In 84 professional fights, Giorgio âThe Doctorâ Petrosyan had lost just twice. He has earned a reputation for having near-perfect technical skills and is, in the eyes of many fans, the pound-for-pound best fighter ever to compete in the sport of kickboxing.
Of his two losses, one came early in his career when he fought a Thai opponent in Thailand. To this day he maintains that he lost only because the promoter deliberately gave him water with bacteria in it to make him ill, before betting heavily on the home fighter.
The other loss was to Andy âThe Machineâ Ristie at GLORY 12 NEW YORK in November 2013. The loss was both shocking and legitimate. Shocking because nobody gave Ristie a chance beforehand, legitimate because it was one of the hardest, cleanest stoppages we have ever seen in the GLORY ring.
It was the first knockout Petrosyan had ever suffered and during the fight he also managed to badly break one of his delicate hands, requiring surgery and a sit-out of more than a year. He returned to action at the start of 2015 and went 3-0 before being booked for the co-headline slot of GLORY 25 MILAN.
Despite knowing every bit of Petrosyanâs glorious history, Josh Jauncey campaigned for the right to take the fight. Jauncey grew up training kickboxing under his father, a former champion, and from the age of 11 was watching Petrosyanâs every fight. To face Petrosyan in Milan, Italy is about as tall an order as one can find in any professional sport.
We last saw Jauncey in June, when he lost to Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong in the final of the GLORY 22 FRANCE Lightweight Contender Tournament. Coming back from that loss to face Petrosyan takes incredible courage and shows just what kind of a character the 22 year old is.
Nor was he just coming to make up the numbers. Jauncey talked confidently of Petrosyan having passed his peak and the time being right for the torch to be passed. He was positive that he would beat Petrosyan. Not only that, but beat him so soundly that he felt the Armenian-Italian might well retire afterwards.
The stoic Petrosyan had, as usual, nothing to say in return. âI donât want to talk about it,â was all he said when Jaunceyâs words were put to him. Petrosyan, 29, is a man who does his talking in the ring. It is where he is most articulate, and in the co-main event of GLORY 25 MILAN he finally said his piece.
Pressure sat on the shoulders of both fighters. Petrosyan was making his first appearance in the GLORY ring since his loss in New York while Jauncey was walking into the lionâs den for the biggest fight of his young career.
Some of the pressure was evident in the intensity at the start of the fight, unusually scrappy by Petrosyanâs standards, as Jauncey sought to stamp his authority on the bout and show Petrosyan that he meant business. Petrosyan gave his young challenger the respect he deserved, responding in kind and treating the threat seriously.
Once the initial fire died down, the fight moved into a test of intelligence, reflexes and willpower. Jauncey gave it everything he had but he was up against one of the best fighters ever to put on a pair of gloves at any time in history. Petrosyan may be past his peak, in Jaunceyâs opinion, but that peak was so high that even coming down a little from it leaves you high above the rest of the field.
There were flashes of brilliance from Jauncey, enough to suggest that one day in the not too distant future he wins this rematch or wears the title belt. But tonight was Petrosyanâs night to shine, another master class in distance, timing and mind-reading which makes you wonder if his like will ever be seen again.
Jauncey wore a cut over his right eye near the end of the third round, probably the result of a clash of heads. Marks on his torso and legs bore testament to other clean blows Petrosyan had landed, though Petrosyan also had some marks of his own. The two embraced briefly at the end of the final bell and mutual respect was evident. Jauncey tried his best and proved beyond doubt that he is a future prospect, but GLORY 25 MILAN was the return of a king.
