By Dan Ambrose: Unbeaten Vanes Martirosyan (32-0, 20 KO’s) faces his toughest test of his 7-year pro career this Saturday night in a WBC junior middleweight eliminator bout against Erislany Lara (17-1-1, 11 KO’s) at the Wynn Resort, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The winner of the HBO televised bout will become the mandatory challenger for WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, although it remains to be seen whether they’ll ever actually get a fight with him because some boxing fans see Alvarez vacating his title rather than fighting Lara or Martirosyan.
Martirosyan, a former 2004 U.S Olympian, has a lot of talent going for him. However, he’s not been rushed and has spent the last eight years of his career facing largely weak opposition and letting time slip buy without going after the title belts. It looks like his promoters at Top Rank believe he’s finally ready, hence his fight with the 29-year-old Lara.