Boxing is mourning the loss of a respected contender, Olympian, and beloved figure. Vanes “The Nightmare” Martirosyan, a former three-time world title challenger and 2004 U.S. Olympian, died Sunday at the age of 39 following a two-year battle with skin cancer.
Martirosyan (36-4-1, 21 KOs) shared the ring with the very best of his era, facing Erislandy Lara twice, Demetrius Andrade, Jermell Charlo, and concluding his career in 2018 with a short-notice challenge against unified middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin. Though he never captured a world title, Martirosyan carved out a reputation as one of boxing’s most skilled, durable, and consistently dangerous junior middleweights of the 2010s.