Born and raised in Los Angeles, Manouk Akopyan’s passion and enthusiasm for everything sports, entertainment and writing and reporting steered him toward earning a bachelors degree in journalism from California State University, Northridge.
Over the last 15 years, he’s held staff positions in editorial roles for the Los Angeles Times, Tribune Publishing, NFL Media, Ayzenberg Group, Yerevan Magazine and Glendale News-Press, and his bylines and TV reporting have appeared in USA Today, Newsweek, The Guardian, Philadelphia Inquirer and Men’s Health, among various other international outlets.
He’s served as a boxing and MMA TV color commentator for programming that’s aired on ESPN, FOX Sports as well as DIRECTV and DISH pay-per-view. He’s been invited on as a guest and expert analyst for FOX 11 TV in Los Angeles. SiriusXM and SB Nation Radio.
He’s also hosted a lifestyle radio show on KLOS-FM 95.5 in Los Angeles.
Manouk’s portfolio consists of over 3,000 written stories and video interviews with global newsmakers and cultural icons, including exclusive features and profiles with the likes of Mike Tyson, Shaquille O’Neal, Mark Cuban and Andre Agassi, among many others.
His combat sports coverage has earned him membership in the Mixed Martial Arts Journalists Association (MMAJA) and Boxing Writer’s Association of America (BWAA). He’s also an annual voter for the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
In his free time, Manouk enjoys playing basketball, hiking, frequenting the beaches in Southern California, long walks in air-conditioned facilities and obliterating friends and family in fantasy football.
His portfolio includes feature profile stories and exclusive interviews with:
MUSIC, FILM and ENTERTAINMENT: Migos, Ludacris, Akon, Ne-Yo, Steve Aoki, J Balvin, William Shatner, Adrian Grenier, Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, Warren G, Donna D’Errico, Russell Peters, Jake Paul, Logan Paul, Swae Lee
NFL: Andrew Luck, Rob Gronkowski, Tony Romo, Steve Mariucci, Shawne Merriman, Tommie Harris, Keith Bulluck, Rodger Saffold, LA Rams Hall of Fame players Eric Dickerson, Jack Youngblood, Tom Mack
NBA: Shaquille O’Neal, Mark Cuban, Charles Barkley, Rick Fox, Gilbert Arenas, Nate Robinson, Paul Millsap
MLB: Bryce Harper, Rob Manfred, John Smoltz, Shawn Green, Harold Reynolds, Buck Showalter, Tim Kurkjian, Matt Vasgersian, Karl Ravech
NHL: Chris Chelios, Drew Doughty, Zach Bogosian
NCAA: Jerry Tarkanian, Ara Parseghian, Steve Sarkisian, Pat Haden
BOXING: Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez, Tyson Fury, Gennady Golovkin, Deontay Wilder, Oscar De La Hoya, Andre Ward, “Sugar” Shane Mosley, Lennox Lewis, Errol Spence Jr., Roy Jones Jr., Bob Arum, Freddie Roach, Thomas Hearns
MMA: Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, Dana White, Israel Adesanya, Stipe Miocic, Daniel Cormier, Fedor Emelianenko, Cris Cyborg
SOCCER: Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Yura Movsisyan, Alecko & Andanik Eskandarian
TENNIS: Andre Agassi
LIFESTYLE: Alex Yemenidjian (owner of the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas), Geoffrey Zakarian (restaurateur, winner of Food Network’s Iron Chef), Haig Kelegian (owner of five casinos in California), George Duran (celebrity chef) and Johnny Chan (poker player), Robert Shapiro (lawyer) among others.
C-SUITE: (Executives from companies include) Google, Disney, Tencent, Samsung, Triller, Universal, Turner, Nike, Intel, Under Armour, FOX, ESPN, DAZN, Showtime, Fitbit, Ikea, AEG, IBM, HP, Dell, Sony, Panasonic, HTC, Qualcomm, Nokia, IMAX, LG, Nvidia, Atari, Deloitte, Adobe, Oracle, Oath, Snap, Salesforce, Foursquare, American Express, Capital One, MasterCard, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Tesla, Lexus, FCA, Mondelēz, Nestlé, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Red Bull, Monster Energy, Patrón, Hennessy, Marriott, Hilton, Holiday Inn, The New Tork Times, USA Today, CBS, Reuters, Time Inc., Discovery Network and NatGeo among countless others.
Manouk has also reported from press row for the MLB World Series, NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAA, PGA, MLS, UFC, Bellator, World Championship Boxing for every major network, CIF, among countless trade shows like CES, SXSW, E3, NRF, ComplexCon, LA Auto Show and red carpets and events.
His distinct reporting has been aggregated, and he’s been quoted as a knowledgeable industry source for various sites and been interviewed on camera for international TV shows.
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