Karapet Karapetyan, also known as Karapet Papijan is an Armenian-Dutch kickboxer who competes in the super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. A professional since 2002, Karapetyan established himself on the Dutch scene by becoming a national champion and having a short stint in the It's Showtime promotion before two ill-fated world title shots in 2012. He signed with Glory the following year. As of 2 November 2015, he is ranked the #3 welterweight in the world by GLORY.
Early life
Born in Armenia, Karapet Karapetyan moved to the Netherlands aged sixteen in 1998 in the aftermath of the Nagorno-Karabakh War, initially living in Rotterdam before settling in Nijmegen with his parents and two sisters. He had limited martial arts training in his homeland but began training in kickboxing and Muay Thai seriously under the tutelage of Perry Ubeda after his arrival in Nijmegen, having his first fight after six months of preparation.
Career
Early career (2002–2012)
Having turned professional in 2002, Karapetyan spent a number of years honing his skills on the Dutch kickboxing and Muay Thai scene in a rather unremarkable beginning to his career. On June 4, 2006, he competed in the World Full Contact Association 2006 Super Middleweight Tournament in Druten, Netherlands, outpointing Mustafa Yılmaz in the quarter-finals and Winston Martens in the semis before losing to Joost Bauhaus, who he was already 0-1-1 against in two previous fights, in the final. The tournament final between the pair was scored a draw after the regulation three round and so it went to an extension round to decide the winner, after which Bauhaus came out on top. Later that year, on October 8, he rematched Winston Martens, taking a decision win to be crowned the WFCA Dutch Super Middleweight Champion. In early 2007, Karapetyan had a brief stint in the It's Showtime promotion. He won the It's Showtime 75MAX Trophy 2007 - Zwolle on February 2, 2007, taking decision wins over Yücel Fidan, Amir Zeyada and Tarek Slimani, respectively, before dropping a unanimous decision to Ondřej Hutník in his second and last appearance in the organization at on March 24, 2007. Replacing Grega Smole who withdrew from the fight, Karapetyan challenged Nieky Holzken for his WFCA World Super Middleweight K-1 Championship in Eindhoven, Netherlands on February 12, 2012, losing by decision after five rounds. After rebounding with consecutive wins over Yakup Kaya and Alexandros Chatzichronoglou in the next two months, he then lost to Marc de Bonte on points on May 19, 2012. For the second time that year, Karapetyan challenged for a world title as a late replacement when he filled in for Artem Vakhitov who conceded that he would not be able to make the -79.3 kg/175 lb weight limit in a fight for Joe Schilling's WBC Muaythai Interim World Light Heavyweight Championship at Battle for the Belts in Bangkok, Thailand on June 9, 2012. He lost by unanimous decision, losing out in every round but the third. Turning his hand to professional boxing, he won the Ben Bril Memorial 6 Light Heavyweight Grand Prix in Amsterdam, Netherlands on October 15, 2012, beating Jeremy Blijd in the semi-finals and Marino Schouten in the final. He closed out the year with a controversial majority decision loss to Alexander Stetsurenko at Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 9 in Moscow, Russia on December 16, 2012. The match, fought at -80 kg/176 lb, saw Karapetyan give Stetsurenko a lot of trouble, not allowing him to get inside and peppering him from the outside. Stetsurenko looked to have hurt Karapetyan a few times when he was able to get inside, and ultimately got a razor thin decision victory.
Glory (2013–present)
Signing with Glory in 2013 as a competitor in the organization's -77.1 kg/170 lb welterweight division, Karapetyan made his promotional debut against Roberto Cocco at ' in Milan, Italy on April 20, 2013 and winning by unanimous decision. He rematched Alexander Stetsurenko on the ' undercard in Ontario, California, United States on September 28, 2013 and avenged his earlier defeat to the Russian with a unanimous decision victory. In his return to boxing on October 14, 2013, he was unable to retain the title that he won a year previously as he was eliminated by Joos Poulino in the semi-finals of the seventh edition of the Ben Bril Memorial tournament. Karapetyan competed in the four-man ' in Tokyo, Japan on December 21, 2013. He was originally set to face Joseph Valtellini in the semi-finals but his opponent was later changed to Nieky Holzken when the matchups were reshuffled. Karapetyan was knocked down in rounds one and two and lost by unanimous decision. He defeated Artur Kyshenko by unanimous decision on the ' undercard in Zagreb, Croatia on March 8, 2014. Replacing Nieky Holzken who withdrew from the match due to a recurring shoulder injury, Karapetyan challenged Marc de Bonte for the inaugural Glory Welterweight Championship at in Broomfield, Colorado, United States on May 3, 2014, losing by split decision.
