NEW YORK -- Willie “The Great” Nelson (23-1-1, 13 KOs), of Cleveland, Ohio, will be opposed by Vanes “The Nightmare” Martirosyan (34-1-1, 21 KOs), of Glendale, Calif. by way of Armenia, in a collision of once-beaten junior middleweights in the co-feature of a SHOWTIME Boxing Special Edition quadrupleheader on Saturday, Oct. 4, live on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from the Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, Conn.

Farhood regards the co-feature between Nelson and Martirosyan as a “throwback fight between contenders where the stakes are self-evident.’’

“This type of matchup you don’t see anymore,’’ Farhood said. “Martirosyan is a legitimate top-10 contender while Nelson is just outside the top 10. The winner will be clearly in line for a shot at a title.’’

Nelson, a 6-foot-3½, 27-year-old, has won seven in a row since his lone defeat (on ShoBox on an eight-round majority decision to Vincent Arroyo in April 2011). Nelson was triumphant in his other ShoBox start on a unanimous 10-round decision (97-92 twice and 95-94) over left-handed former Cuban amateur star and previously unbeaten prospect Yudel Jhonson in May 2012.

After dealing Johnson his initial setback, Nelson, who’s very tall for the weight class, upset undefeated prospect and 2008 Virgin Islands Olympian, John Jackson, on a unanimous 10-round decision (98-92 and 96-94 twice) to capture the NABF 154-pound belt on Sept. 15, 2012.

Nelson underwent surgery on his left elbow in late 2013, but has fought twice since, winning a clear 10-round decision over hard-trying Luis Grajeda in his most recent outing last Aug. 8.

An amateur standout before going pro in May 2006, Nelson doesn’t plan to make radical changes in his style and technique against Armenian-born Martirosyan.

“I think Martirosyan is a good fighter,’’ said Nelson, a former U.S, amateur standout and eight-year pro. “He's well-rounded–decent speed, decent power. But I'm going to use the same game plan for him as I do for everybody else. I'm not going to change nothing. Basically, I'm just going to work on keeping him on the outside on the end of my punches."

Martirosyan, 28, is coming off a unanimous 10-round decision over Mario Lozano last March 21 in Cabazon, Calif. In his first start for new trainer, Joe Goossen, and new promoter, Goossen Tutor, Martirosyan dominated; he scored a knockdown with a right hand in the second and consistently outboxed and outworked Lozano to win going away by 100-89 three times.

A 2004 U.S. Olympian, Martirosyan is 6-foot-tall boxer-puncher who possesses good power, movement and speed. He’ll be looking to make it two-for-two for his new team on Oct. 4.

“I've been training for this fight for over 2 and a half months–it's been a long camp,’’ said Martirosyan, who lost a 12-round split decision to undefeated lefthander and 2008 U.S. Olympian Demetrius Andrade (117-110, 114-113 and 112-115) in a fight for the vacant WBO junior middleweight belt on Nov. 19, 2013. “Every time I spar, I'm sparring 15 rounds, 20 rounds. We're working really hard. I've never in my life sparred so long or experienced something like this.

“I think Nelson is a good fighter. He always finds a way to win even though he gets hurt or dropped, and you've got to respect him for that. But he has to respect me, too, because I've never been so hungry in my life,” said Martirosyan. “This is basically do-or-die for me."

In a sensational amateur career in which he was an eight-time National champion, the lanky Martirosyan upended Timothy Bradley, who went on to win super lightweight and welterweight world titles, Austin Trout, who would become the WBA super welterweight titlist, and Andre Berto, who went on to win the WBC and IBF welterweight belt.