So I always try to do my best."
A year ago, Martirosyan looked a bit stiff and mechanical. Today, he looks more fluid and comfortable with the pro game.
“A little by little, it's a learning process. So everyday I learn something new from Freddie, so I'm getting there," he says.
"He's come along pretty well," says Roach. “The better fighters we put him in with, the better he does. I put him in with Roman Karmazin, the former world champion, and he does great. I put him with high-caliber fighters, he boxes well, and he's very professional. But I put him with an ordinary guy sometimes and he gets a little amateurish. So I think with the better opponents he faces, the better he'll do. He rises to the occasion pretty much."
The question is just how quickly Martirosyan will be moved.
“I’d like to step up the pace a little bit," says his trainer. "Bruce Trampler is being a little too careful with him, I believe, and I think we need to step up the opponents a little bit, just to let him develop."
Trampler is Top Rank's highly respected matchmaker.
Khan says of the situation: "We agree that after the fight, a little bit of a step up in class. I always defer to Freddie on these things. In terms of stepping up rounds, again, I would leave that to Freddie, who had indicated to me that he wants to keep him at sixes until the end of the calendar year."
Which seems to be news to the fighter.
“This is my last six-rounder," he says. "I'm going up in eight and then to ten. It's up to my manager and Bob Arum."
But Arum, who thinks he may have something here, isn't going to rush things. A fighter, like fine wine, needs time to develop.
“We have no time frame," he insists. "Bruce is a great matchmaker, and he's a great evaluator of talent. Obviously, the management wants to push, they want to go up to eight-rounders. Bruce is resisting it; he says he's not ready yet for eight-rounders.
“Eventually, when the time comes, the time will come."
But there is one fighter who will have a rabid following that has bought their share of tickets - junior middleweight prospect Vanes Martirosyan - who faces Marcus Brooks in the opening bout on the night’s pay-per-view telecast.
Just as he had in performing on the undercards of Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales in October at the Thomas and Mack, Antonio Margarito in Feburary, and Floyd Mayweather-Zab Judah in April, Martirosyan has sold a cadre of tickets to his fans in the Armenian-filled population of Glendale, California.
"He is tremendously popular with the fans," said Bob Arum of Top Rank, which promotes the 9-0 boxer. And his ticket selling prowess extends to shows without big main events. "I remember when that Klitschko-Rahman fight fell out and we did the thing in the ballroom at Wynn, they fell in love with Vanes. And Vanes, you can count on him bringing to any event that he's in - at least in Las Vegas - over 200 people."
On June 3rd, after the rubbermatch between Castillo and Corrales was shelved when the Mexican stalwart (again) failed to make the lightweight limit, the undercard - featuring a title defense from IBF flyweight titlist Vic Darchinyan (another boxer of Armenian
descent) - was saved, and a sparse crowd showed up at the Thomas and Mack - the large majority of which came to see Martirosyan while waving the flag of their country. He would dispatch of Oscar Gonzalez in one round, bringing about a loud ovation from the cavernous, empty arena.
"He's from that area, Glendale, which has a very big Armenian population, and they're close knit and they're fans and they come for him," says Arum, who insists with his ticket selling potential that he will not rush his progression. "And you saw that Darchinyan got the benefit, because when he fought, they were waving the same flags they were waving for Vanes."
In the past, Martirosyan's bouts have been scheduled in the late afternoon, hours before the TV cameras go on. Yet his loyal following is among the first to arrive in the arena for the night’s proceedings. To them, the main event takes place long before the sun goes down.
"The more people I see, the more excited I am, the more happy I am," Martirosyan tells Maxboxing. "I feel stronger. I just go out there and do my best and make my fans happy."
And he can feel the groundswell of support in his hometown of Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles.
“When I walk down the street, people always come by, they take pictures of me and they say hi. When I'm running, they always honk and say good luck. So it feels great," he says.
But he's even been taken aback by the multitude of his people that show up.
"Sometimes I'm surprised when I get to my fights and see all these Armenians there and I'm like, 'Wow, what are those guys doing here?'"
Martirosyan says that his uncle and his friends, along with local merchants in the area, are in charge of selling and distributing the tickets. There are even fight posters made up promoting his appearances. For his June 3rd date, there was a fight poster featuring the images of he and Darchinyan, with no mention of Castillo-Corrales III, almost treating that scheduled affair as a walk-out bout. That poster ended up being prophetic.
"I think the most amazing thing is that Vanes, for each of his Las Vegas fights, has sold at least $10,000 worth of tickets," said Nick Khan, who co-manages 'the Nightmare' with Shelly Finkel. "And if you consider the fact that most of those are the $50 and $100 tickets, the let’s say, not-most-expensive tickets, it's pretty amazing how many people are driving a minimum of five hours to see him. And this has been since his first Las Vegas fight, so it's tremendous to see the support he gets in Glendale."
There was a time long ago - before television networks put up exorbitant license fees - that fighters’ purses were directly tied into their ability to put butts into seats. At many club shows today, there are still promoters and fighters who make deals for fighters to get paid in tickets, which they will sell to their friends and family.
"Bob has been kind enough basically to give Vanes as many tickets as he needs. Vanes will then sell them and return whatever he can't sell, obviously in a timely fashion, to Bob," explained Khan of their protocol. And the selling of tickets has become a community and ethnic affair. "Not only with local merchants," Khan points out, "but literally between non-merchants just over the phone. And there's no surcharge, no one's making any money off of it. It's basically a word-of-mouth thing, 'Hey, I have access to good tickets on Vanes' fight, here's the face value, that's what I'm selling them for, do you want them?' And all of these people basically pool their money, they give it to Vanes and he sends it to Top Rank."
No, he isn't selling out arenas, but to put this into perspective, Martirosyan, a 2004 United States Olympian, has less than ten pro bouts under his belt, has never headlined his own show or broadcast, and yet can still move some ducats to fights that they know may not be particularly competitive, and which take place in another state. And it's not like the Armenians have a broad history in this sport either.
Could he be the first Armenian box-office attraction?
“Good question," says Arum. "I don't know any other Armenians."
But the 20-year old hopeful embraces both cultures.
"I'm Armenian-American," he states proudly, "because I represented the United States, I'm proud to be a US citizen and I'm also proud to be Armenian. So I'm Armenian inside but I also have USA on my back. So I'm proud to be an American."
And this outing is a chance to broaden his fan base across the country.
"All my Armenian fans, they come early because they know me from around here. But I'm happy I get to fight later on because now all my American fans get to see what I can do," he says.
"It's by far his biggest showcase," says Khan of this opportunity to fight under the bright lights of HBO Pay-Per-View. "The opening fight of a heavyweight championship pay-per-view, he's 9-0 with six knockouts - the important thing to keep in mind is at one point he was 4-0 with one knockout. So over the course of his last five fights, they've all ended by knockout. He's definitely developing into the professional that we all thought he would and everyone’s excited to have him showcase it on TV."
One thing that will make him appealing to the masses is his hell-bent for leather style. Martirosyan is a slugger who looks to **** out his foes in a fast and furious fashion. He doesn't so much spar, but brawl with headgear and 14-ounce gloves on. He's like that race-car driver who just can't cruise at 60 mph or that thoroughbred that can't just stretch his legs at a nice, leisurely pace.
"Yeah,” agreed his trainer, Freddie Roach. “He's OK - till he gets hit. And in boxing that doesn't always take too long, so once he gets hit, he gets a little aggressive, forgets about the gameplan and wants to kill his opponent or take him out. He's explosive, but he's young. So that does happen with young fighters sometimes."
Funny thing is, Martirosyan thinks he is actually toning it down.
“In sparring I try to take it easy," he claims. But asked later if he is instructed by his trainer to gear down in sparring, he admits, "Yeah, he tells me to calm down sometimes. I get too excited. But I always try to look good in sparring; I take every sparring session like it's a fight. So I always try to do my best."
A year ago, Martirosyan looked a bit stiff and mechanical. Today, he looks more fluid and comfortable with the pro game.
“A little by little, it's a learning process. So everyday I learn something new from Freddie, so I'm getting there," he says.
"He's come along pretty well," says Roach. “The better fighters we put him in with, the better he does. I put him in with Roman Karmazin, the former world champion, and he does great. I put him with high-caliber fighters, he boxes well, and he's very professional. But I put him with an ordinary guy sometimes and he gets a little amateurish. So I think with the better opponents he faces, the better he'll do. He rises to the occasion pretty much."
The question is just how quickly Martirosyan will be moved.
“I’d like to step up the pace a little bit," says his trainer. "Bruce Trampler is being a little too careful with him, I believe, and I think we need to step up the opponents a little bit, just to let him develop."
Trampler is Top Rank's highly respected matchmaker.
Khan says of the situation: "We agree that after the fight, a little bit of a step up in class. I always defer to Freddie on these things. In terms of stepping up rounds, again, I would leave that to Freddie, who had indicated to me that he wants to keep him at sixes until the end of the calendar year."
Which seems to be news to the fighter.
“This is my last six-rounder," he says. "I'm going up in eight and then to ten. It's up to my manager and Bob Arum."
But Arum, who thinks he may have something here, isn't going to rush things. A fighter, like fine wine, needs time to develop.
“We have no time frame," he insists. "Bruce is a great matchmaker, and he's a great evaluator of talent. Obviously, the management wants to push, they want to go up to eight-rounders. Bruce is resisting it; he says he's not ready yet for eight-rounders.
“Eventually, when the time comes, the time will come."
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