Frank Martin To Face Artem Harutyunyan In Showtime Main Event, Likely 7/15 In Las Vegas
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BY KEITH IDEC
Published Sat May 27, 2023, 02:03 PM EDT
Frank Martin will face another undefeated lightweight contender in his next fight.
BoxingScene.com has learned that Martin will square off against Armenia’s Artem Harutyunyan in a 12-round main event Showtime is expected to televise July 15 from The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The date and the site of their fight weren’t finalized as of Saturday, but Martin and Harutyunyan have agreed to square off in a WBC lightweight elimination match.
Martin (17-0, 12 KOs), a Detroit native who trains in Dallas, is the WBC’s fifth-ranked contender for one of the four 135-pound championships Devin Haney holds. Harutyunyan (12-0, 7 KOs) is ranked eighth by the WBC.
The 28-year-old Martin, a southpaw who is promoted by unbeaten welterweight champ Errol Spence Jr.’s company, impressively out-classed then-undefeated Dominican contender Michel Rivera in his most recent bout.
The faster, sharper, stronger Martin dropped Rivera (24-1, 14 KOs) in the seventh round and shut him out on one scorecard (120-107) in their 12-rounder December 17 at The Cosmopolitan. Martin won by wide distances on the other two scorecards as well (118-109, 117-110).
The 32-year-old Harutyunyan, who resides and trains in Germany, will end a one-year layoff when he meets Martin in what figures to be the most difficult fight of Harutyunyan’s five-year professional career. Harutyunyan’s most recent win took place last June 25, when he outpointed Mexican veteran Humberto Galindo (14-3-1, 11 KOs) unanimously in a 10-rounder at Universum Gym in Hamburg, Germany.
Harutyunyan knocked out Spanish prospect Samuel Molina (then 16-0) in his previous bout, but Martin is considered a steep step up in competition from any of the 12 professional opponents Harutyunyan has beaten.
The right-handed Harutyunyan, who won a bronze medal in the light welterweight division for Germany at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, will fight outside of Germany for the first time as a pro when he meets Martin.
