‘Glory’ back for another round
GLENDALE — For a while there, Art of Boxing Promotions President and former bantamweight contender Kahren Harutyunyan thought his focus on pursuing a law degree might force him to abandon the boxing promotions by which he’s made a name for himself outside of the ring over the past several years.
That didn’t last long, though, as midway through the Glendale resident’s first year of law school the lure of the fight game proved to be too strong to ignore.
The result is Glendale Glory 3, a collaboration between Art of Boxing and Bash Promotions, which is scheduled for 8 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Glendale Civic Auditorium.
“Even though I’m in law school now, it’s just very tempting, I just can’t stay away from it,” Harutyunyan said. “I want to be involved in this city and I want to be involved in the boxing community.
“It’s real hard, but I’m trying to balance [both]. Overall, I’m just excited that this is going to continue in Glendale.”
Headlined by a 10-round main-event battle between undefeated Khabir “The Crazy Russian” Suleymanov (10-0, four knockouts) and Javier “El Girito” Gallo (17-1-1, nine KOs) for the vacant North American Boxing Organization bantamweight title, Glendale Glory 3 will be the third Harutyunyan-produced boxing card to be held at the Civic Auditorium since a 62-year ban on boxing events was lifted in June of 2009.
Glendale Glory 2 was televised on the season premiere of ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” series on Jan. 8 and treated fans to a rollicking main event, in which Roman “Made in Hell” Karmazin rallied to knock out Dionosio “Mr. Knockout” Miranda in the 10th round.
Harutyunyan is confident he has secured another strong main event for Glendale Glory 3.
“It’s our first championship fight for the Glendale Glory series, so that in itself is very exciting,” Harutyunyan said. “It promises to be a good fight. They’re both going to go out and try to be their best because there’s a title and a world ranking on the line, so that in itself is a recipe for a good fight.”
The undercard will include Deon “The Natural” Elam (12-1, six KOs), who appeared on the “The Contender” reality show, fighting an opponent to be named.
“[Elam] is a high quality fighter,” Harutyunyan said. “I think he has been inactive for a while, so he is real hungry to get back and resume his career, get a couple of important wins and get back in the top rankings.”
Other fighters scheduled to appear on the undercard include world-ranked lightweight “Sugar” Ray Beltran, Jr. (23-4, 15 KOs), Anatoliy “The Dragon Man” Dudchenko (9-2, seven KOs), who fought at the original Glendale Glory, welterweight Aaron Martinez (13-1-1, 3 KOs) and undefeated featherweight Jesus “El Pollo” Hernandez (8-0-2, two KOs).
Holly “Lil Bear” Lawson will make her professional debut in what will also be the first-ever female bout in Glendale.
“I’m sure our female sports fans are going to be excited about it,” Harutyunyan said. “[Lawson] is a 2010 L.A. Golden Gloves champion. She’s very excited to make her pro debut in Glendale and so am I.”
Tickets to the event can be purchased by going to https://www.glendaleglory.com or by calling (626) 388-8888. Tickets start at $50.
“It’s exciting, it’s another opportunity to showcase some great talent and put on another quality event for boxing fans in the neighborhood and other people around Glendale,” Harutyunyan said. “I’m always proud to bring other people to Glendale as well as giving Glendale fans a quality boxing event.
“Once again, I want to thank our city for cooperating with me and just helping me and supporting me. I promise to bring another high quality event along with my promotional partner, Steven Bash.”
All bouts are subject to change.