After two years since his last match, Giorgio Petrosyan will return to the ring this Saturday in his hometown of Milan in the event of Petrosyan Mania Gold Edition. He will face the Spain’s Sergio Sanchez, a six-time ISKA and WAKO world champion, who has remained unbeaten for three years, holding the WAKO Kickboxing Pro -69kg world title. The stated purpose of Petrosyan is to avenge his brother Armen, who last November in Milan. He was defeated by the Spaniard as well, snatching his WAKO Pro belt, a title still missing from his rich bulletin board. The attention of fans and professionals will be primarily on the quality of his performance. The Giorgio Petrosyan of his best days would have easily beaten even a strong athlete like Sanchez is. If tomorrow does not bring a dominant victory, the speculation around “King George” would spread. In fact, he has not fought for two years, and his last match against a top fighter resulted in defeat at the hands of Superbon Banchamek in ONE Championship in Oct. 2021. His last victory against a top opponent was in Oct. 2019 against Samy Sana, and, now, he is 38 years old.
The reason for Petrosyan’s long absence has not been clarified. His staff spoke generally of a series of injuries that have repeatedly interrupted his preparation. On the other hand, Petrosyan appeared very focused and determined in his interviews these days.
PETROSYAN MANIA GOLD EDITION, 05.18.24 MILAN, ITALY
Preliminary Card (5.30 PM CET)
- Joel Prela vs Nicola Abramo
- Jan Furnò vs Saverio Salerno
- Gianluca Pozzoli vs Giovanni Brignoli
- Florian Qokaj vs Kessourou Kanoute
- 80 kg Tournament: Giuseppe Giacomazzo vs Fabio Di Marco vs Andrea Rigamonti vs Fabrizio Sacco
- Ilaria Pizzuti vs Costanza Colla
- Bobby Ignat vs Yahya Saidi
- Darius Lorenzo Iancu vs Lorenzo Del Gaudio
- Simone Giannattasio vs Sheriff Konteh
Main Card (09.00 PM CET live on DAZN where available)
- Massimo Rigamonti vs Ayoub Ghraidia
- WAKO Pro Italian Title: Haitham El Mazahi vs Rida El Mazhor
- WAKO Pro Italian Title: Eddy Vinotti vs Maicol Filice
- Dejan Anelli vs Aimane Farjaoui
- Victor Apostol vs Fernando Sanchez
- Fabrizio Ruggiero vs Anquar Amakrane
- WAKO Pro European Title: Andrea Festa vs Pablo Izard
- Samo Petje vs Francesco Maggio
- WAKO Pro World Title: Giorgio Petrosyan vs Sergio Sanchez