THE original Cinco de Mayo fireworks display would have been brought by Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez, but it didn’t go as planned.
With Alvarez out due to sanctions imposed on him for testing positive for clenbuterol, Vanes Martirosyan (36-4, 21 KOs) bravely stepped in as a last minute replacement and promptly got eviscerated in less than two rounds.
To those unfamiliar, Martirosyan is no push-over, but a top-notch, credible contender who owns victories over the likes of Ishe Smith and Willie Nelson.
But unfortunately, he’s not on the same level as Golovkin.
From the get-go, Martirosyan seemed wary of Golovkin’s vaunted power.
But he landed a few good shots and kept things interesting in the first round.
Things quickly come turned south for Martirosyan in the 2nd as GGG hurt him with a big right hand and an uppercut early in the round.
There’s no lying in boxing. On top of the ring, class always tells, and he was clearly not on the same class as GGG.
FEEDBACK. Boxing scholar Teddy Reynoso shared his insights on our last column on Pinoy boxers squaring off against each other for world titles, (A Meritocracy of Fists, 5/6/18).
According to Teddy, “ From the early days of Pancho Villa, Little Dado and Ceferino Garcia to the eras of Flash Elorde, Erbito Salavarria, Rolando Navarette, Dodie Boy Penalosa, Luisito Espinosa and Gerry Penalosa to the more recent glorious era of Manny Pacquiao, those outstanding fighters took on the best in local boxing to make their name and stamp their class before establishing themselves internationally and globally.
That should always be the way to go not only to keep our domestic boxing scene alive and kicking but to promote meritocracy of fists as you are correctly emphasizing.” Thanks for the feedback Teddy. Indeed, today’s fighters need to tear out a page or two from the aforementioned legends. In my opinion, if this becomes the new norm, this will be the genuine golden age of Pinoy boxing.
LAST ROUND. It’s on little cherub, Bella Mae Dy, welcome to the family. Cheers!