Art of Boxing presents another night of fights

GLENDALE — A 26-year-old, up-and-coming promoter, Glendale’s Kahren Harutyunyan isn’t too proud to admit he needed a little help from his dad this week.

With e-mails streaming in, two phones that never seem to stop ringing and the most ambitious boxing card of his career to promote, Harutyunyan had to call in his dear-old dad to help drive him from obligation to obligation.

“It’s been very, very hectic,” said Harutyunyan, whose Art of Boxing Promotions presents its third fight card, “Season’s Beatings,” on Saturday at the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood.

Harutyunyan is visably spent and doesn’t shy away from telling you he can’t wait for a restful Sunday morning to come, but that hasn’t taken away from the excitement of presenting a 12-fight extravaganza headlined by a 12-round middleweight title bout between Roman “Made in Hell” Karmazin and Bronco “Superman” McKart.

“It is the biggest in my promotional career,” Harutyunyan said of the event. “It’s pretty big.”

Glendale fighters Vardan “Casper” Gasparyan and Gabriel “Gapo” Tolmajyan will join up once more with Art of Boxing in a combination that’s been as prosperious as a 1-2, as Gasparyan and Tolmajyan have gone a combined 3-0 on past Harutyunyan cards.

McKart (51-8-1, 31 knockouts) and Karmazin (36-3-1, 23 KOs) will duel for the vacant International Boxing Federation and North American Boxing Federation middlewight titles in a bout Harutyunyan is thrilled to promote at such an early juncture in his career.

“The main event is a real big one,” he said. “Every fight [on the card] is really equally matched and each one has the potential to be fight of the night.

“We have very well-known fighters, we have some good prospects.”

Eight undefeated fighters are scheduled for the card, with perhaps the most intriguing being a six-round light middleweight bout between Willie Nelson (10-0, six KOs) and Antonio Johnson (7-0, three KOs) — a rare thing to see two young, unbeaten fighters face off at such an early point in their careers.

“As the saying goes, somebody’s ‘O’ must go,” Harutyunyan said.

Other featured fighters include welterweight Vitaliy Demyanenko (15-0, 10 KOs), middleweight David Medina (19-2, 10 KOs), welterweight Dean Byrne (9-0, three KOs) and light heavyweight Ismayl Sillakh (5-0, four KOs).

Gasparyan (10-1-4, five KOs) will also be in a showcased fight, taking on Octavio Narvaez (7-5-1, four KOs) in a six-round welterweight tilt.

Narvaez knocked down former world champion Vivian Harris before eventually losing in his previous bout.

Gasparyan notched a first-round knockout over Anthony Charnell in his last bout on Sept. 19 at the Warner Center War II, the second Art of Boxing card.

Gasparyan has fought on both Art of Boxing events, going 2-0.

Glendale Fighting Club trainer Edmond Tarverdyan, who corners both Tolmajyan and Gasparyan, expects a tougher bout for Gasparyan, 22, this time around.

“I think [Narvaez] will start off really strong,” Tarverdyan said. “But in the later rounds, I think Vardan will stop him.”

“Vardan is a slow starter ... He keeps his power, he gets stronger.”

Featherweight Tolmajyan takes on Andre Kim (2-2) in a four-round bout.

The 4-1 Tolmajyan, 22, a classic amateur boxer, is still searching for his first career knockout.

“He’s adapting to the professional style,” Tarvedyan said. “He’s a great boxer.

“When I’m in the corner, I don’t want the kids to go just for the knockout, we’re there for the win. [The knockout] will come eventually.”

Tolmajyan defeated Arturo Valenzuela in San Diego on Oct. 23 via four-round unanimous decision in his last fight.

Glendale Fighting Club’s Art Hovhannisyan was also scheduled to fight on Saturday’s card, but a hand injury incurred in his last fight has yet to heal. However, he is scheduled to fight on Jan. 23 live on the Versus network.

Weigh-ins for “Season’s Beatings” take place tonight at the Hollywood Park Casino.

On Saturday, doors open for the event at 5 p.m. with a bell time of 6 p.m.