Darchinyan captures 115-pound belt with knockout of Kirilov
Associated Press

Updated: August 3, 2008, 12:42 AM ET

TACOMA, Wash. — Victor Darchinyan took the IBF junior bantamweight
title from Dimitri Kirilov on Saturday night with a fifth-round
knockout in a fight that Darchinyan dominated from start to finish.

A left hand by the 32-year-old Darchinyan sent Kirilov to the mat for
the second time in the fifth round, and Kirilov was unable to get back
to his feet. The bout at the Emerald Queen Casino ended at the 1:05
mark of the fifth.

"I lost my title one year ago, and I’ve now returned to the
championship," said Darchinyan, (30-1-1 with 24 knockouts), who took
the fight to Kirilov (23-4-1, 9 knockouts) from the opening bell. "I
never underestimate my opponents. I’ve learned a lot in my last
several fights."

The left-handed Darchinyan set the tone in the opening round with
several solid hooks, then scored more with jabs during the second
round. He continued his assault with several quick, successive punches
to the head during the third round, while Kirilov had trouble
connecting with anything.

"I took the wrong approach," Kirilov said. "[Trainer] Freddie Roach
told me to move to my left, but I wasn’t doing that. I was trying to
hit him with one big punch. I was not able to throw combinations,
because I was just not able to do the work I normally do."

Kirilov seemed to get back into the fight in the fourth round. But
Darchinyan came out strong in the fifth, throwing three quick punches
and sending Kirilov to the mat for the first time 30 seconds into the
round, resulting in a standing eight count. Kirilov, who ended the
fourth round bleeding from the left side of his nose, came right back,
but not for long, as Darchinyan pushed him back toward the ropes, then
ended it with a left-handed shot to the head.

Kirilov got to his knees and grabbed the rope, but was unable to get
back to his feet by the end of the 10 count.

Darchinyan, born in Armenia and now living in Australia, dominated the
super flyweight division, successfully defending his title six times,
five inside the distance before losing in an upset to Nonito Donaire
last July. He is now 8-1 with seven knockouts in title bouts.

Darchinyan fought to a 12-round draw against Zey Gorres on Feb. 2. In
an elimination bout for the right to fight Kirilov, Gorres was cut
badly and was unable to train while healing, thus giving Darchinyan
the mandatory challenge.

In the co-main event, 2004 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist Andre Dirrell
scored a fourth-round TKO against Mike Paschal in a battle of
undefeated super middleweights. The 24-year-old Dirrell raised his
record to 16-0, while dropping Paschal to 17-1-1 with four KOs.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press