David Gavrushevich Avanesyan (russian: Давид Гаврушевич Аванесян; born 15 August 1988) is a Russian

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 ...

. He has held the European

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

title since 2019 and previously the

WBA (Regular) 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 ...

title in 2017 (previously the interim title from 2015 until being promoted).

Early life

Avanesyan was born into an Armenian family in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

region of

Pyatigorsk Pyatigorsk (russian: Пятиго́рск; Circassian: Псыхуабэ, ''Psıxwabæ'') is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia located on the Podkumok River, about from the town of Mineralnye Vody where there is an international airport and about ...

.Staff (27 May 2016)
"The man who could end the career of Shane Mosley"
''

Boxing News ''Boxing News'' is a British weekly boxing magazine published by Kelsey Media. It is the longest-running boxing magazine still in publication, dating back to 1909. History ''Boxing News'' was founded in 1909 by original editor John Murray as, ...

''.

Newsquest Newsquest Media Group Ltd. is the second largest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the United Kingdom. It is owned by the American mass media holding company Gannett. It has 205 brands across the UK, publishing online and in print ...

. Retrieved 12 September 2016. Avanesyan was born in Tabynskoe, Russia and currently resides in Newark, Nottinghamshire, England.

Professional career

Early career

Avanesyan made his professional debut on 12 June 2009, scoring a four-round

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

(UD) against Vazgen Agadzhanyan, who also debuted. In his second fight a month later, on 11 July, Avanesyan lost a six-round UD to

Andrey Klimov Andrey Klimov may refer to: * Andrey Klimov (politician) (born 1954), Russian politician * Andrey Klimov (boxer) (born 1982), Russian boxer {{Hndis, Klimov, Andrey ...

. He would then win twelve consecutive fights over the next four years, picking up the Russian

title and two WBC regional titles along the way. Avanesyan's winning streak ended on 16 March 2013, following a split draw against Aslanbek Kozaev.

WBA interim welterweight champion

2015 and 2016 were banner years for Avanesyan. On 7 November 2015 he stopped Charlie Navarro in nine rounds to win the vacant WBA interim welterweight title.

Avanesyan vs. Mosley

The biggest win of Avanesyan's career took place on 28 May 2016, when he scored a clear UD against decorated former world champion

Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF l ...

to retain his title, while also making his United States debut.

WBA (Regular) welterweight champion

On 15 July 2016, the WBA announced that Keith Thurman would have to make a mandatory defence against interim champion Avanesyan. Both camps had until 13 August to negotiate the fight or

purse bid A purse bid is an initial step in arranging a professional boxing match, involving the fight's/card's promoter(s). All interested registered promoters may bid on the amount of the purse (the total money that the fighters will be paid for the m ...

s would be ordered by the WBA. Due to negotiations breaking down, the WBA elevated Avanesyan to Regular champion status and Thurman was named Super champion.

Avanesyan vs. Peterson

In December 2016, early reports suggested there was a fight in the works for Avanesyan to defend the WBA (Regular) title against former light welterweight world champion

Lamont Peterson Lamont Peterson (born January 24, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2019. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF light welterweight title between 2011 and 2015, and the WBA (Reg ...

. A venue in the US was being discussed for February 2017. On 11 January 2017, a spokesperson for Avanesyan announced the fight would take place on 18 February at the Cintas Center in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, as part of the undercard to

Adrien Broner Adrien Jerome Broner (; born July 28, 1989) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, including the WBO super featherweight title from 2011 to 2012, the WBC lightweight title from 201 ...

vs. Adrían Granados, aired by Showtime. Avanesyan failed to make a successful first defence of his title, losing a close UD to Peterson in fight which was described as "highly competitive and entertaining" by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. Two judges scored it 116–112 and the third had it closer at 115–113, all in favor of Peterson. Avanesyan earned a purse of $75,000, while Peterson earned $250,000.

Avanesyan vs. Kelly

On February 20, 2021, Avanesyan fought Josh Kelly, who was ranked #15 by the IBF at welterweight. Avanesyan won the fight via sixth-round TKO.

Avanesyan vs. Taylor

In his next bout, Avanesyan fought and defeated Liam Taylor via second round TKO.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
David Avanesyan - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avanesyan, David 1988 births Living people Russian male boxers Welterweight boxers Russian people of Armenian descent People from Pyatigorsk World Boxing Association champions World welterweight boxing champions European Boxing Union champions Sportspeople from Stavropol Krai