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Vanes Martirosyan offers to drop down for Victor Ortiz

Phil D. Jay 
WBN Editor
Light-middleweight would accept bout ‘In a heartbeat’

31-0 light-middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan has thrown his hat into the ring to replace the injured Andre Berto on February 11th after the former WBC welterweight champion was forced to withdraw from his rematch with Victor Ortiz with an injured bicep.

The current WBC silver champion at 154lbs, Martirosyan, 25, is ticking over with a contest against veteran Troy Lowry on February 4th in San Antonio, Texas as he awaits a shot at Saul Alvarez - but has been vocal in his desire to oppose Ortiz at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas a week later instead.

“I would step in right now if they asked me for Berto in a heartbeat,” Martirosyan told World Boxing News.

 “Victor knows what happens when I hit him and I'll even go down to 147.”

Ortiz, also 25, has now been left in limbo with just eleven days to go until he was due to rematch Berto live on Showtime and has already reiterated his desire to find a replacement for the bout, which looks increasingly like it could now be scrapped altogether.

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