By Ian S Palmer
Southpaw Erislandy Lara of Cuba will be defending his WBA and IBO Junior Middleweight titles against Vanes Martirosyan of Armenia on Saturday, May 21st at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. This is a rematch of their 2012 bout that ended in a nine-round technical draw. Martirosyan was last in the ring back in September when he beat former champion Ishe Smith by a 10-round unanimous decision. Meanwhile, Lara beat Jan Zaveck by a third-round TKO on November 25th. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the U.S. on the Showtime network and fans in the UK can see it on BoxNation.
Martirosyan, who was born in Armenia, is a former U.S. Olympian who lost to Demetrius Andrade by split decision in November of 2013 in a previous title shot. He has a very awkward style which often borders on the ugly, but it’s obviously quite effective. The 30-year-old Martirosyan will enter the ring with an impressive 36-2-1 record along with 21 Kos. He’s fought 212 rounds since turning pro back in 2005. The challenger stands just under 6-feet tall and has a reach of 70 inches. He’s not a huge power puncher as his current knockout ratio stands at 54 per cent.
Martirosyan can be a lot to handle when he’s in top form as Lara found out in their first meeting. He’s got a unique and awkward style which can make it hard to look good against. He may be unorthodox, but he’s still got some decent boxing skills along with a solid chin, pretty good speed and average power. His best weapons are his jab, right hand and his intelligence, The Armenian moves around quite a lot in the ring, making him a difficult target to hit cleanly. Martirosyan will have to keep his hands moving more than usual though if he hopes to avoid defeat to Lara again.
The 33-year-old Lara, who now fights out of the U.S., enters the contest at 22-2-2 with 13 Kos under his belt. He’s an elusive southpaw with a lot of boxing skills, but not too much in the way of one-punch power as his knockout ratio currently stands at 50 per cent. The champion has a height disadvantage since he’s just 5-feet-9-inches tall, but his 74-inch wingspan gives him a four-inch reach advantage. Lara won the IBO title by beating Delvin Rodriguez by a unanimous decision last June and he won the WBA version six months earlier by decisioning Ishe Smith.
Lara’s two career defeats as a pro have been at the hands of Paul Williams by controversial majority decision in 2011 and a controversial split decision loss to Saul Alvarez in July of 2014. He’s also fought draws Maritosyan in 2012 and Carlos Molina a year earlier. Lara is an excellent technical boxer and his power may be a bit underrated. He’s not the most exciting boxer around and has boxed 159 rounds since turning pro in 2008. Lara’s best wins have been against Austin Trout, Alfredo Angulo, Freddy Hernandez and Ronald Hearns. Martirosyan has lost to Jermell Charlo by 10-round unanimous decision in March of last year as well as to Andrade. His biggest wins have been over Willie Nelson, Saul Roman, Mario Lozano and Kassim Ouma.
Prediction
Lara had a great amateur career as did Martirosyan, but they certainly fought a pro style in their first meeting which was stopped due to a cut over the Armenian’s eye by accidental head butt. Lara complained about his two defeats, but perhaps should have put the pedal to the metal instead of trying to cruise to victory. If he lets his hands go he’s very effective and hard to beat, but he’s often too cautious. If Lara boxes to his potential then he’ll beat Martirosyan in this rematch, likely by decision, but if he doesn’t give his all he’ll suffer the consequences again.
