As Edmen Shahbazyan made his name in the amateur boxing world, winning at the PAL Tournament and the Desert Showdown and getting close to a berth in the 2016 Olympic trials, his coach, Edmond Tarverdyan, watched closely.
Sure, Tarverdyan was the coach of UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey and several other MMA notables, but he had also worked with former world boxing champion Vic Darchinyan and a host of hopefuls in the sweet science. So he saw the fast hands, the power, and the unlimited potential of Shahbazyan as a boxer, and he knew a path had to be chosen.