RESULTS

HyeFighters Magakian (MMA)
& Tolmajyan (boxing) both win

Fresno, CA - Boxer Gapo Tomajyan was also victorious (UD) in his match which went the distance. He dominated the fight from start to finish.

NEWS

HyeFighter Gevor to Fight For The
Vacant European Middleweight Title

European Boxing Union (EBU) has named HyeFighter Armenian Khoren Gevor as the co-challenger for the vacant European middleweight title. Gevor will face the official challenger, "Idi" Amin Asikainen of Finland, in the European title fight. European champion Sebastian Sylvester relinquished the title in order to fight the WBA World champion Felix Sturm. Contracts of the fight must be signed by September 4 or EBU will hold a purse bid.

We will try to get the title fight to Finland. It won´t be easy, but I believe that it is possible, said Asikainen´s manager Pekka Mäki. Amin Asikainen is ranked as middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik´s number five challenger by the respected Ring magazine. Asikainen is rated #6 by the IBF, #11 by the WBA, #12 by the WBO and #17 by the WBO. Khoren Gevor is rated #7 by the IBF, #16 by the WBO, #10 by the WBA and WBO.

Before the European title fight Asikainen will fight a tune-up fight in Tampere, Finland, on August 30. Asikainen has been inactive since February, when he stopped the former IBF super welterweight champion Luis Ramon Campas in Helsinki. Asikainen suffered a thumb injury in that fight before stopping the tough Mexican veteran in round 7. Asikainen´s opponent for the fight in Tampere is yet to be announced.

Khoren Gevor was stopped by the IBF champion Arthur Abraham in August 2007. After his unsuccessful world title challenge Gever has won two fights.

- Gevor is one of the best middleweights in the world, but I have a strong belief that Asikainen will be able to beat him, added Mäki.

NEWS

HyeFighter Darchinyan Refocused!!

Back with his very first trainer, a focused Vic Darchinyan is promising to produce a more "stable and aggressive" performance in his challenge to Russia's IBF junior bantam weight world boxing champion Dimitri Kirilov in Washington early next month.

Darchinyan isn't even allowing missing out tomorrow on the first birthday of his son Ruben to distract him from his August 2 engagement. For the first time in his professional career, Darchinyan (29-1, 23 KOs) will have his amateur trainer of 15 years, Vazgen Badalian as the No.1 man in his corner.  Already rated by the prestigious Ring magazine as one of the top ten hardest punchers in the world, Darchinyan said he was hitting even harder after reuniting with his original coach. Badalian who like Darchinyan hails from Armenia, has had his protege doing more running, especially sprinting, and has made modifications to his established style.  "Before my style was always aggressive, I didn't like it if someone punched me. I would go and punch him back," Darchinyan said from his training camp in Las Vegas.

"My coach's style is some more cover and more protection and always going forward and not back and just taking punches on my arms.  "I like that style and I think you are going to see a more stable and more aggressive fighter.

"I am going to control all the rounds. Every time you see me, in the first three or four rounds I like to move and see what my opponent is trying to do, but this time I will be breaking him down from the start." Darchinyan said he had already sparred over 140 rounds in preparation for the fight, with three more sessions remaining.

The 32-year-old Sydneysider, who has been sparring against world rated fighters, emphasised he would still be working in Australia under his regular trainer Billy Hussein. With the respected Sydney trainer working the corner of his brother Hussein Hussein in a fight in South Africa earlier this month Darchinyan installed Badalian as his chief adviser for the fight with Kirilov (29-3-1, 9 KOs).  "Billy was busy with Hussy, I decided to bring my amateur coach in. When I'm in Australia I'm going to train with Billy," Darchinyan said.  "If I'm going to fight in America or getting ready for a big fight in America, maybe I'm going to go to Armenia.  "I like Billy but sometimes I need my old coach to remind me what I used to do better."  His wife and son will arrive in Washington on the day of the fight and he was adamant being parted from them at present wasn't a distraction.  "I'm very focused on my fight. Before I was training for two hours, now I'm training for three, one (extra) hour for my son."

NEWS

HyeFighter ABRAHAM gets a new belt

Three weeks after his IBF championship belt was stolen from his car at Miami International Airport following his impressive victory over Edison Miranda, manager Wilfried Sauerland surprised IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham with a special gift during a team dinner in Berlin, a new IBF belt. "I know how much the belt means to him so I tried very hard to get a new one," Sauerland said. "It's of big symbolic value to him. I was very impressed by his performance in Florida. I know he can beat every opponent everywhere." King Arthur was overwhelmed. "It is not the same to be world champion when you don’t have a belt. I spoke to Mr Sauerland a couple of days ago to find out when I could likely get a new one. He said that might take a while. Now I am really surprised and very happy about this special gift." Abraham also thanked his coach Ulli Wegner and all Team Sauerland members for their support. "It would have never been possible for me to clinch all those victories on my own. I am very grateful to have such a great team around me and thank everybody very much."

NEWST A K E    A C T I O N - WE NEED YOUR HELP

Ban on pro fights revisited

Council will look at whether to allow boxing events in city to generate revenue at venue.

By Jason Wells - Glendale News Press

Published: Last Updated Thursday, July 3, 2008 10:22 PM PDT

GLENDALE, CA — A long-standing prohibition on professional boxing and other sparring matches in Glendale may be lifted after the City Council, seeking to boost revenue at the Civic Auditorium, agreed this week to revisit the ban.

Mayor John Drayman called for a report on the logistics and possible repercussions involved with lifting the ban after a promoter inquired about using the auditorium to host future matches. To do so, the council would have to reverse the city’s current municipal code, which bans “any boxing contests or sparring or wrestling match” that does not involve amateurs or students.

Kahren Harutyunyan, the Glendale-based promoter and professional boxer who submitted the request to use the auditorium, said the ban has stifled local development of boxing and forced homegrown boxers out of the city. “No one can showcase their talent in the city,” Harutyunyan said. For an area that has produced several successful amateur and professional boxers — such as boxer Vanes Martirosyan, who represented the United States in the 2004 Olympics — that’s a shame, Harutyunyan said. Allowing boxers to fight in their hometown would not only bring the community together, but draw in outside promoters, and with them, more media attention and outside money to a cash-strapped city. “It just does not make any sense to have this ban,” he said.

The move by Harutyunyan comes at a time when the city is especially receptive to exploring new ways to generate revenue at its underperforming auditorium at 1401 N. Verdugo Road, which last fiscal year claimed a loss of about $400,000.  I do see an opening with the budget situation, but we don’t need a deficit to come up with such a great idea,” he said.  With 10,000 square feet of open, usable space on the building’s second floor, the auditorium is one of the few, if not only, venues in Glendale that could host a professional fight, said George Chapjian, director of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, which manages the space. While the logistics and potential impacts of bringing professional boxing matches had yet to be fully examined, the idea seemed promising on its face, Chapjian said. “I think it would be an opportunity for us,” he said.  City officials studying the logistics of reversing the ban do not know exactly when or why the prohibition was adopted — a finding that some council members said would play a major factor.

“That needs to be looked at,” Councilman Ara Najarian said. “We don’t want to create an atmosphere where we’re known as the boxing city. . . . It’s not just the money.”
Whether perceived or actual, the sport of boxing has, over time, attracted a crowd that doesn’t always jive with community standards and law enforcement, Najarian said.
If the council were to reverse the ban on boxing and other sparring events, which would also presumably apply to mixed-martial-arts fights, conditions could be applied to the permitting process that would allow Glendale police to adequately control the new business element, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.  Background checks and extensive review of permit applications, together with monitoring from an established vice unit, should provide the necessary controls to keep out any illicit activity that may come attached to the fighting rings, he added.  “I think it could be done,” Lorenz said.

City officials are tentatively scheduled to bring their report on the matter to the council in August. At that time, the council would provide direction on whether to pursue a reversal of the ban, or to maintain the status quo.

Please help us to lift this ban by writing to gnp@latimes.com and urge the city to lift the ban on boxing. You will need to provide your hometown and a phone number to them for verification purposes only. For any additional information please contact us!!!

NEWS

Parisyan could fight Yoshida at UFC 88

June 24, 2008 By: Sam Caplan Category: UFC 88, Yoshiyuki Yoshida, Karo Parisyan

A welterweight bout between Karo Parisyan and Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 88 in Atlanta on Sept. 6 is in the planning stages, according to a report by MMAjunkie.com.

The report states that a match between Parisyan and Yoshida is not yet signed but that signed bout agreements from both could be imminent.

Parisyan had been scheduled to face George Sotiropoulos but the bout fell through after Sotiropoulos was forced to pull out of the planned bout due to injury.

Parisyan is 18-5 overall in his MMA career and holds a lifetime record of 8-3 in the UFC. He had a three-fight winning streak snapped at UFC Fight Night 13 in April when he suffered a second round TKO to Thiago Alves.

Yoshida, who holds an impressive lifetime MMA record of 10-2 according to Sherdog’s fight finder, is currently on a nine fight win streak. He won his UFC debut at UFC 84 when he submitted Jon Koppenhaver with an anaconda choke at 0:56 of round 1. Prior to his UFC debut, Yoshida posted notable victories for the Cage Force promotion over Dan Hardy and Akira Kikuchi.

UFC 88 is scheduled to take place at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, and is slated to be headlined by a light heavyweight matchup between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans.

RESULT

Garay wins WBA 175lb title!

Friday, July 4 2008

Takes one-sided nod over Barashian

Light heavyweight Hugo Garay (31-3, 17 KOs) won the vacant WBA world title via twelve round unanimous decision over European champion Yuri Barashian (25-4, 17 KOs) before 6,000+ at the famed Luna Park on Thursday night in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There were no knockdowns in the bout that ended with Garay in front on the cards by scores of 118-111, 120-108, 118-110. It was Garay's third attempt to win a world title after challenging for the WBO belt on two previous occasions. The WBA belt became vacant due to the abrupt retirement of Danny Green.

HyeFighter Barashyan ready for Garay!

Thursday, July 3 2008

By Dima Mossienko / Photo: D. Mossienko

Acting European light heavyweight champion Armenian southpaw Yury "Big Octopus" Barashyan steps into the ring tonight in Buenos Aires to challenge local hero Hugo Garay for the vacant WBA light heavyweight belt. Despite some European sceptics' opinions, he easily made weight on light heavyweight 175lb limit. Barashyan won the European light heavy belt on February 23 with an eight round KO of Thomas Ulrich to earn the fight for WBA belt. HyeFighter Barashyan told Fightnews, that his camp was the toughest in his life. Having being asked before departure to Buenos Aires about his feeling of always fighting on foreign turf, Barashyan said, "For this belt I would fly to the moon! I had the toughest camp in my life with several classy cruiserweights and I don't care what those guys will shout in Spanish. I respect Diego Maradona (Argentinean soccer star), but that will not help my Argentinean opponent. I'm coming for this WBA belt. It's mine!" (Photo: Barashyan during sparring session in Kiev with his coach Victor Demchenko.)

Prospect Watching: Peterson, Martirosyan, Outclass their Opponents

By Raymond Markarian

The journey to become an elite boxing superstar is a marathon, not a sprint. Two well respected young prospects; Anthony Peterson and Vanes Martirosyan desire to become a part of the cream of the crop. And their talents were on display for the boxing world when both combatants won unanimous decision victories on Thursday, June 26, at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada . 

Vanes Martirosyan 20-0 (13 KO’s) is spooky inside the ring. The 22 year old Armenian is technical in his approach, working an offensive attack behind a solid left jab. On this night, Martirosyan towered over the much smaller and overmatched Angel Hernandez from the sound of the opening bell. During the first minute of the bout, Martirosyan went for the knockout. The former Olympian used an aggressive assault highlighted by a quick right cross to the temple that sent a lackluster Angel Hernandez’s to the canvas. 

At this point, many at ringside expected a short night. Yet, to his credit, Hernandez displayed toughness and rose to his feet. However, the Hernandez girt was not efficient enough to prevent the seemingly obvious Martirosyan triumph. Instead of pressing for the knockout, Martirosyan worked behind his jab, and threw the left uppercut at will, over the course of ten rounds, on way to a unanimous decision victory.  

Sometimes in boxing, speed is power. In the main event of the night, the visibly strong Anthony Peterson used his excellent speed to baffle Fernando Trejo inside the ring. Peterson kept Trejo at bay by rapidly throwing a piston like jab towards the torso of throughout the duration of the bout. Most of the fight took place in the center of the ring. But, Peterson controlled the bout. At one point in round nine, Peterson connected with seven jabs in a row before Trejo even threw a punch.

The contest looked like a sparring session at best. If Peterson pressed the action he could have closed the show. However, the Washington D.C. based lightweight prospect was not going for the knockout, to the dismay of the crowd. In the end result was clear Peterson wins via a landslide unanimous decision victory. Peterson’s record improves to 27-0 with 19 KO’s.