FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“GLENDALE GLORY” Tickets Now On Sale!
History To Be Made in Glendale, California
Glendale, California (April 28, 2009) – A 62-year-old ban on professional boxing in the City of Glendale, California will become history on Friday, June 12th, 2009 when Art of Boxing Promotions, in association with Bash Boxing, presents GLENDALE GLORY at the Glendale Civic Auditorium. The 7 bout fight card will be highlighted by undefeated local fighters, Dean “Irish Lightning” Byrne (10-0, 4 KOs), Art “LionHeart” Hovhannesyan (7-0-1, 2KOs), “Mad” Max Skayzer (6-0-1, 1KO), Lateef “Power” Kayode (5-0, 4KOs) and Gabriel “The Ghost” Tolmajyan (5-1, 1KO). Featured in the co-main event will be 23-year-old Heavyweight prospect Andrey “The Russian Bear” Fedosov (19-1, 15KOs) as he attempts to capture the WBC Heavyweight I/C Youth Title.
During the fall of 1947, a group of Glendale citizens petitioned to prohibit the sport of boxing citing the sport as “unwholesome” entertainment. For over 62 years, Section 5.32 of the Glendale Municipal Code banned professional boxing matches within the entire City of Glendale. But that all changed on March 17, 2009 when the Glendale City Council voted to temporarily lift the 62-year-old ban and allow a trial period for a boxing event at the Glendale Civic Auditorium.
The historic decision to revisit and revise Glendale’s long-standing prohibition on boxing in Glendale was brought about by a determined and persistent Kahren Harutyunyan, a lifelong resident of Glendale and a former NABO Champion, along with local fighters, trainers, managers, promoters, and concerned citizens who repeatedly stood before the Glendale City Council and asked for change. For the first time in over 60 years, boxing fans of Glendale can see tomorrow’s stars today - right in their own backyard!
Tickets to GLENDALE GLORY start at $45 and can be purchased online by going to www.artofboxingpromotions.com or www.bashboxing.com. Tickets can also be purchased by calling Art of Boxing Promotions at (818) 521-2373 or Bash Boxing at (213) 700-7001. GLENDALE GLORY takes place on Friday, June 12, 2009 at the Glendale Civic Auditorium. Doors Open at 7pm, First Bout is at 8pm.
Boxers get back in ring By Jason Wells
Published: Last Updated Wednesday, March 11, 2009 2:27 PM PDT
Boxers Get Back In Ring
Promoter will have to provide extra security and pay for five police units at June fight.
CITY HALL — In the match of Kahren Harutyunyan versus Glendale’s prohibition on professional boxing, it was the local promoter who emerged victorious Tuesday night after the City Council pledged to lift the 62-year-old ban for a one-year trial period at the Civic Auditorium.
Harutyunyan, a champion boxer and owner of Glendale-based Art of Boxing Promotions, had been lobbying the council to allow pro-fighting matches in a city that has produced numerous champions.
On Tuesday, four City Council members said they would vote to approve the one-year trial period next week, but warned that they would be watching the first fight — tentatively scheduled for June 12 — for any hint of negative impact to the city.
“I’m hoping everything will be OK, but I’ll be watching it like a hawk,” Councilman Bob Yousefian said.(CONTiNUED)
City gears up for boxing By Jason Wells
Published: Last Updated Sunday, March 8, 2009 8:22 PM PDT
City Gears Up For Boxing
CITY HALL — A 62-year-old ban on boxing matches, under fire from local pro-fighters who argue they have nowhere to draw a hometown crowd, is expected to get a one-year reprieve Tuesday when the City Council considers temporarily easing the restriction.
Consideration of the trial period comes as the first test match at the Civic Auditorium looms on the horizon. City Council members have said they view the professional boxing event scheduled for May 8 as an all-important barometer for how ready the city is.
City officials have spent four months planning contingencies for nearly every conceivable problem that may arise from the event.
Tentative plans call for two Glendale Police officers and a canine unit patrolling the event, signage to direct traffic immediately to the two nearby freeways, a fire marshal to monitor the crowd and other fail-safes — all for a production with a capacity for a crowd half of what other larger events require at the auditorium.
The city resources don’t include all of the state commission oversight, background checks, private security, metal detectors and other measures that come with the event.
Kahren Karutyunyan, a champion boxer and local promoter whose Glendale-based Art of Boxing Productions is putting on the May 8 fight, said the amount of hoops to jump through was expected considering the unease with which the City Council agreed to consider the test period last year. (CONTiNUED)
Boxing Ban Put in Corner Pro fighters argue against writ from 1947.
City agrees to test pro fights at Civic Auditorium. By Jason Wells
Published: Last Updated Wednesday, October 1, 2008 10:08 PM PDT
CITY HALL — Local boxers will get one shot to prove that their professional fighting events aren’t socially disruptive after the City Council on Tuesday directed officials to come back with a plan that would allow a trial match at the Civic Auditorium.
Despite concerns that sanctioned professional fighting is too violent and could introduce more “misbehavior” to Glendale, the City Council agreed to temporarily lift a 61-year-old ban on pro boxing to assess the impact a match would have on the city.
The decision came after more than a dozen former and current professional fighters and their supporters argued the ban was out-of-date and unfair to local fans and their homegrown champions.
“I’ve fought all over the place, but I haven’t had a chance to fight in my hometown,” said Edmond Tarverdyan, a martial arts champion and boxer who operates a Glendale-based training studio. “These kids need to look up to us.”
Pro boxing, wrestling and other sparring matches have been banned in Glendale since 1947, when residents who viewed the entertainment as “unwholesome” pressured the City Council to deny a permit request to hold a boxing match.
Recent requests for fight permits at the city-owned Civic Auditorium and persistent lobbying from local champion boxer and promoter Kahren Harutyunyan brought the prohibition back for reconsideration Tuesday. (Continued)
Boxing Ban Up For A Review Council could K.O. rule from 1940s, but some say sport brings gambling, crime to safe city. By Jason Wells -
Glendale News Press
Published: Last Updated Monday, September 29, 2008 10:31 PM PDT
Ban on Pro Fights Revisited Council will look at whether to allow boxing events in city to generate revenue at venue. By Jason Wells -
Glendale News Press
Published: Last Updated Thursday, July 3, 2008 10:22 PM PDT
BLOOD, SWEAT & MEMBERSHIP is a documentary film that follows two young professional fighters, Kahren Harutyunyan and Brian Viloria at the beginning of their careers. Barely out of their teens at the start of filming, during the course of the movie which spans a period of several years, these young men grow as professional fighters and individuals as they become men in the harsh, fast and often unforgiving World of Professional Boxing.
More than just a film about the World of Professional Boxing, BLOOD, SWEAT & MEMBERSHIP explores what it takes to become a success in life. Is it talent, intelligence, luck or something completely intangible and independent of all three? When everything is equal, what determines who will attain the highest heights of Professional Boxing and who will toil continually just on the outside of success constantly looking in? Is it simple destiny that decides who will be given the opportunity to excel, or are we all capable of changing our paths towards self discovery and all of our dreams for a better life?
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