Arsen Goulamirian
Arsen Goulamirian (; ; born 4 October 1987) is an Armenian-born French professional boxer who has held the WBA (Super) cruiserweight title since 2019. Professional career. Early career. Arsen turned professional in 2011 and won 14 consecutive fights before winning the WBA Continental (Europe) cruiserweight title. He would improve his record to 22–0 before getting a shot at the vacant Regular WBA cruiserweight title against Ryad Merhy. Arsen would end up winning the fight via 11th round stoppage and became the interim WBA cruiserweight champion. WBA Interim Cruiserweight champion. Goulamirian vs. Merhy. Goulamirian was scheduled to face the undefeated  WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight titlist Ryad Merhy for the vacant WBA interim cruiserweight title. The bout was set as the main event of the March 24, 2018, Canal+ card held at the Palais des Sports in Marseille, France. Goulamirian was at the time the #1 ranked WBA cruiserweight contender, while Merhy was the #2 ranked contender in the WBA rankings. Goulamirian won the fight by a technical knockout, stopping Merhy with a combination of unanswered strikes in the eleventh round, after dominating the fight from the very first round. The WBA changed Goulamirian's status from Regular to Interim, when  former champion Beibut Shumenov came back from his eye injury and recovered the Regular WBA cruiserweight title by defeating Turkish Hizni Altunkaya on 7 July 2018. Goulamirian vs. Flanagan. After capturing the interim WBA strap, Goulamirian was scheduled to face the one-time WBA cruiserweight super title challenger Mark Flanagan. The bout was once again scheduled as the main event of a Canal+ card, held on October 20, 2018, at the Palais des Sports in Marseille, France. Goulamirian kept his undefeated record, winning the fight by a ninth-round technical knockout. The two fighters were on even footing for the  first three rounds, but Flanagan began to tire from the fourth round onward, with a notable drop in his output. Flanagan was knocked down twice in the ninth round, with his corner deciding to throw in the towel after the second knockdown. WBA Super Cruiserweight champion. Promotion to Super champion. On February 14, 2019, it was revealed that Goulamirian would challenge the reigning WBA Regular champion Beibut Shumenov. As the two camps were unable to agree on the terms of the bout, Goulamirian's promoter Sébastien Acariès and Shumenov's promoter Don King both submitted bids for the fight. King  won after submitting a winning bid of $821 000, for the proposed WBA “Regular” cruiserweight title fight. King tried to put the fight together on three separate dates and locations, on April 13th in Monaco, on April 20th in Kazakhstan and May 13th in New York, but all three attempts fell through. Shumenov later developed respiratory issues, which left him unable to fight for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the WBA stripped Shumenov of his Regular title and promoted Goulamirian in his place. On June 8, 2019, the WBA called for a June 20 purse bid to grant the promotional  rights for a WBA Super title match between the reigning champion Denis Lebedev and regular champion Goulamirian. The minimum bid was $200 000, with a 75% split for Lebedev and 25% for Goulamirian. The purse bid was later suspended as both sides reached an agreement to finalize the fight. On July 11, 2019, Lebedev announced his retirement from the sport. On July 20, 2019, Goulamirian was elevated to the status of WBA Super Cruiserweight champion. Goulamirian vs. Watts. Goulamirian was scheduled to make the first defense of his WBA Super title against the reigning WBA Oceania cruiserweight champion Kane  Watts. The bout was scheduled as the co-main event to the Michel Soro and Cedric Vitu super welterweight clash, held on November 15, 2019, at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France. Goulamirian was the overwhelming betting favorite heading into the bout, with Ouest-France describing the fight as "a formality for Goulamirian". Goulamirian made quick work of his overmatched opponent, knocking him out with a left hook to the body at the 1:08 minute mark of the fourth round. Goulamirian vs. Bejenaru. Goulamirian was scheduled to make his second WBA Super title defense against the undefeated Constantin Bejenaru in  the main event of a Canal+ card held at the Palais des Sports in Marseille, France, on December 28, 2019. Goulamirian won the fight by a tenth-round stoppage. Referee Oliver Brien called in the ringside doctor after the ninth round, due to the amount of damage that Bejenaru suffered up to that point. After consulting with the physician, the referee decided to stop the fight. Goulamirian was leading on all three of the judges scorecards at that point, with scores of 87-83, 87-83, and 96-94. Goulamirian vs. Egorov. On February 12, 2021, the WBA ordered Goulamirian  to make a mandatory title defense against Aleksey Egorov. They were given a 30-day negotiation period, starting with February 11, 2021. As the two camps were unable to come to terms, the WBA ordered a purse bid to be held on August 23, with a 65% split for Goulamirian as Super Champion, and 35% split for Egorov as holder of the Gold title. World of Boxing won with a $210 000 bid, which was the only one submitted. The fight was eventually scheduled for December 10, 2021, at the RCC Boxing Academy in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Goulamirian was later  forced to withdraw from the bout, as he tested positive for COVID-19.