By Jake Donovan
In a relatively thin boxing week, Telefutura couldn’t have picked a better time to feature one of its best cards of the year this weekend, which airs live from Buffalo Bill’s Star Arena in Primm, Nevada (Friday, 8PM ET/PT).
Both the main event and co-feature go against form, with neither slot offering a perceived foregone conclusion. The evening’s headlining act has Almazbek Raiymkulov continuing to rebuild toward lightweight contention, as he takes on former junior lightweight titlist and potential spoiler Javier Jauregui.
The chief support offers one of the game’s brightest prospects in undefeated junior middleweight Vanes Martirosyan. The 2004 US Olympian takes on fellow unbeaten Michael Medina in a ten-round bout.
On paper, it would appear that Jauregui is in far greater need of a win than anyone else on the show. But the truth of the matter is, he enters this weekend with little to lose – primarily because he’s expected to lose among the court of public opinion.
That is, of course, if Raiymkulov decides to live up to his potential.
Having represented his native Kyrgyzstan in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Raiymkulov (26-1-1, 15KO) entered the pro game with a lot of promise. It tends to go with the territory when you’re backed by one the sport’s biggest promoters (Top Rank) and managers (2007 Manager of the Year Cameron Dunkin).
He lived up to it for a time, seeming to have hit his stride in 2005, when his bouts regularly received airtime. However, the exposure produced very mixed results.
The year began with his being hailed as one of the game’s more promising talents. Showtime echoed such sentiments after his 5th round knockout of Koba Gogoladze, informing Raiymkulov’s team that their fighter was too good to reappear on the Shobox level.
Translation: title contention was within reach.
Unfortunately, his career never turned the corner.
Joel Casamayor lost two of his last three prior to his June ’05 meet with Raiymkulov on HBO, but proved to have plenty of fight left in him. By night’s end, the Kyrgyzstan boxer would suffer the first knockdown and non-win of his pro career, settling for a split decision draw.
It was a verdict for which he would’ve gladly settled four months later, when he found himself on the wrong end of one of the year’s biggest upsets. Nate Campbell was on the slide and accepted the fight on less than one month’s notice, but still turned in what would rate at the time as the best performance of his career, dominating Raiymkulov every step of the way before forcing a stoppage late in the 10th and final round of the pay-per-view co-feature.
The road back to respectability has been a slow one for Raiymkulov. He’s since won six straight, albeit against unspectacular competition.
In a vacuum, his best win among the streak came last June, eking out a split decision against Miguel Huerta. Once you dig deeper than the line result and watch the fight itself (a terrific battle, for what it’s worth), you’ll find that the win warrants an asterisk, as many believed Huerta got severely shafted in their Versus-televised bout.
It’s because of that fight that more than a few people regard Jauregui (53-15-2, 36KO) as a very live underdog in tonight’s bout.
The former lightweight titlist had a much easier go of things in his own bout with Huerta earlier this year, which aired on Telefutura. Jauregui outworked the fringe contender en route to a unanimous decision and his second straight upset, having knocked out previously unbeaten Adrian Mora six months prior.
There wouldn’t be a hat trick, as Jauregui was brought back down to reality in a virtual shutout loss to unbeaten lightweight contender Anthony Peterson. The loss put Jauregui at 6-5 since beating the late Leavander Johnson for a vacant alphabet title five years ago. He won the belt in dominating fashion, pummeling Johnson before the referee mercifully stopped the onslaught seconds into the 11th round.
The title win was instant redemption for Jauregui after a long and arduous journey in the pro ranks. He was only 14 years old when he began punching for pay, having already racked up 23 pro fights before his 18th birthday.
Matched tough, the losses piled up over time for the Mexican, though there were plenty of upsets along the way. Before Jose Luis Castillo became a world champion, he suffered two stoppage losses at the hands of his countryman, though it was Jauregui’s domination of Alex Trujillo on ESPN2 late in 2002 that caught everyone’s attention.
It was that win that unexpectedly put Jauregui within reach of a major title. Two fights – and two knockouts – later, his dreams were realized, though they were short-lived; he lost the belt in his very next fight, an oddly scored majority decision in a bout Julio Diaz appeared to have won in convincing fashion.
The upset win over Huerta earlier this year breathed new life into Jauregui’s fading career. While another title shot appears to be a longshot, a win over Ralymkulov would put the 35-year old well in position to receive one more signature payday. It would also destroy any remaining chances of Raiymkulov ever living up to his early-career promise.
One career that remains in full swing is that of Vanes Martirosyan (20-0, 13KO). The transplanted Armenian, now making his home in Glendale, California, gets an upgrade in competition as he faces unbeaten Mexican slugger Michael Medina.
Fans have been high on Martirosyan for quite some time, but have also been calling for more rapid developments in his career. The junior middleweight became a fixture in Top Rank’s Versus Fight Night series before their contract expired earlier this year.
As a result, Martirosyan debuts on the Solo Boxeo circuit. The closest he’s previously come was fighting on the non-televised portion of a few Telefutura shows, including the network’s first card of 2008, where Vanes decisioned Clarence Taylor for his 18th pro win.
Two more wins have followed, both airing on Versus including a shutout over former title challenger Angel Hernandez this past June. A win tonight will allow the Armenian boxer to advance to a November 1 Top Rank PPV appearance, which will give him five fights in 2008 as he rapidly approaches contender status.
In stark contrast, tonight will mark the first fight of 2008 for his opponent, Michael Medina (18-0-2, 14KO). He only received this assignment after agreeing three weeks ago to fill in for Elco Garcia, who was placed on indefinite suspension by the Southern Ute boxing commission, despite having pitched a shutout in his most recent performance.
As much of a mystery is what the 22-year old Medina brings to the table.
The closest he comes to boasting a meaningful win is a split decision nod over welterweight journeyman Bernardo Guereca last June in Arizona. Martirosyan appeared on the same card, scoring a far more convincing 7th round knockout over Alberto Mercedes moments before the Telefutura cameras began rolling.
The win over Guereca was Medina’s lone fight outside of the US, with the rest of his pro fights taking place in his native Mexico. His last bout came nine months ago, scoring a 7th round stoppage of Christian Solano for his 13th straight win.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.