By Thomas Gerbasi

A Showtime co-main event in Las Vegas, the Fight Capital of the World. A possible title shot up for grabs if he defeats unbeaten Jermell Charlo on Saturday night. That’s not a bad scenario for Vanes Martirosyan as he enters his third professional fight this weekend.

Wait. Third professional fight? Well, not really, but the way the 28-year-old Martirosyan sees it, his real career began two fights ago, after he lost for the first time as a pro to Demetrius Andrade in a WBO junior middleweight title bout in November of 2013.

Following the bout, Martirosyan signed with uber-adviser Al Haymon, changed coaches from Freddie Roach to Joe Goossen, and while the results have been impressive in the ring ever since, it’s outside the ropes that the Glendale product feels most at peace.

“I look at the loss as a blessing because I got to see the different side of boxing,” he said. “I was always treated second, and after the loss, I got with Mr. Haymon, I got with the Goossens, and they just opened my eyes to a whole different level about how you’re supposed to be treated. That makes you feel good and it makes you work hard.”

Up until the Andrade fight, Martirosyan - a 2004 United States Olympian - was seen by many as a good fighter, but not an elite one. That may have done him a disservice, as his solid fundamentals and no nonsense style served him well in wins over the likes of Kassim Ouma, Joe Greene, Saul Roman and Richard Gutierrez, and he even fought to a technical draw with one of those elite 154-pounders in Erislandy Lara. He wasn’t spectacular, but he could fight, and even though the Andrade fight shouldn’t have been decided by a split verdict, he wasn’t blown out either in a fight where he admits there were “a lot of distractions.”

So all eyes were on him when he made the switch to Goossen, and in two fights with the respected trainer, Martirosyan has looked sharp, winning clear-cut decisions over Mario Lozano and Willie Nelson.

“Boxing, as a sport, is getting better and improving every day,” he said. “So the main thing is to stay in the gym and stay focused, and when I work with Joe, he opened my eyes to a lot of things that I didn’t know about and those are things that I need.”

And now he gets a showcase bout on Showtime against an unbeaten and highly-regarded prospect in Houston’s 25-0 Charlo, an opponent Martirosyan has worked with before.

“We sparred when he was like 18 years old,” Martirosyan said. “It was a long time ago. And it doesn’t matter what we’ve done in the past, but I still take that confidence with me because I couldn’t even use my right hand when we sparred; it was only with my left hand because I had to work with him. So going into this fight, I’m really confident. I just can’t wait to go. I have a good game plan and I can’t wait to fight him. He’s going to see some things that he hasn’t seen. When you do basic boxing – jab, right hand – if you do it with a guy that’s going to do it right back to you, it’s totally different. We’ll see when he gets hit back what he does.”

This is the first major step-up fight for the 24-year-old Texan, who has notable wins over Gabriel Rosado, Demetrius Hopkins and the aforementioned Lozano, but hasn’t had this kind of media spotlight leading up to fight night. That’s something Martirosyan has been used to since the Olympic days, and he knows that at this level, where everyone knows how to fight, the winner is often determined by who can handle everything outside the ring better.

“It does really matter because once you get up there and those lights hit you, it’s totally different,” he said. “I look at this fight like it’s not a test for me; it’s a test for him. I’ve already been through all the tests, so this is just another one I’m going to defeat.”

Martirosyan isn’t looking past Saturday night at The Palms though. He has a healthy respect for Charlo and his team, saying his opponent “is an excellent boxer. We always say that if you look in the dictionary and look for the basics of boxing, you’ll probably see Charlo’s name up there because everything he does is basic, but he does it perfectly. He’s a great fighter.”

Don’t confuse respect with fear or intimidation though. When you hear Martirosyan speak of Saturday night’s bout, it’s with supreme confidence, but not cockiness. And his confidence doesn’t come from old sparring sessions, but from the idea that he will leave it all in the ring to make sure he gets the win and keeps the momentum going. Not just for himself, but for his family. So don’t ask him about Sunday morning. All that matters is this fight.

“The year starts with Charlo, and after Charlo, we can have the same conversation and I’ll tell you the rest of the plan,” Martirosyan said. “But for now, Charlo’s the guy. He’s the guy that’s holding me back and holding my family back. Charlo has his arms open, holding my kids back from accomplishing their goals and dreams, and I’m not gonna let that happen. I’m gonna beat Charlo so we can move on with our lives and go on to bigger and better things. I’m gonna stop him and he’s trying to stop me, so it’s gonna be a helluva fight. He throws, I throw, I respect him, I respect his coach, and we just can’t wait to fight.”