Under Majian’s guidance, Sartonk has expanded to a larger facility, with more room to produce more belts, and are hiring, and training, extra craftsmen to deal with the added demand for their belts. They have started collaborating with artists, using their belts in exhibits. The goal is to use the artistry of the belts to fund, pursue and foster other artistic endeavors.
“If you’re going to strive for excellence it’s because there is an emotional reason for it,” Majian says. “Those emotions come from my grandfather and his understanding of how hard champions work. We create belts with as much hard work as the champions who win them.”
Long gone are the days of Sahaghian sitting alone at a workbench, painstakingly crafting one-of-a-kind championship belts with his young grandson bustling in the background. He has since been inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame. Now, it’s Majian that creates prizes that prize-fighters treasure till the end of their days. There’s much work to do: three of the four major boxing sanctioning bodies exclusively use SARTONK belts. It’s a victory of artistry over imitation. Amidst instant replays, highlights, and shots of the sweaty, blood splattered victor, arm raised with a belt strapped on, consider how they are a product of a different battle won decades ago. It makes the prize somehow even more meaningful.
