Frank Martin Drops, Wins Close Decision Over Artem Harutyunyan
Frank Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) faced Artem Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs) at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in Nevada, USA. The bout was a WBC lightweight eliminator for the title currently held by undisputed champion Devin Haney. Martin dropped Harutyunyan before proceeding to win a close unanimous decision with scores of 114-113 and 115-112 (x2). The fight headlined a card broadcast live on Showtime.
Frank Martin vs. Artem Harutyunyan recap
The bout began somewhat cautiously with Harutyunyan, an Olympic bronze medalist, pressing forward. However, neither fighter landed much of note. Both men picked up the pace in the second as Martin stayed on the backfoot looking for counters. On the other hand, Harutyunyan kept walking towards Martin, having some success but struggling to deal with the his opponent’s footwork.
Martin had a fairly successful round four, landing cleanly with counter shots. The sixth was even better for Martin as he clearly stunned Harutyunyan with plenty of time remaining in the round. Harutyunyan was able to stay on his feet but struggled to deal with Martin’s output in round six.
In round seven, Harutyunyan landed a right to the body that momentarily backed up Martin. Despite that, Martin quickly recovered and carried on. Harutyunyan increased his output in round nine and saw success, landing a variety of shots.
Just before the start of the tenth, trainer Derrick James encouraged Martin to pick up the pace. Martin did so, appearing to stun Harutyunyan. However, it resulted in two head clashes that briefly paused the fight. Harutyunyan was able to see out the round despite the increased output from Martin.
Late in round eleven, Harutyunyan tripped and fell to the canvas. The referee ruled it a slip and let the bout continue. Immediately after, however, Martin proceeded to land hard shots and clearly stunned Harutyunyan. To his credit, Harutyunyan was able to stay standing and avoid getting stopped.
Martin had his most successful round in the twelfth, unloading hard shots and making Harutyunyan take a knee. The clash of heads in round ten caused visible swelling on the eye of Harutyunyan and he spent most of the final round trying to avoid Martin as much as possible.
In the end, it was Martin who emerged victorious with a close unanimous decision. With the win, he now holds a mandatory position with the WBC. Fight fans can expect him to challenge for the lightweight title in the near future against Haney or any of the other ranked contenders within the WBC.
“He [Harutyunyan] definitely tough,” said Martin post fight. “I hit him with some big shots, he stood up, he bounced around the ring like a ping pong, but, you know, he stood tall. I take my hat off to hum because he took some big shots.”
Artem forced to a knee!@TheGhost_2016 drops Harutyunyan in the 12th and final round.#MartinHarutyunyan goes to the judges’ scorecards pic.twitter.com/ayC3Tszhd7
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 16, 2023
Other results
A welterweight clash between Freudis Rojas (11-0, 11 KOs) and Diego Sanchez (19-3, 16 KOs) began the broadcast. Rojas continued his unbeaten streak with an eleventh consecutive knockout victory. It was one-way traffic from the very beginning as Sanchez had no answer to the cleaner work of Rojas. Only 58 seconds into the seventh round, Sanchez’s corner ended the contest as they deemed their fighter to have taken too much punishment.
ROJAS WITH THE DUB
Diego Sanchez’s corner stops the fight in the 7th, giving @FreudisRojas his 11th career victory 🔥#RojasSanchez | #MartinHarutyunyan pic.twitter.com/eDXtuXbSY1
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 16, 2023
Just prior to the main event, Elvis Rodriguez (15-1-1, 13 KOs) took on Viktor Postol (31-5, 12 KOs). A right hook sent Postol to the canvas in the sixth round. Rodriguez continued to pile on the pressure going into the seventh and was rewarded with a stoppage victory. Referee Celestino Ruiz stepped in only 23 seconds into the round to end the proceedings. For Rodriguez, it was his fourth consecutive win since losing a majority decision to Kenneth Sims Jr. in 2021.
🎸🎸🎸@elvisTDK comes out swinging in the 7th, earning a TKO victory over Viktor Postol in round 7 🥊#RodriguezPostol | #MartinHarutyunyan pic.twitter.com/jXwve2GgVD
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 16, 2023
Currently writing out of Toronto, Canada, Saadeq first became a boxing fan while living in Doha, Qatar. Looking to become more involved in the sport, he began writing about boxing and has had work published in outlets such as Seconds Out and Boxing Social. He looks forward to continue covering boxing on Big Fight Weekend.
