DARCHINYAN TO SEARCH FOR MORE WORLD TITLES
Stathi Paxinos

The Age, Australia
June 9 2006

AUSTRALIA’s flyweight world champion Vic Darchinyan said yesterday he
would only fight for new world titles after he completed his fourth
title defence by a knockout last weekend.

And the feisty Armenian-born Darchinyan said he was prepared to move
up three weight divisions to secure the fights he wanted.

Darchinyan, who yesterday received a disappointingly low-key reception
in Sydney after retaining his International Boxing Federation and
International Boxing Organisation belts last weekend, said he was
only prepared to fight other world champions from now on.

He said negotiations were being held to fight World Boxing Organisation
flyweight champion Omar Narvaez on the undercard of either the Hasim
Rahman and Oleg Maskaev fight in August or the next Diego Corrales
fight scheduled for September – both of which would give him extensive
coverage in the US.

He said he would wait one month after that bout to secure fights
with holders of other flyweight belts. If he could not secure a bout,
he would move divisions.

“Super-flyweight, bantamweight, super-bantamweight, it doesn’t matter
for me. If someone has a belt and wants to fight me, I will fight
him. But he needs a belt,” Darchinyan said.

“I don’t want to just defend my titles, I want other titles … I
want to put my name in the memory of boxing.”

Darchinyan said he has sparred against Israel Vazquez, World Boxing
Council and IBF super-bantamweight champion, and was comfortable at
that weight.

He extended his perfect sequence of knockouts in world title fights
to five with his eighth-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Mexican
Luis Maldonado in Las Vegas last weekend.

The exciting southpaw’s “warrior” style earned him plenty of fans in
the US and delighted promoters.

But when Darchinyan arrived at Sydney airport just after 6am yesterday,
there were only a couple of reporters and no television cameras or
fans to meet him.

The scene was in contrast to the throng that met former
junior-welterweight world champion Kostya Tszyu on his early-morning
return from numerous overseas conquests.

Darchinyan, who relocated to Sydney from Armenia after representing
that country at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was diplomatic about the
continued modest level of recognition for his feats.

“Maybe it’s because there’s not too much advertising or too much
media involved,” he said. “But my promoters and (US pay TV network)
Showtime told me, ‘Your style is very exciting, everyone wants you,
they’d like to watch you again’.”