5 Things You Might Not Know About Giorgio Petrosyan

Universally regarded as one of the greatest kickboxers of all-time, Giorgio Petrosyan has designs on adding another piece of hardware to a trophy case already bursting at the seams.

The Alfio Romanut protégé will face Superbon Banchamek for the inaugural One Championship kickboxing featherweight title in the “First Strike” main event on Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Petrosyan enters the match with a 104-2-2 record, with 41 of those victories coming by knockout or technical knockout. He last competed at One Championship “Fists of Fury” on Feb. 26, when he took a unanimous decision from Davit Kiria and improved to 6-0 in the Singapore-based organization.

As Petrosyan makes final preparations for his forthcoming battle with Banchamek, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He rose out of a harsh upbringing.

Petrosyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia, on Dec. 10, 1985. His family left the warn-torn country, fled to Italy when he was a teenager and resorted to sleeping in train stations until they were rescued by an aid organization. Petrosyan now fights out of Milan, Italy, roughly 360 miles north of Rome.

2. His base was formed during his teenaged years.

“The Doctor” started his formal training at the age of 16 under Romanut at the Satori Gladiatorium Nemesis. It was there that he developed the famed defensive skills for which he has become known.

3. At his peak, he was virtually untouchable.

Petrosyan enjoyed an almost unimaginable 42-fight unbeaten streak at the height of his powers—a run that included his winning back-to-back K-1 World Max tournaments in 2009 and 2010. His tear ended with a stunning knockout loss to Andy Ristie at Glory 12 on Nov. 23, 2013.

4. All signs point to his aging gracefully.

The Armenian kickboxer has not lost a fight in nearly eight years. Petrosyan has compiled a 19-0 record with one no contest since his aforementioned loss to Ristie.

5. He piles up the frequent flier miles.

Petrosyan has fought in no fewer than 15 countries as a pro kickboxer. They include Italy, Slovenia, France, Thailand, Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, South Korea, Spain, United States, China, Russia, Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia.