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Martirosyan Moves Another Rung Up The Ladder, Beats Ouma
By Michael Woods
Vanes Martirosyan took a bigger-than-a-baby step towards a title shot with a win over former champion Kassim Ouma at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
The Freddie Roach trained Martirosyan, a 2004 Olympian, mixed his shots, moved smartly, and stayed focused on the way to a unanimous decision. The scores were 97-92, 97-93, 97-93 in the Top Rank live show which was broadcast on Fox Sports Net.
Vanes (now 27-0; of Armenian descent, lives in California; age 23) weighed 153 pounds. Ouma (26-7-1; from Uganda ; lives in Florida; age 31) was 150 pounds at the weigh in Friday.
The winner, who held onto the NABO and NABF titles, used a four inch height advantage to keep Ouma at bay, as the lefty looked to pop him with lead rights. The former junior middleweight champion is five years removed from his titlist days, and came in a loser in four of his last five matches.
Like all successful Roach trained boxers, Martirosyan combines effective aggression with timely movement. Usually, he got off, and got out of range. Ouma's lack of pop was something he could move through as a younger man, but as he gets older, and his mileage shows, it isn't as easy to outwork foes. He did manage to send Vanes to the mat in round nine, from a right hook counter in close. Ouma was landing one-twos, and making work Vanes work to counter, but the prospect generally reacted well.
In a division where many of the top 20 guys could beat each other on any given night, there's no reason Martirosyan doesn't get a title crack this year, and win a belt in 2010, or 2011. I'd bet on 2011; he may have to firewalk his way through a bout or two to really learn the breadth of his will, before he's ready to ascend to the tippy top of the division. Freddie will want him to tighten the D, because heavier handed guys will make him pay for lapses more than Ouma did. For Ouma, happily he's not gotten to the point where he comes in heavy, conceding defeat before the bout, and he's not yet taking a vicious pounding to the point where you wish he'd walk away. Yet...
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mortcola:
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Ouma was an effective pressure fighter in this fight, threw at a consistently high rate, landed at a high percentage against a tall, moving target, and frequently had VM flailing and frustrated. He's a good young fighter, but this was far more competitive than you describe.
Sunday Jan 17, 2010 04:00:08 PM
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gabe:
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I agree with mortcola. Not only did Ouma out-land Martirosyan but he more effectively rolled with oncoming punches. There were stretches of several rounds in which Martirosyan appeared to be wobbled and disoriented. Ouma's knockdown -- which, however minor, did come on a real short right hook -- underlines the point. That the judges scored the knockdown round 10-9 bespeaks an unfairness about the whole fight which Woods seems keen on perpetuating. Did Ouma ever really have a chance in the fight? For me the lasting images will be Martirosyan's surprised look upon being announced the winner and the bloodied face that bore it.
Sunday Jan 17, 2010 04:15:44 PM
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MisterLee:
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Damn it Mortcola! You're climbingmy p4p list faster than Paris Hilton goes down. Holler!
Sunday Jan 17, 2010 04:53:33 PM
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Radam G:
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That bout was a whole lot closer than the three-blind judges called it. Maybe it is something in the water causing blindness of boxing judges nowadays. That bout was more like a draw. Holla!
Sunday Jan 17, 2010 05:28:30 PM
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the Roast:
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It was close but I had it for Ouma. By 1 or 2 points with the knockdown.
Sunday Jan 17, 2010 06:24:39 PM
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vinegarj:
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I agree, Roast...Ouma by a point or two. It was interesting during the slow-mo replays how many of Martirosyan's punches either missed or were caught on the gloves. The discrepancy between the scores and the reality...depressing. As an aside, it was good to see Livingston B in the corner, looking fit and healthy.
Sunday Jan 17, 2010 06:44:33 PM
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Isaiah:
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Seems like we're all really running out of fights to talk about when something involving Mr. hasbeen/neverwas Kassim Ouma and some guy I never heard about provokes so much attention. Man, I hope the Shane Mosley/Andre Berto fight really delivers or boxing wise, this month is really not going to mean much. Sounds like the fight could have gone either way, just flip a coin and let's move on. Serioulsy though, there outta be a cure for these blind judges. Stevie Wonder could call a fight better.
Sunday Jan 17, 2010 08:43:02 PM
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mortcola@MisterLee:
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I just ask myself, self, I say, what does MrLee need to read? Now, about Paris, I doubt she really works on her craft all that much. Fast food. But what do I know?
Sunday Jan 17, 2010 09:51:43 PM
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MisterLee:
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I'm sure she works, but probably doesn't do a lot of professional development, tho she still needs to work on her head movement....
Sunday Jan 17, 2010 10:14:36 PM
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El Maromero:
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Jose Benavides looked well coordinated for his size and age.Im loooking forward to seeing him more often.
Sunday Jan 17, 2010 10:46:00 PM
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Saul:
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If you ask me, and this is only if you ask me, Ouma was robbed. There, I said it. Ouma was the more aggresive, precise, stronger, sharper and accurate fighter in this one and i'm dissapointed that another decision has been botched like a surgery in the boxing world.
Sunday Jan 17, 2010 11:50:09 PM
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El MAROMERO @ Isaiah:
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don't forget about next weeks bouts. There are good possibilities of upsets, I guess upsets are harder in boxing than any other sport. You have to do more than win.
Monday Jan 18, 2010 12:32:10 AM
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MisterLee:
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Just ask Joshua Clottey fo' sure! (PR Day Charade, Harold Lederman Scorecard: 114-113 Clottey fo' sure!) Holer!
Monday Jan 18, 2010 10:14:38 AM
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MisterLee:
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Wow! So far Ouma is looking good! (I'm watching now), Martirosyan has a couple hard shots but the hard right "doesn't save him" in much the way juanma, and ortiz "count on their power" to bail them out. Ouma keeps coming. Someone should send Marirosyan a text message with this: "JAB". Haha... the guy is just ready to T-off, without a jab, the guys' gonna get knocked out by June. Holler! *ahem*, don't get me started on that Molina... the "Non-Jabber" Holler!
Monday Jan 18, 2010 10:32:33 AM
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MisterLee:
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Looks like someone needs Jack "Double the F'n Jab" Loew. Jack: "Did someone call?"
Monday Jan 18, 2010 10:58:30 AM
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#1 PacFan "P4P King":
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Martirosyan did not impress me that much. He still needs a lot of work. He makes mistakes like when he always moves to his right facing a southpaw. Moving that side is a southpaws dream which is their power side. He should have been moving to his left and countering with the left hook. I saw glimpse of that and it was working effectively. He doesn't jab at all and he has no head movement. I think Ouma atleast deserved a draw on this one.
Monday Jan 18, 2010 11:06:06 AM
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Anonymous user:
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The question to have after this fight wasn't 'Did Ouma get robbed?' Because that's obvious, he schooled and hurt the kid all night. Question is 'can Vanes really become a serious contender after seeing him looking lost against a former champ that's been losing to mediocre fighters lately?
Monday Jan 18, 2010 10:16:36 PM
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Angie And Goody...23 Years Later
Twenty three years later after they seconded Marvin Hagler and Ray Leonard in Las Vegas, Goody Petronelli and Angelo Dundee crossed paths again. This time, it was at Foxwoods. Photo/friend of TSS "The Iceman" John Scully reports there were only pleasantries exchanged. Goody didn't debate the split decision victory enjoyed by Leonard, which to this day Hagler disputes.
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