[Video] For Dan Goossen – Vanes Martirosyan Outlasts Willie Nelson in Hard-Fought 10-Round Decision

With thoughts of his late promoter Dan Goossen heavy on his mind, Vanes Martirosyan channeled his grief into a fiery late rally to hold off Willie Nelson and secure a must-win unanimous decision victory last night on Showtime.

Both men knew the importance of this matchup within the junior middleweight landscape and threw heavy leather in every round. Willie Nelson battered Martirosyan with hooks in the opening round. The tide turned in the second as Martirosyan staggered Nelson with a right hand. Nelson would re-establish himself in the fourth by opening a bad cut above Martirosyan’s right eye with a left hook.

The fighting was on even terms until the final three rounds. Martirosyan’s began taking over the inside warfare by looping right hands around Nelson’s guard. His activity was much higher and were the effectiveness of punches, leaving Nelson looking a step behind despite the occasional flush power shot.

Martirosyan would later say his sudden surge of energy was ignited by thoughts of Goossen.

“It’s been a hard week for us. Around round eight, I thought about Dan and he made me fight hard,” Martirosyan revealed. “This was for Dan. I know he was watching me and this is for him. We love him and we miss him.”

The scores read 97-93 twice and 96-94 all for Martirosyan. Not surprisingly, Nelson disagreed.

“I thought I won but the judges saw otherwise,” said Nelson. “I can’t complain. Vanes has some nice pop and hand speed. He’s nothing special, but I felt he fought me differently than he has past opponents. I just need to keep fighting and keep moving forward and we’ll see what happens.

“It was a good, tought fight, What else would you expect from two guys in the top 10 in the division? Of course I’d like another shot at him.”

Martirosyan is seeking a rematch with WBO titlist Demetrius Andrade. Another potential opponent is Jermall Charlo, currently ranked #2 by the WBO and #3 by the WBC.