DARCHINYAN BACK AS CHAMP, AIMS DONAIRE REMATCH
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 22 Oct 2007
Vic Darchinyan bolstered his quest for world supremacy by getting his comeback KO over Filipino Federico Catubay in Auburn RSL Club, Auburn (Sydney), New South Wales, Australia. But not before being threatened with the greatest upset of his career by under-rated Filipino fighter.
Nicknamed ?Magnifico,? Catubay knocked Darchinyan off balance in the sixth round with an extensive punch and only the ropes saved Vic from visiting the canvas. A knockdown could have been called but there was none.
The Armenian-born fighter took nearly the full 12 rounds against a very valiant and exasperating adversary. The Raging Bull scored a 12th round TKO with just 57 seconds remaining against the harsh Cebu-based fighter. The bout was for the International Boxing Organization world super-flyweight title.
While the IBO crown doesn't carry the influence or prestige of some of the more established boxing organizations, it will guarantee Darchinyan to remain in the upper echelons of the global boxing scene.
In his first fight in Australia for over two years, 31-year-old Darchinyan carefully picked apart his gutsy but outboxed opponent. "It was a hard fight. He was tough and it's actually good because I can now learn from my mistakes,'' Darchinyan said.
Darchinyan, who improved his record to 29-1 with 23 KOs, dominated the bout, registering knockdowns in the 7th and 11th round. Catubay's record dropped to 20-14 with 11 KOs. The Filipino fighter took enormous punishment in the 12th round and Australian referee Garry Dean stopped the bout with the final round almost ending.
The Raging Bull, who also picked up the IBF Pan Pacific belt, entered the ring rated No. 6 by IBF and No. 3 by IBO computerized listings, while the Filipino is rated a far away No. 31 by IBO.
In a previous visit to Sydney in 2005, Catubay was halted in three rounds by Darchynian's stablemate Hussein Hussein, older brother of trainer Billy, for the OPBF flyweight belt.
Darchinyan's amateur career was 158-18 record with 105 knockouts, all but 20 of them were in Armenia, as he joined Armenian team in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He lost to Bulat Jumadilov of Kazakhstan. Darchinyan moved to Australia after competing in the Olympics, eventually became an Australian citizen and turned pro at the age of 24.
It was Darchinyan's first fight since losing his IBF and IBO world flyweight titles to Filipino Nonito Donaire, Jr. in July and he immediately called out Donaire for a rematch. ?My promoter wants to promote a rematch between me and Donaire early in the New Year,? declared Darchinyan. "That's something my manager will have to work out.''
Darchinyan's passion for knocking out his opponents finally backfired in his bout with Donaire, with the then champion leaving himself exposed to a colossal left hook which ended the fight in the fifth round.
The US-based General Santos City native won the IBF flyweight title with a knockout of the previously undefeated southpaw on July 7, 2007 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. His counter left hook that landed on Darchinyan?s jaw is an early candidate for knockout of the year and even upset of the year for 2007.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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