By Jason Kim: Unbeaten light middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan *26-0, 17 KO’s) will be taking a big step up in competition against former International Boxing Federation light middleweight champion Kassim Ouma (26-6-1, 16 KO’s) on January 16th, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Martirosyan, ranked number #8 IBF, #12 WBC and #14 WBA, is looking to move up in the rankings and get a shot against one of the champions in the division.

Martirosyan recently defeated Willie Lee by a 3rd round stoppage on the undercard of the middleweight champion ship bout last weekend between WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik vs. Miguel Espino at the Beeghly Center, in Youngstown, Ohio. Martirosyan had his way with Lee, staggering him in the 1st round with a pinpoint right hand to the head.

Martirosyan mostly toyed with Lee in the 2nd round, hitting him with nice shots and then getting away before Lee had time to land anything of his own. In the third round, Martirosyan dropped Lee with a right hand to the head just as Lee was trying to throw a big right of his own. Lee staggered to his feet at the count of nine and continued to fight briefly. Martirosyan then lit into Lee with power shots as Lee tried to cover up and last out the round.

Martirosyan finally finished Lee off with a hard left-right combination that put Lee on the deck for the final time. Referee Randy Jarvis stopped the bout at 2:13 of the round. Martirosyan looked very good in winning the fight, showing a great deal of improvement from a year ago when Vanes was still mostly a crude slugger.

Trainer Freddie Roach has changed Martirosyan’s fighting style making him more of a boxer/puncher instead of a just a plain slugger, which is what Martirosyan was when he turned pro in 2005. It’s a good thing that Martirosyan’s style has changed, because he doesn’t appear to have the stamina or the huge power that would be needed for him to be a pure slugger like other top light middleweight sluggers such as Alfredo Angulo.

Martirosyan, originally from Armenia and now living in the United States, fought in the 2004 Olympics for the U.S., winning one fight against Algerian fighter Benamar Meskine, but then losing his next bout against Cuban Aragon Armenteros by a score of 20-11.

Ouma, 31, has struggled in the ring since losing his IBF light middleweight title to Roman Karmazin in July 2005. Since then, Ouma has lost four out of his last nine bouts, including four out of his last five fights. Ouma can still punch well, but he’s getting outworked by his opponents. Ouma hasn’t been stopped in any of his recent fights, so there’s a good chance that if Martirosyan is going to beat Ouma, he’s going to have to try and out-box him rather than hope for an early knockout win. Ouma has good stamina and could stick long enough to expose Martirosyan’s stamina issues.

Vanes has looked tired in some of his fights in which he set a fast pace. He’s slowed down the pace of his fights in the past year, but if Ouma can press Martirosyan and force him to fight harder than he wants to, then Ouma might have a good opportunity to wear Martirosyan out and stop him late.

Prediction: Martirosyan by 10 round decision