Inside Gor Yeritsyan’s whirlwind journey to fighting former titleholder Jonathan Romero

Welterweight contender Gor Yeritsyan’s circuitous journey to fighting Saturday for the first time since suffering his first career loss was hit with several unforeseen circumstances.

The Freddie Roach-trained fighter’s original opponent, Mylik Birdsong, was tragically killed in front of his mother’s house during a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles on September 30. 

Days later, Mexican contender Oliver Quintana was secured as a replacement opponent. But on Tuesday, it was revealed that Quintana couldn’t enter the country to make his United States debut. 

Yeritsyan (18-1, 14 KOs) promoter Tom Loeffler had to work the phones to make some 11th-hour fight-week magic happen, and now, on four days’ notice, the Armenian contender will face former junior featherweight titleholder Jonathan Romero (35-5, 19 KOs) at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. The bout will stream on UFC Fight Pass on the undercard of a 360 Promotions event headlined by featherweights Omar Trinidad and Hector Sosa. 

“It’s the first time I’ve had to switch opponents like this so late, and it’s played with my nerves a little bit, but I have the experience and I’m ready to fight,” Yeritsyan told BoxingScene. “I’ve been training hard with Freddie for the last two months for all kinds of different styles. I’ve been sparring hard at Wild Card preparing for my return fight. I’m 100 per cent ready. I’m going to go into the ring and show a night of beautiful boxing on Saturday. I’ve been focusing on fighting with smart aggressiveness. Romero has experience, but no one will stop me. Of course, a knockout win will be good and I know that I can stop him but I need to win by any means necessary.

Romero, 37, became a titleholder in 2013 when he picked up the vacant 122-pound IBF title against Alejandro Lopez with a split decision only to lose the belt in his next fight against Kiko Martinez via sixth-round TKO for his first career loss. The streaky Romero, a 15-year-old pro from Colombia, then reeled off 12 straight wins against unheralded competition, but he’s lost his last four fights over the last 15 months – three via stoppage – to Kenneth Sims Jnr, Manuel Jaimes, Albert Bell and Abraham Nova. 

Yeritsyan, 29, is coming off a controversial 10-round split decision loss against fellow Armenian countryman Aram Amirkhanyan in July in a fight that many observers believed Yeritsyan won.

“Everyone knows I didn’t lose my last fight,” said Yeritsyan. “It was a big gift to my opponent, but I can’t do anything about it. It’s time to only move forward. I am ready for the top 10 guys at 147 pounds. Freddie knows. Tom knows. And I know. But first I need a good comeback and a beautiful knockout win against Romero.” 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.