8countnews.com
July 12 2009

Joseph Agbeko dominates Darchinyan and Introduces Himself to the Boxing World

By
Chris Robinson

Much was on the line heading into Saturday’s night showdown between
IBF Bantamweight Champion Joseph Agbeko and two-division champion Vic
Darchinyan. Outside of Agbeko’s prized IBF hardware was a deep matter
of passion and pride, as both men had gotten extremely personal with
one another in regards to their proclamations of victory. The verbal
warfare was intense and many figured the only that could top it was
the action that would take place within the ropes when the two men
clashed. In the early rounds Agbeko seemed very poised as he appeared
to take the first two rounds. The champion from Ghana simply seemed to
be a little busier and Darchinyan was having trouble getting off. In
the third Agbeko appeared to up the ante as he surprised Darchinyan
with numerous right hand shots. Vic appeared to be frustrated but
Agbeko remained poised and finished the round with another solid
rally. In the fourth Darchinyan came out recklessly with little
effect.

Agbeko began to take serious control in this stanza and he was
befuddling Darchinyan with his lateral movement and unorthodox
style. A late rally by Darchinyan didn’t appear to be enough to steal
the round. The fifth round started out fast as well as both men
exchanged combinations in center ring to start off the round. Agbeko
began making the fight more physical and his punches were landing at a
higher rate. Darchinyan’s face told the story, as he began bleeding
out of his nose while also appearing to get more gassed. The sixth
round was a slow round but you got the feeling that Darchinyan was
running out of time, as Agbeko again appeared to edge his older
foe. The seventh was more of the same because even though the action
wasn’t scintillating you could tell who was in command. The seventh
round saw Darchinyan score a late knockdown that appeared to be
somewhat of a push. With the knockdown Darchinyan would look to steal
some momentum heading into the next round. In the eighth round Agbeko
turned up the pressure once again, knowing full well he had to regain
control of the bout after suffering a knockdown towards the end of the
eighth. He did just that and a late round rally by the African
punctuated another solid round. Darchinyan had more success in the
ninth as he landed some big left hands but Agbeko was undaunted and
his chin stood up to everything. In the tenth Darchinyan appeared to
get frustrated and shoved Agbeko to the canvas. The champion rose to
finish the round strongly. Bleeding and seemingly out of answers,
Darchinyan appeared to be in big trouble. Agbeko appeared to make
throat slashing gestures to kick off the eleventh round and he could
smell victory. He controlled the round with his aggression and began
overpowering his Armenian foe. Coming into the final round Agbeko
appeared prime and fresh while Darchinyan appeared very weary. Both
men fought furiously early on and it was a true sign of the
championship quality each possess. As the round came to a close the
crowd erupted and rose to their feet. Both men were raised in the air
but there was only one clear winner. Scores of 116-111, and shockingly
114-113 twice were read in favor of Agbeko, who retains his IBF title
while also showing the boxing world the elite level he is on. At the
end of the day we all learned a valuable lesson. No matter how much
buzz a fighter has created for himself you never want to overlook his
opponent, especially when they are a champion. Vic Darchinyan has
proven his toughness but tonight belonged to Joseph `King Kong’
Agbeko. Under the bright lights he truly arrived and nobody can take
July 11th away from him.