Petrosyan: “I want the GLORY lightweight title”

Giorgio ‘The Doctor’ Petrosyan (82-2-1, 35 KO’s) returned to GLORY in triumph on Friday night, taking a win over vaunted Canadian prospect Josh Jauncey (23-6, 12 KO’s) over three rounds in front of an adoring crowd in his native Milan, Italy.

Petrosyan’s prior GLORY appearance was at GLORY 12 NEW YORK when he was stopped by Andy Ristie. The November 2013 was one of the most shocking moments in kickboxing history and Petrosyan’s woes were compounded by a broken hand which took most of 2014 to properly heal.

Huge pressure accompanied his return to the GLORY ring on Friday. He has gone 3-0 in 2015 but the match with Jauncey, tipped as a future contender by fans and fellow fighters alike, had more attention on it than any of his recent fights. Jauncey gave ‘The Doctor’ some problems and at times had him swinging at air, but in the end Petrosyan was able to reassure his fans that his best is not behind him.

“It wasn’t easy because Josh Jauncey was moving a lot so it was difficult to find the right distance. I think it was a nice technical fight though, I felt relaxed,” he said afterwards via his manager and interpreter Carlo di Blasi.

“Where would I place him in terms of opponents I have faced? I don’t really like to rate opponents in that way… I think that he is a young fighter and really very talented, but I can’t say where I rank him.”

Petrosyan insisted that the pre-fight pressure had not affected him. “It’s not a problem, quite the opposite. When I have to fight someone I just think about my training, I don’t think about them. My focus is only my training and what I have to do,” he says.

“Of course it is always a thrill to walk out in front of a crowd like this but it is also nothing new for me, I always have a large crowd of supporters for my fights in Italy.”

GLORY 25 MILAN was headlined by lightweight champion Robin van Roosmalen (35-6, 19 KO’s) defending his title against Thai challenger Sittichai Sitsongpeenong (103-29-5, 28 KO’s). He retained the belt by way of a unanimous decision after five rounds, but the result has sparked controversy.

“It was a really close fight. It wasn’t a clean victory. But I am not a judge, I am only a fighter. The judges said it was for Robin and that is fine for me,” says Petrosyan.

As for who his next opponent might be, the Armenian-Italian is his usual taciturn self when it comes to naming names. That said, he is open about his intention to capture a belt that, as the GLORY 3 ROME lightweight tournament champion, he feels has already once been his anyway.

“I don’t have problems fighting anyone. But also I would say, I want this GLORY world title. Its a belt I already had,” he says.

“And you know I don’t like to talk too much. I prefer to show by my actions what I would like to tell you. So… let me fight.”

GLORY’s next event takes place at the RAI Amsterdam on Friday, December 4 as GLORY 26 AMSTERDAM brings kickboxing back to its spiritual home with two world title fights atop a staced card.

Rico 'The Prince' Verhoeven defends the heavyweight belt against Romanian contender Benjamin Adegbuyi in the headline slot while Nieky ‘The Natural’ Holzken defends the welterweight title against Murthel ‘The Predator’ Groenhart. The card also features Errol Zimmerman, Mosab Amrani and Mourad Bouzidi among others.

Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster.nl