The Sweet Science
June 2 2006
Aussies! Vic Darchinyan Defends Title
by David A. Avila
Flyweights are the smallest of guys in the world of boxing at 112
pounds and less, but inside the ring they can dazzle with their
speed. Sometimes a guy like Australia’s Vic Darchinyan emerges with
his knockout power and sparks the division.
Get ready to be sparked.
Darchinyan, the IBF flyweight titleholder, makes his fourth defense
of the belt he captured against Irene Pacheco, a tall flyweight out
of Colombia who defended it six times before running into the Aussie
buzzsaw. Darchinyan meets Mexico’s Luis Maldonado (33-0-1, 25 KOs) at
the Thomas and Mack Center on Saturday. It will be televised on
Showtime.
It’s been three years since an opponent lasted all 12 rounds with
Darchinyan. He likes it that way.
`It is very important to me to win by knockout,’ said Darchinyan
(25-0, 20 KOs) who is also known as `Raging Bull.’
See, it’s the knockouts that get you noticed in the flyweight
division. Not since Ricardo `Finito’ Lopez has someone grabbed the
attention of the casual boxing viewer. He did it with his surprising
knockout power.
Darchinyan knows this.
`I am looking forward to this fight Luis Maldonado. He is a good,
strong fighter,’ said Darchinyan, who is trained by the former Aussie
great Jeff Fenech. `It is a very good opportunity for me. I have won
a lot of my fights since winning the title by knockout.’
Knockouts are his choice. He also wants to meet other titleholders
like Jorge Arce who reigns supreme in the 112-pound class with his
ability to end a fight by sudden knockout.
A proposed matchup with Arce was shrugged off by the popular Mexican
prizefighter.
`I’m going up in weight,’ said Arce last month, who has struggled to
make weight the last several fights. `There are a lot of good
fighters I can meet at junior bantamweight like Martin Castillo and
Jose Navarro.’
Darchinyan was disappointed but might go up to a heavier weight class
too.
`I was very unhappy. Maybe he (Arce) didn’t want to lose his belt. I
am looking forward to fighting all champions,’ Darchinyan said. `I am
ready for super flyweight (115 pounds), I am ready for bantamweight
(118 pounds) and I am ready for super bantamweights (122 pounds).’
One thing he knows, knockout victories are the key to success.
`If you can show your power, people really love you,’ said the
Armenian boxer. `That is why I want to show my power.’
Flyweights are some of the quickest and slickest prizefighters in the
sport, but even without Arce, the weight class has some pretty
exceptional boxers like WBO flyweight Ivan `Iron Boy’ Calderon,
Lorenzo Parra, Omar Narvaez, and Giovanni Segura.