Arsen Goulamirian ( hy, Արսեն Գուլամիրյան; born 4 October 1987) is an Armenian-born French
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who has held the
WBA (Super)
The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...
cruiserweight title since 2019.
Professional career
Early career
Arsen turned professional in 2011 and won 14 consecutive fights before winning the WBA Continental (Europe) cruiserweight title. He would improve his record to 22–0 before getting a shot at the vacant Regular WBA cruiserweight title against
Ryad Merhy. Arsen would end up winning the fight via 11th round stoppage and became the interim WBA cruiserweight champion.
WBA Interim Cruiserweight champion
Goulamirian vs. Merhy
Goulamirian was scheduled to face the undefeated WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight titlist
Ryad Merhy for the vacant WBA interim cruiserweight title. The bout was set as the main event of the 24 March 2018,
Canal+
Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
card held at the
Palais des Sports in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, France. Goulamirian was at the time the #1 ranked WBA cruiserweight contender, while Merhy was the #2 ranked contender in the WBA rankings. Goulamirian won the fight by a technical knockout, stopping Merhy with a combination of unanswered strikes in the eleventh round, after dominating the fight from the very first round.
The WBA changed Goulamirian's status from Regular to Interim, when former champion
Beibut Shumenov
Beibut Amirhanovich Shumenov ( kk, Бейбіт Әмірханұлы Шүменов; born 19 August 1983) is a Kazakhstani former professional boxer. He is a multiple-time world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA (Regular) cruis ...
came back from his eye injury and recovered the Regular WBA cruiserweight title by defeating Turkish Hizni Altunkaya on 7 July 2018.
Goulamirian vs. Flanagan
After capturing the interim WBA strap, Goulamirian was scheduled to face the one-time WBA cruiserweight super title challenger
Mark Flanagan. The bout was once again scheduled as the main event of a
Canal+
Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
card, held on 20 October 2018, at the
Palais des Sports in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, France. Flanagan was ranked #10 by the WBA at cruiserweight. Goulamirian kept his undefeated record, winning the fight by a ninth-round technical knockout. The two fighters were on even footing for the first three rounds, but Flanagan began to tire from the fourth round onward, with a notable drop in his output. Flanagan was knocked down twice in the ninth round, with his corner deciding to throw in the towel after the second knockdown.
WBA Super Cruiserweight champion
Promotion to Super champion
On 14 February 2019, it was revealed that Goulamirian would challenge the reigning WBA Regular champion
Beibut Shumenov
Beibut Amirhanovich Shumenov ( kk, Бейбіт Әмірханұлы Шүменов; born 19 August 1983) is a Kazakhstani former professional boxer. He is a multiple-time world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA (Regular) cruis ...
. As the two camps were unable to agree on the terms of the bout, Goulamirian's promoter Sébastien Acariès and Shumenov's promoter
Don King
Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...
both submitted bids for the fight. King won after submitting a winning bid of $821 000, for the proposed WBA "Regular" cruiserweight title fight. King tried to put the fight together on three separate dates and locations, on 13 April in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, on 20 April in
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
and 13 May in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, but all three attempts fell through. Shumenov later developed respiratory issues, which left him unable to fight for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the WBA stripped Shumenov of his Regular title and promoted Goulamirian in his place.
On 8 June 2019, the WBA called for a 20 June purse bid to grant the promotional rights for a WBA Super title match between the reigning champion
Denis Lebedev
Denis Aleksandrovich Lebedev (russian: Денис Александрович Лебедев; born 14 August 1979) is a Russian former professional boxer who competed between 2001 and 2019. He is a former unified world cruiserweight champion, ...
and regular champion Goulamirian. The minimum bid was $200 000, with a 75% split for Lebedev and 25% for Goulamirian. The purse bid was later suspended as both sides reached an agreement to finalize the fight. On 11 July 2019, Lebedev announced his retirement from the sport. On 20 July 2019, Goulamirian was elevated to the status of WBA Super Cruiserweight champion.
Goulamirian vs. Watts, Bejenaru
Goulamirian was scheduled to make the first defense of his WBA Super title against the reigning WBA Oceania cruiserweight champion Kane Watts. Watts was ranked #11 by the WBA at cruiserweight. The bout was scheduled as the co-main event to the Michel Soro and Cedric Vitu super welterweight clash, held on 15 November 2019, at the
AccorHotels Arena
Accor Arena (originally known as Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, and previously as AccorHotels Arena; also known as Bercy in competitions where commercial names are prohibited, such as in the Olympic Games) is an indoor sports arena and concer ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France. Goulamirian was the overwhelming betting favorite heading into the bout, with
Ouest-France
''Ouest-France'' ( ; French for "West-France") is a daily French newspaper known for its emphasis on both local and national news. The paper is produced in 47 different editions covering events in different French départments within the régio ...
describing the fight as "a formality for Goulamirian". Goulamirian made quick work of his overmatched opponent, knocking him out with a left hook to the body at the 1:08 minute mark of the fourth round.
Goulamirian was scheduled to make his second WBA Super title defense against the undefeated
Constantin Bejenaru
Constantin Bejenaru (born 7 June 1984) is a Moldovan-born Romanian professional boxer living Shelton Connecticut and training Brooklyn New York, United States. He is currently trained by Ilya Mesishchev. His former coach from Bacău, is Relu Aur ...
in the main event of a
Canal+
Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
card held at the
Palais des Sports in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, France, on 28 December 2019. Bejenaru was ranked #8 by the WBA at cruiserweight. Goulamirian won the fight by a tenth-round stoppage. Referee Oliver Brien called in the ringside doctor after the ninth round, due to the amount of damage that Bejenaru suffered up to that point. After consulting with the physician, the referee decided to stop the fight. Goulamirian was leading on all three of the judges scorecards at that point, with scores of 87-83, 87-83, and 86-84.
Goulamirian vs. Egorov
On 12 February 2021, the WBA ordered Goulamirian to make a mandatory title defense against
Aleksey Egorov. They were given a 30-day negotiation period, starting with 11 February 2021. As the two camps were unable to come to terms, the WBA ordered a purse bid to be held on 23 August, with a 65% split for Goulamirian as Super Champion, and 35% split for Egorov as holder of the Gold title. World of Boxing won with a $210 000 bid, which was the only one submitted. The fight was eventually scheduled for 10 December 2021, at the RCC Boxing Academy in
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...
, Russia. Goulamirian was later forced to withdraw from the bout, as he tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
On 19 July 2022, Goulamirian was ordered by the WBA to face the "Regular" cruiserweight champion
Ryad Merhy in a title unification bout, which would leave only a single recognized WBA world champion in the division. Both fighters were given 24 hours to advise the WBA if they would be to fight in 30 days. The winner of the fight would furthermore be ordered to make a mandatory defense against
Alexey Egorov
Alexey Yurievich Egorov (russian: Алексей Юрьевич Егоров; also spelled Aleksey or Aleksei, born 16 June 1991) is a Russian professional boxer. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 2013 European Championships.
Amateur bo ...
within 90 days of winning the title, but only if the
Russo-Ukrainian War
The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...
had concluded by then. Merhy delivered his letter of resignation to the WBA on 12 August, in which he stated that he would not be fighting Goulamirian, and was furthermore vacating his Regular cruiserweight title.
On 23 August 2022, the WBA once again ordered Goulamirian to make a mandatory title defense against the former "Gold" champion Aleksey Egorov, and assigned a 15-day negotiation period, before a purse bid would be called. A purse bid was called as they failed to reach an agreement, which was won by Y2 Boxing who bid $364,000. The bout took place at the La Palestre in
Le Cannet
Le Cannet (; oc, Lo Canet; older it, Canneto) is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.
Administration
Le Cannet was part of Cannes until 1778, when it was made a separate commune.
Location
Le Cannet is locate ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
on 19 November 2022. Goulamirian won the fight by unanimous decision, with two scorecards of 116–112 and one scorecard of 117–111.
Professional boxing record
See also
*
List of cruiserweight boxing champions
This is a chronological list of world cruiserweight boxing champions, as recognized by four of the better-known sanctioning organizations:
Championship recognition
* The World Boxing Association (WBA), founded in 1921 as the National Boxing ...
References
External links
*
Arsen Goulamirian - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankingsa
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goulamirian, Arsen
1987 births
Living people
Cruiserweight boxers
World cruiserweight boxing champions
World Boxing Association champions
French male boxers
Armenian male boxers
French people of Armenian descent