The odds on the Frank Martin-Artem Harutyunyan fight are much wider than the half a pound that separated the undefeated lightweight contenders on the scale Friday in Las Vegas.
Martin came in right at the lightweight limit of 135 pounds for their 12-round fight Saturday night at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Hartuyunyan was a little lighter, 134½ pounds, when the unknown underdog stepped on the Nevada State Athletic Commission scale.
Martin (17-0, 12 KOs), a Detroit native who resides and trains in Dallas, is listed by most sportsbooks as at least a 12-1 favorite to beat Harutyunyan (12-0, 7 KOs). The bout between Martin, 28, and Harutyunyan, 32, will be the main event of a “Showtime Championship Boxing” tripleheader.
The left-handed Martin will attempt to build on the momentum he established by thoroughly out-classing previously undefeated Dominican contender Michel Rivera in his last fight. Martin dropped Rivera (24-1, 14 KOs) in the seventh round and beat him by big margins on all three scorecards December 17 in another main event Showtime televised from The Cosmopolitan (120-107, 118-109, 117-110).
The Armenian-born Harutyunyan will attempt to pull off a huge upset in his debut in the United States.
Harutyunyan, who lives and trains in Hamburg, Germany, will end a one-year layoff when he meets Martin. The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist hasn’t fought since he unanimously outpointed Mexican veteran Humberto Galindo (14-3-1, 11 KOs) in their 10-rounder last June 25 in Hamburg.
The official weights for the first two televised fights Saturday night are listed below.
Showtime
10 p.m. EDT; 7 p.m. PDT
Elvis Rodriguez (14-1-1, 12 KOs), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 141¾ pounds vs. Viktor Postol (31-4, 12 KOs), Brovari, Ukraine, 141½ pounds, 10 rounds, welterweights.
Freudis Rojas (10-0, 10 KOs), Houston, 146 pounds vs. Diego Sanchez (19-2, 16 KOs), Tijuana, Mexico, 146½ pounds, 10 rounds, welterweights.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.