Otar Eranosian. Photo Credit: Dave Mandel/Showtime
Otar Eranosyan and his handlers believe the undefeated charge is among the best at 130 pounds.
Eranosyan will try to prove that, when he faces former world champion Roger Gutierrez on August 9, Svyatoslav ‘Stan’ Mangushev, Eranosyan’s manager, told The Ring on Monday.
The 12-round world title elimination bout will take place at the WhitesandsEvents Center in Plant City, Florida and will stream live on the ProBox TV app and YouTube channel.
The 29-year-old Eranosyan will make a significant step up in opposition, on paper, as Gutierrez is currently ranked No. 7 according to The Ring in the junior lightweight division.
In his last fight on May 17, Eranosyan (13-0, 6 KOs), who now resides in Miami Beach, Florida, defeated Edy Valencia via unanimous decision. The victory over Valencia came eight months after Eranosyan defeated former world title contender César Juárez by decision.
Eranosyan, an Armenian national who grew up in the country of Georgia, has fought on a handful of ShoBox cards, which Mangushev believes improved his skill set and introduced Eranosyan to boxing fans.
Mangushev is confident that boxing fans have yet to see the best of Eranosyan and will make a statement at Gutierrez’s expense.
“Otar was an amateur star and he won many medals and championships (before turning pro),” Mangushev told The Ring. “Otar defeated undefeated fighters in Starling Castillo and José Argel.
“Roger Gutierrez entered this WBA eliminator as the No. 1 ranked contender. We understand that Otar is seen as the underdog, but we are confident that Otar is ready and will win this main event against Gutierrez.”
Gutierrez (27-4-1, 21 KOs), who resides in Maracaibo, Venezuela, emerged victorious in his last fight on March 3, knocking out Henry Delgado in the second round. In his previous fight on August 20 of last year, Gutierrez lost the WBA world title belt, losing a unanimous decision to Hector Garcia of the Dominican Republic.
The 28-year-old once fought under the Golden Boy Promotions banner. Gutierrez lost to Hector Tanajara, Jr. and Oscar Duarte in 2018, he earned a knockout victory over junior lightweight contender Eduardo Hernandez the following year. Most recently, Gutierrez picked up back-to-back wins over René Alvarado in 2021.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be contacted at [email protected]
