The rivalry had been building for weeks. Threats, sharp words and bold predictions made Borislav Velev’s meeting with Grigor Sarukhanian one of Bulgaria’s most anticipated fights of 2023. A packed SILA Hall in Plovdiv would see whether experience could withstand Roy’s youth and power.
On 2 June, Roy dropped Sarukhanian four times and stopped him in the eighth round at MaxFight 54 to win the organisation’s title. It was a decisive victory against an opponent who kept getting up.
Moving up two divisions
Sarukhanian was 36, twelve years older than Velev, and arrived with 19 professional wins, six losses and one draw. He relied on his speed, experience and confidence in such battles. Roy brought his reputation as a knockout artist and the desire to prove it against an opponent the Bulgarian crowd knew well.
To make the fight, Velev accepted a 76.2 kg limit — super middleweight. That was two divisions above the 69.9 kg super welterweight class in which he usually competed, with middleweight between them. In our negotiations, Sarukhanian was moving down from light heavyweight to super middleweight, while Roy accepted the challenge of facing a bigger opponent.
Tension rose at the weigh-in
The weigh-in added to an already heated rivalry. With both fighters having made bold predictions, we needed Roy to channel the excitement into a controlled performance.
He started strongly. At the end of the first round, a left uppercut to the body sent Sarukhanian down. For us in the corner, the count felt endless — the finish seemed so close. But Grigor got up and brought the fight back to life. Plovdiv would see much more than a quick knockout.
Sarukhanian kept getting up; Roy kept attacking
Velev had the better of the exchanges and scored another knockdown in round four. Sarukhanian recovered and made rounds five and six more competitive, forcing Roy to stay patient and keep working.
In the seventh, a combination of hooks brought the third knockdown. Grigor got back to his feet again. In the eighth, a series of left hooks dropped him for the fourth time and the referee stopped the contest. Roy had imposed his power without losing the persistence needed against such a stubborn opponent.
A breakthrough night for Roy
After so much tension, the joy in our team was enormous. Velev had accepted a higher weight class, withstood the public pressure and backed his words with eight rounds of work. The MaxFight belt was now his.
Sarukhanian’s determination to keep getting up made the contest memorable. For Roy, it was a chance to show a wider audience his heavy combinations and sustained pressure. The same card brought Vladimir Georgiev the Bulgarian title after ten rounds with Zdravko Popov.
Grigor Sarukhanian vs Borislav Velev · MaxFight 54
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