Frank Maritn is fortunate to have retained his perfect record Saturday in Las Vegas.
The rising 135-contender had to rally in the later rounds to defeat clever capable Artem Harutyunyan by a close, but unanimous decision in a 12-round bout at The Cosmopolitan.
The official scores were 115-112, 115-112 and 114-113. Boxing Junkie also scored it 115-112 for Martin.
Frank Martin finished strong đź’Ş
Who do you have winning the fight?
(via @ShowtimeBoxing) pic.twitter.com/tsy8IruXSa
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) July 16, 2023
Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs) was the more aggressive and busier puncher for much of the bout, which made the fight surprisingly competitive for those who weren’t familiar with the German.
Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) landed many of the hardest punches but he was outworked overall in the first eight rounds, although a number of them were difficult to score.
The Indianapolis fighter had three big rounds: the sixth, when he suddenly unloaded a barrage of effective punches that seemed to hurt Harutyunyan; the 10th, when he again fought with more urgency; and the 12th, when Harutyunyan took a knee while he was under assault.
Martin won each of the final four rounds on all three official cards, which gave him the victory.
Martin remains on track to receive his first opportunity to fight for a major world title, which was his first priority, but he clearly wasn’t happy with his performance.
“I just knew I wasn’t active enough, as normally am,” he said in the ring after the fight. “I seen a lot of shots I could’ve took but my reaction time just wasn’t on point tonight.”
And he couldn’t explain it. “I couldn’t tell you. My timing was just a little off,” he said.
Martin doesn’t believe a sub-par performance — if that’s what it was — will derail him. His goals remain the same.
“I still want all the champions,” he said. “… I won’t let one off performance fool anybody. I still want the top guys.”
Harutyunyan said afterward that he took a knee in the final round because of an injury to his left eye, which he believes will turn to be serious.
It was completely closed when he was interviewed after the fight. One possibility is a broken orbital bone, which is painful and difficult to fight through.
“It was only the eye,” he said. “I think I hurt it badly.”
Harutyunyan couldn’t have been classier in defeat, thanking everyone for the opportunity to take part in his first fight outside Germany. However, he said he believes he did enough to get the decision.
He hopes he’ll get a chance to return to Las Vegas for another big fight.
“I don’t agree [with the decision] or I wouldn’t want to come back,” said Harutyunyan, who lives in Hamburg. “If possible, I would like to fight him again. It’s no problem, though.
“My plan is to win a world championship or at least fight for a world title. Maybe against [undisputed 135-pound champion] Devin Haney, maybe Gervonta Davis. I can go up a weight class. It’s no problem for me.
“But I’m so happy to be here, and I want to come back.”
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