American lightweight contender Frank Martin emerged victorious last Saturday, July 15, after an extremely tough and closely contested match against German fighter Artem Harutyunyan. While Martin secured the win by unanimous decision, the result was so closely contested that it could have gone either way or even been ruled a draw. Martin won with scorecards of 115-112 twice and 114-113.
Frank Martin (18-0, 12 KO’s), a student of renowned American coach Derrick James, aimed to make a statement on July 15th but found himself engaged in his most challenging match to date. Artem Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KO’s), a lightweight contender who has hovered around the top 10/15 rankings for several years, solidified his status as a force to be reckoned with in the division following his bout against Martin.
Although Martin showcased quick footwork and fast hands, Harutyunyan clearly possessed more power and posed problems throughout every round. This caused Martin to struggle in the earlier rounds as Harutyunyan relentlessly advanced with the clear intent of hurting the American.
However, the dynamics of the fight changed in the later rounds as Frank Martin gradually began to decipher Harutyunyan’s style and successfully landed significant blows on the German-Armenian fighter. Harutyunyan displayed his toughness by staying on his feet even in rounds where he appeared visibly hurt, while both fighters seemed to face conditioning issues towards the end.
While the judges saw the fight as more one-sided, both Frank Martin and Artem Harutyunyan fought valiantly for victory. Martin appeared to have the edge due to a greater range of punch output, which he had to increase after struggling in the first half of the fight.
After 12 rounds of intense competition, Martin was declared the winner by unanimous decision. Although Frank Martin seemed prepared to face the top lightweight fighters in the division, his performance against Artem Harutyunyan may indicate that he is not quite ready for the likes of Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KO’s), Shakur Stevenson (20-0, 10 KO’s), and Vasyl Lomachenko (17-0, 11 KO’s). Nevertheless, Martin can learn from his match against Harutyunyan and work towards reaching elite levels in the future.
