Gevorg "Giorgio" Petrosyan (; born December 10, 1985) is an Armenian-Italian former kickboxer who competed in the middleweight division. Nicknamed "The Doctor", he is noted for supreme technical skills, ringsmanship, and defensive prowess which has seen him defeat some of the best strikers in the world while taking little damage.By the K-1 president Sadaharu Tanikawa, , October 27, 2009, K-1 He is widely regarded as one of the greatest kickboxers of all time.
After immigrating to Italy from Armenia at thirteen years old, Petrosyan began his professional career as a Muay Thai fighter at sixteen, starting out as a -54 kg/119 lb bantamweight before moving up through the weight classes and settling at the -70 kg/154 lb middleweight division, taking numerous titles along the way. Following a decision loss to Nonthanan Por. Pramuk at Lumpinee Stadium in January 2007, he went on a six-year, forty-two fight undefeated streak considered to be one of the most dominant reigns in the history of the sport which was eventually ended by Andy Ristie at Glory 12: New York in November 2013.
His switch to kickboxing rules and subsequent ascent began in 2008 when he began competing for It's Showtime and K-1, and he established himself as the world's top middleweight with two consecutive K-1 World MAX World Championship Tournament Championships in 2009 and 2010. He then joined Glory in 2012 following It's Showtime and K-1's demise and further cemented his place as the elite -70 kg/154 lb kickboxer by winning the Glory 2012 Lightweight Slam tournament.
Early life Petrosyan was Born in Yerevan, Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union (now Armenia) to Armenian parents on December 10, 1985, as Gevorg Petrosyan, he emigrated to Italy at the age of thirteen with his father, Andranik, and older brother, Stepan, arriving illegally in the country in the back of a truck. They initially lived homeless in Milan, sleeping in train stations and on the streets, but were later taken in by a family in Gorizia who offered them work as night watchmen at their factory. After settling in Italy, he was soon joined by his mother, Karine, sister, Lianna, and younger brother, Armen, who is also a world champion kickboxer.
Inspired by Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme martial arts films, Petrosyan decided to begin training in Muay Thai at fourteen years old but was initially turned away from the gym for being too small. He persisted, however, and eventually started his training under Alfio Romanut at the Satori Gladiatorium Nemesis gym and had his first fight at the age of sixteen. He continues to reside in Gorizia in Northern Italy and worked as a bricklayer early in his career.
Career
Muay Thai beginnings and early career (2002–2006) Giorgio Petrosyan started his career as a -54 kg/119 lb bantamweight at the age of sixteen and defeated a local Italian fighter in his February 2002 debut, breaking his toes while doing so. He turned professional shortly after and would compete almost exclusively under Muay Thai rules for the next five years. In his first title fight on November 9, 2003, he scored a third round knockout over Gionata Zarbo to be crowned the Muay Thai Association (MTA) Italian national champion. Steadily moving up in weight and competition level, he captured the MTA European -65 kg/143 lb Championship by outpointing Fabio Pinca in 2004 before making his only successful defence of the belt in February 2005 with another points win over Shemsi Beqiri in his home town of Gorizia. He fought to a draw with three-time Lumpinee Stadium champion Pinsinchai in Bologna, Italy on April 10, 2005, but soon returned to the win column and defeated Olivier Tchétché by second round technical knockout in a WMC Intercontinental Welterweight (-66.7 kg/147 lb) Championship match in Nova Gorica, Slovenia on June 25, 2005.
Petrosyan then made the journey to Thailand to train, visiting the WMC Samui Gym in Ko Samui and Tor. Silachai in Nakhon Ratchasima. He stopped Thai fighter Petch with a low kick in round three at Phetch Buncha Samui Stadium in Ko Samui in February 2006 before returning to Italy to compete in the Italian Extreme IV four-man tournament in Modena on April 1, 2006, which he ran through, finishing both opponents in the first round. He floored Richard Barnhill with a left hook before putting him away with a low kick in the semi-finals and gave an almost identical performance in the final when he dispatched Roel Rink with a leg kick shortly after knocking him down with a right hook. This also marked the third consecutive fight in which Petrosyan had stopped opponents with low kicks. He became a world champion for the first time on June 10, 2006, by knocking out Benito Caupain with a first round high kick to win the vacant Kombat League World -66.7 kg/147 lb Muay Thai Championship in Nova Gorica. He would go on to successfully defend this title three times before the end of the year; TKOing Johnny Tancray in round four in Sardinia, Italy on August 5, KOing Frankie Hudders in round two in Pordenone, Italy on September 5 and winning a unanimous decision over Imro Main in Enschede, Netherlands on November 19.
Moving up to middleweight, Petrosyan marked his arrival in the weight class that he would go on to dominate by winning the eight-man 72 kg/158 lb tournament at Janus Fight Night 2006 in Padua, Italy, on December 2, 2006. He took a unanimous decision win against Cédric Muller in the quarter-finals and TKO'd Frane Radnić in the semis, knocking him down twice in round one with a left cross to the solar plexus, before beating Marco Piqué via another unanimous decision in the final.
First defeat and subsequent kickboxing breakthrough (2007–2008) Petrosyan fought at the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand for the first time on January 23, 2007, where he was also handed the first loss of his career, dropping a decision to Nonthanan Por. Pramuk. In an interview, Petrosyan said the promoters required him to drink an extra two litres of water after he weighed in at 70 kg, two kilograms below the agreed upon weight of 72 kg. The drink given to Petrosyan caused him to have stomach cramps and made it very difficult for him to fight, though he decided to go through with it anyway. After the bout, Nonthanan retired, quickly ending the possibility of a rematch.
He was able to bounce back from this loss by recording back-to-back wins, a third-round TKO of Sadio Cissoko on March 17, 2007, and a unanimous decision over Arslan Magomedov on April 14, 2007, at K-1 Italy Oktagon 2007, both fights taking place in Milan, Italy. From there, he was offered the biggest fight of his career at that point when he replaced John Wayne Parr, who withdrew after injuring his ribs training with Nathan Corbett, to challenge Buakaw Por. Pramuk for his WMC World Junior Middleweight (-69.8 kg/154 lb) Championship at K-1 Fighting Network Scandinavian Qualification 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden on May 19, 2007. After five rounds, the fight was ruled a split draw and, consequently, Buakaw retained his title.
Petrosyan then went on to defeat Abdallah Mabel twice within two months in his next couple of fights, decisioning him in Padua on May 26, 2007, and then TKOing him in Trieste on July 27, 2007. After a first-round knockout of Behrouz Rastagar in Arnhem, Netherlands on October 13, 2007, he entered the Janus Fight Night 2007 -72 kg/158 lb tournament (the event he had won a year previously) on November 24, 2007. In the quarter-finals, he beat José Reis by unanimous decision. Then, in the semis, he met Abdallah Mabel for the third time in six months and bested the Frenchman once again, winning another unanimous decision. In the final, Petrosyan defeated another familiar opponent by unanimous decision, Marco Piqué, who he had also faced in the final the previous year.
In early 2008, Petrosyan made the transition to Oriental rules kickboxing when he signed with the It's Showtime organization, making his promotional debut with a unanimous decision victory over Luís Reis at Balans: It's Showtime 75MAX Trophy Final 2008 in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands on March 15, 2008. April 2008 was another pivotal month in Petrosyan's career as he made his first foray onto the K-1 circuit, TKOing Mikel Colaj in five at K-1 Italy Oktagon 2008 in Milan on the twelfth and forcing two second round standing eight counts en route to taking a unanimous decision over Chris Ngimbi at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Amsterdam supercard at the Amsterdam ArenA on the twenty sixth.
Following a brief return to the Muay Thai scene with wins over Çağrı Ermiş in Tilburg, Netherlands, on May 24, 2008, and Rafik Bakkouri in Abano Terme, Italy, on June 28, 2008, Petrosyan did not fight again until November when he took to the ring twice within three weeks. On November 8, he beat Naruepol Fairtex by unanimous decision at Janus Fight Night: The Legend. Then, on November 29, he took another decision over Warren Stevelmans at It's Showtime 2008 Eindhoven.
Consecutive K-1 World MAX Tournament Championships (2009–2010) Petrosyan took the World Kickboxing Network (WKN) Intercontinental Welterweight (-69.9 kg/154 lb) Oriental Championship on January 31, 2009, when he stopped David Javakhia with a liver kick inside the opening stanza in Turin, Italy. On March 14, 2009, at Oktagon presents: It's Showtime 2009 in Milan, he scored his first win over a truly elite fighter, taking a points victory against Andy Souwer. Using just about everything in his arsenal to keep Andy Souwer off-balance and out of his range, Petrosyan was seemingly in control of the exchanges. However, the fight got dramatic when the judges unexpectedly ruled it a draw after three rounds, sending the fight into an extension round to decide the winner. Things got even more heated when Souwer was dropped by a punch in the extension round and referee Joop Ubeda declined to give him a count. In the end, the judges saw things the way of Petrosyan and gave him the unanimous decision, in what was considered a major upset.
Sporting an impressive 53-1-2 record and now holding a victory over a two-time K-1 MAX champion in Souwer, Petrosyan was invited to compete in the annual K-1 World MAX Tournament for the first time. At the tournament's opening round at the K-1 World MAX 2009 World Championship Tournament Final 16 in Fukuoka, Japan on April 21, 2009, he controlled Dzhabar Askerov for two rounds before putting him away with a knee to the midsection in three.
Following a unanimous decision win against Faldir Chahbari at It's Showtime 2009 Amsterdam on May 16, 2009, Petrosyan faced another one-time K-1 MAX champion in the form of Albert Kraus in the tournament's quarter-final stage at the K-1 World MAX 2009 World Championship Tournament Final 8 in Tokyo, Japan on July 13, 2009. Petrosyan defeated him soundly, winning a unanimous decision and qualifying for the round of four three months later. On October 26, 2009, at the K-1 World MAX 2009 World Championship Tournament Final in Yokohama, Japan, he defeated Yuya Yamamoto in the semi-finals but suffered a broken hand in the process. In round one, he dropped Yamamoto with a left hook, but the Japanese fighter was able to return to his feet following the referee's count. He was still visibly hurt, however, and Petrosyan swarmed to knock him out with a right hook seconds later. Advancing to the final despite his hand injury, he met Andy Souwer for the second time. Petrosyan dominated all three rounds, and dropped Souwer with a knee to the body in the second, en route to a unanimous decision victory, clinching the coveted K-1 World MAX Tournament Championship.