BIO
PERSONAL BACKGROUND

Vanes said, “I was born in Abovyan, Armenia. I have two brothers and a sister. My father worked for an industrial company, he was also in the army. My family moved to Glendale when I was four years old.

“My dad was an amateur boxer, too. I guess he saw it in me. He told me that I was an active kid. I had a lot of energy, I was always running around the house. When he found out there was a boxing gym there, he took me and my older brother. My little brother came to the gym with us, too, but he was too little at the time. My older brother, he wanted to swim, so he quit halfway. My little brother boxed, too. He has eight wins, and three by stoppage. He’s only 12 years old. But he likes soccer, so he quit, too.

“I started boxing when I was seven. When I started training, I wanted to play basketball, but the boxing coaches always said, ‘No, never let him quit.’ And my dad always told me, ‘Once you start something, you got to finish it. If you quit now, you’re always going to want to quit other things.’

“I had 130 amateur fights, 120 wins, and 10 losses. Whoever I lost to, I beat the second time around, except for the Cuban. I fought him in the pre-Olympics and the Olympics. I never got a chance to fight him again.

“I speak Armenian, of course, English, and I know a little Spanish. I know probably a couple of words in Russian too.

“I’m not married, no kids. No girlfriend until I have the world title. I’m going to stay focused until I have all the titles.”…