Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia)
August 26, 2005 Friday
Victorious Vic in Skinny’s corner
by GRANTLEE KIEZA
VIC Darchinyan will go from Raging Bull to raging fan tonight when he
takes his place in the corner of his great mate, world-rated
super-bantamweight Nedal “Skinny” Hussein.
Darchinyan, who retained his IBF and IBO world titles with a stunning
fifth-round stoppage of rugged Colombian Jair Jimenez at the
Entertainment Centre on Wednesday night, will be cheering Hussein in
his bout with Queensland’s tough Mick Shaw at the Auburn RSL.
Hussein, who dropped a 12-round decision to WBC super-bantamweight
champ Oscar Larios in Las Vegas last year, now hopes to jag a world
featherweight title fight and will have Darchinyan’s whole-hearted
support.
Hussein has 38 wins in 40 fights, his only defeats coming against the
highly decorated Larios and multiple world champion Manny Pacquiao,
who had to climb off the canvas to beat the big-punching Australian
on a controversial cut-eye decision five years ago.
Shaw, from Toowoomba, has 21 wins in 28 fights but has yet to face
anyone of Hussein’s standing on the world scene.
Yesterday Darchinyan said he was delighted with his performance
against Jimenez, who had enormous heart but no answer to the
Armenian-born Aussie’s power and aggression.
The IBF’s Australian representative Ray Wheatley said the victory
proved that Darchinyan is the best flyweight in the world and that
the southpaw strongman deserved to start favourite in proposed
unification bouts with WBC champ Pongsaklek Wongjongkam of Thailand
and Lorenzo Parra of Venezuela.
And Darchinyan’s manager Robert Joske, who guides the careers of such
sporting luminaries as Steve Waugh and Justin Langer said: “Vic is
such a wonderful young man and it is really gratifying to see him
building a great sporting career in Sydney.
“We have a tremendous world champion on our hands and slowly but
surely he will build a big following in this country.
Kostya Tszyu, the former unified world junior-welterweight champ,
said he was amazed by the determination and strength of the 2000
Olympian against a very gifted opponent.
“Vic’s confidence and his hunger are unbelievable, said Tszyu, who
was ringside on Wednesday night.
“I am certain Vic will go on to unify the flyweight titles as I did
in my weight division.”