Petrosyan: “You won’t see me lose in New York”

Giorgio ‘The Doctor’ Petrosyan (78-1-1) goes into the GLORY 12 New York Lightweight Championship Tournament this weekend with a point to prove.

He was recently supplanted at #1 in the world rankings by Robin Van Roosmalen (30-5, 19 KO’s) but, as he beat Van Roosmalen in last year’s tournament final, the Dutchman has said he won’t really feel he has replaced Petrosyan at #1 until he wins a rematch.

Petrosyan is widely considered the pound-for-pound best fighter in kickboxing and one of the sport’s all-time greats.

As essentially the best striker on the planet and with an almost undefeated record in eighty fights, there is considerable pressure on him with each new performance. Everybody loves a champion but, even more, people love to be there when a champion finally loses.

“To be honest yes, the pressure is really strong. But I am used to it. It has been like that forever and I have carried the burden,” Petrosyan says in his meeting room at Manhattan’s New Yorker Hotel.

“Everybody wants to see Giorgio Petrosyan lose but I’ve not come here for that so, unlucky for them.”

“The pressure doesn’t really affect me. It doesn’t keep me awake or anything. Sometimes you have a bad day in training, it’s normal, you might not be hitting the strikes you want or you don’t feel quite right.

“But in general I maintain the same level in training every day, so on average I am always at a good level and I am happy. Having the occasional bad day doesn’t make a difference to a training camp.”

Van Roosmalen’s ascent to the #1 ranking spot also doesn’t bother Petrosyan. If Van Roosmalen gets past Davit Kiria (21-8, 6 KO’s) and Petrosyan gets past Andy Ristie (39-3-1, 19 KO’s), they will rematch on Saturday night.

“Van Roosmalen is a complete fighter. People talk about his left hook but he has much more than that. You don’t get to this level with just one technique. He’s a dangerous guy, I think really he has everything a fighter needs,” Petrosyan says.

“But everybody is assuming Van Roosmalen is going to win this fight against Kiria. Personally I am not so sure. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is Kiria who makes it to the final. I don’t know how that fight will end - but I hope it goes the distance, ha!”

Petrosyan’s status as a master tactician means that he never lets himself get drawn into brawls. He won’t stand there exchanging power-shots with opponent’s he can out-think and out-maneuver. Ristie has promised he will finish Petrosyan inside the distance. Petrosyan has heard it all before.

“Well Ristie would say that. He has to be convinced that he can do that, because otherwise he might as well stay at home,” he laughs.

“Personally I don’t like Ristie’s style. But I think his weak point is also his strength - because technique is not his strong point, it means that he does things a different way and he can be difficult to predict. He can be weird.

“Who is the toughest? I couldn’t really pick between the three. They are all strong opponents and you have to be wary of all of them.”

This weekend’s tournament is the high point of the year for the lightweight division; focus and tension are running at high levels. So Petrosyan got some relaxation in before his training camp by taking a holiday with his soccer-star friend Mario Balotelli.

The two first met when Balotelli attended GLORY 7 MILAN back in April. Since then they have become firm friends.

Despite their different sports and backgrounds they share a lot of similarities, including ties to the Italian fashion industry: Balotelli has a close relationship with Dolce & Gabbana while Petrosyan is sponsored by the Stone Island label.

“If we competed against each other? Good question! We might have to see. I am not so bad at soccer actually and I know Mario did some kickboxing in the past so maybe the differences wouldn’t be so big as people would expect,” says Petrosyan.

“After GLORY 7 in Milan we hung out quite a lot and he lets me stay at his house any time I am in the city. We were also [on holiday] in Mykonos together recently. Mario is a big fan of kickboxing and he is a great guy, very humble.”

GLORY 12 NEW YORK takes place Saturday November 23 and airs live across the US on Spike TV.