Vic Darchinyan
Vic "The Raging Bull" Darchinyan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 January 1976 Vanadzor, Armenian SSR
USSR |
| Nationality |  Armenian  Australian |
| Other names | The Raging Bull |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Flyweight Super Flyweight Bantamweight |
| Height | 5 ft 5½ in (166 cm) |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 42 |
| Wins | 37 |
| Wins by KO | 27 |
| Losses | 4 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 Official site |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men’s Boxing | ||
| Representing Armenia
| ||
| European Amateur Championships | ||
 |
1998 Minsk | Flyweight |
| Goodwill Games | ||
|
1998 New York | Flyweight |
Vakhtang "Vic" Darchinyan (Armenian: Վախթանգ Դարչինյան; born 7 January 1976 in Vanadzor, Armenia) is an Armenian professional boxer. He is the former IBF flyweight champion and the former WBC, WBA (Super), & IBF super flyweight champion.
He is a southpaw boxer who is trained by Angelo Hyder. He was previously trained by former three-division world champion, Jeff Fenech, in Sydney and briefly by Billy Hussein.
On December 16, 2004, Vic Darchinyan became the first ethnic Armenian to capture a world title when he defeated the previously unbeaten and defending IBF flyweight champion, Irene Pacheco of Colombia, by 11th round TKO.
Personal life
Darchinyan was born on January, 7 1976, in Vanadzor, Armenia. His father was an Olympic wrestling coach for Armenia. Vic has a sister named Liana.[1]
Darchinyan and his wife Olga, an English teacher, met near an Opera House in Sydney in 2001 when Vic was invited to fight for Australia. They got married a year later. In 2007, the couple had a son named Ruben.[2] Ruben's name can sometimes be seen on Vic's boxing trunks.
Amateur career
Vic began boxing at the age of 8 within the community of Vanadzor, where boxing was very popular. He was trained by the experienced Vazgen Badalyan.[3] Darchinyan's amateur career record was 158-18 with 105 knockouts.[4] Vic fought in many different countries and participated for Armenia in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. He went to the third round in the 112 lb division before losing against Bulat Jumadilov of Kazakhstan. Darchinyan moved to Australia after competing in the Olympics and eventually became an Australian citizen on July 7, 2004. Darchinyan turned pro at the age of 24 on November 3, 2000.
Olympic Results
- Defeated opponent
- Defeated Ilfat Ryazapov (Russia) 20-11
- Lost to Bulat Jumadilov (Kazakhstan) 8-15
Professional career
Vic was promoted by HyeFighters early in his professional career. From November 2000 to December 2004, Vic built up a record of 21-0 (16 ko's) and captured the Australian, Oceanic & Pan Pacific titles. After knocking out former 2-division world champion Wandee Singwancha in an IBF eliminator, he earned the IBF #1 mandatory ranking.
Flyweight
IBF flyweight title
He won his IBF title on 16 December 2004 in his first fight in the United States, beating respected champion Irene Pacheco of Colombia, via 11th round technical knock-out (Pacheco had held the title for over 5 years).
Returning to Australia, his first title defense was against long time contender Mzukisi Sikali, in a crowd-pleasing brawl. By the 8th round, Sikali took a combination body & head shots and turned away in a 'No Mas' fashion, prompting referee Pete Podgorski to step in and wave it off.
Attempting to secure a fight in the USA, Vic took a stay-busy fight defending his title against fringe contender Jair Jimenez, whom he floored him in round 4. The referee stopped fight in the 5th after Jimenez started to walk away from the fight.
Returning to the USA headlining on ShoBox: The New Generation, his third title defense was against Filipino contender Diosdado Gabi. Vic knocked him out with a single straight left in the 8th round.
Three months later, returning to Showtime after the hotly contested Jose Luis Castillo Vs Diego Corrales rubber match fell through, Vic's defense against then-undefeated Mexican contender Luis Maldonado was moved to the main event. He stopped the tough Mexican in the 8th round.
In his fifth title defense, Vic faced Glenn Donaire. Glenn gave up after Vic broke his jaw in the 6th round; beating him by technical decision.
In his sixth title defense, Darchinyan faced former Light Flyweight world champion Victor Burgos and stopped him in the 12th round. Victor later underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. Burgos was put into a medically induced coma and made a full recovery. However, he was not able to fight again.
In 2007, Darchinyan suffered his first defeat from Nonito Donaire, brother of Glenn Donaire, in a title bout via TKO. Darchinyan was caught with a left hook which floored him, in an exchange with Donaire in the fifth round. Darchinyan managed to get up but immediately fell on the ropes and the referee stopped the fight. Darchinyan lost the IBF flyweight title to Donaire. The match was eventually awarded Knockout of the Year and Upset of the Year by Ring Magazine.
Super Flyweight
Darchinyan returned 3 months later and stopped Filipino veteran Federico Catubay. Vic decided to outbox and outpunch his larger opponent and finally finished him off in round 12.
On 2 February 2008, Darchinyan fought Z Gorres to a controversial split draw at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City, Philippines in an IBF super flyweight eliminator where the winner would challenge the champion Dimitri Kirilov. The bout began with a knockdown for Darchinyan in the first round, which appeared to be a slip by Gorres when replayed. The crowd was upset with the referee calling the slip a knockdown and began to pelt the ring with bottles of water, coins and other objects. Gorres came back in the second round to floor Darchinyan with a left hand, but Darchinyan beat the count, which again prompted some arena fans to pelt the ring with objects. Gorres was knocked down in the fifth round, but the referee ruled it a slip. A clash of heads in the sixth round opened up a bad gash on Gorres. In the ninth round, Darchinyan connected with a right hand, sending Gorres down for the second time in the fight. Gorres would fall to the canvas on at least three other occasions in the final three rounds, with the referee ruling all of them slips. The final scores were 113-112 for Gorres, 114-112 for Darchinyan, and 113-113 for the draw.[5] Darchinyan's promoter, Gary Shaw, filed an official protest with the IBF over the officiating of the bout.[6]
Despite the draw, Darchinyan earned the right to take on Kirilov for being higher in the ratings and willing to accept the fight.
IBF champion
6 months later, Darchinyan was back in what most experts called a career-best performance, taking on IBF super flyweight champion Dimitri Kirilov at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma Washington. Darchinyan dominated from the opening bell and showed an improvement in speed and boxing skill. He eventually caught Kirilov in round 5, dropping him twice enroute to a round KO. Darchinyan was ahead 40-36 on all three judges' scorecards.
Darchinyan vs Mijares Unification
On November 1, 2008, Darchinyan fought WBC and WBA super flyweight champion Cristian Mijares at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Darchinyan was the aggressor from the outset, getting inside with big punches, including a left uppercut that knocked Mijares down in the first round. With his unorthodox crouching style, Darchinyan seemed to confuse Mijares, who was often content to counterpunch rather than attack.[7] Mijares connected with just one combination the entire fight, that during a brief span of the fifth round. Darchinyan, however, was unhurt and unfazed. In the ninth round, Darchinyan caught Mijares with a right hand. Then as Mijares backed away, Darchinyan lunged and landed a straight left hand that knocked out Mijares.[8] Darchinyan became the first man in history to unify the titles in the weight class.[9] With the victory, Darchinyan matched Kostya Tszyu's accomplishment as the only 2 Australians to capture undisputed world championships.
On February 7, 2009, Darchinyan successfully defended his undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF titles against multiple time champion Jorge Arce, winning by TKO in the 11th round. The early rounds were somewhat competitive, but as each round progressed, Darchinyan asserted his dominance more and more. In the 11th round, the doctor stopped the bout because Arce was severely cut on both eyes.
Bantamweight
IBF title shot
While retaining his WBA (Super) and WBC super flyweight belts, Darchinyan vacated his IBF title and moved up to bantamweight to challenge IBF bantamweight champion Joseph Agbeko in Sunrise, Florida on July 11, 2009. He lost a unanimous decision in a fight he looked almost too overly aggressive in and couldn't seem to cope with the Ghanan's style and repeatedly walked into straight right hands. Agbeko spoiled Darchinyan's goal of winning his third world title in a different division. Two judges scored the bout 114-113 for Agbeko, while the third had it for the Ghanaian Agbeko, 116-111. Despite the defeat at bantamweight, Darchinyan was still recognized as super flyweight champion by both the WBC and WBA.
Return to super flyweight
After his unsuccessful bantamweight title shot, Darchinyan returned to super flyweight to successfully defend his unified WBC and WBA (Super) titles against Interim champion Tomás Rojas, winning by KO in the 2nd round. Rojas would go on to capture the WBC belt shortly after Vic vacated it.
On March 6, 2010, Darchinyan successfully defended his unified WBC/WBA title against Rodrigo Guerrero, winning a unanimous decision. Guerrero would go on to capture the IBF belt in 2011.
Return to bantamweight
In May 2010 Darchinyan won a one-sided unanimous decision victory in his adopted land of Australia over Eric Barcelona. Following the win, it was soon announced that Darchinyan would take part in Showtime's four man bantamweight tournament, along with Joseph Agbeko, Abner Mares and IBF bantamweight title holder, Yonnhy Perez. Vic lost in the semi-finals against México's Mares via controversial split decision.[10]
In the consolation bout, Darchinyan rocked Perez in round one, knocked him down in round two and was in command all the way. Perez had his moments but wasn't able to hold off Darchinyan's aggression. The bout ended when Perez was cut by an accidental headbutt at 1:07 of round five. Scores were 50-44 on all cards. Darchinyan dedicated his victory to the lives lost in the 1915 Armenian Genocide, as well as the Australians that perished in Anzac Day for the following day. On April 24, one day after his fight, he joined thousands of Armenian Americans on the streets of Los Angeles in a march to commemorate the Genocide. Vic was later honored at the Armenian National Committee of America Annual Banquet on November 26.[11] He was rated #1 contender by the WBA shortly after the fight.
In September, for a homecoming bout in Armenia, Vic battered tough African contender Evans Mbamba (18-2, 9 KOs) for twelve one-sided rounds (Darchinyan won 120-107 on two cards and 119-107 on the third), maintaining the mandatory WBA #1 position & gaining WBO #1 spot shortly after.
Second bantamweight title shot
In a bantamweight double header (an extension of Showtime's Bantamweight Tournament), Vic faced WBA (Super) champion Anselmo Moreno on December 3 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Moreno took adavantage of his longer reach and height by fighting Darchinyan from the outside while ducking and weaving the whole fight. The three judges scored a lopsided unanimous decision win to Moreno.
Professional boxing record
Titles in boxing
Major World Titles:
- IBF flyweight title (112 lbs)
- IBF super flyweight title (115 lbs)
- WBA (Super) super flyweight title (115 lbs)
- WBC super flyweight title (115 lbs)
Minor World Titles:
- IBO flyweight title (112 lbs)
- IBO super flyweight title (115 lbs)
- 2x IBO bantamweight title (118 lbs)
Regional/International Titles:
- Australian flyweight title (112 lbs)
- Oceanic Boxing Association bantamweight title (118 lbs)
- IBF Pan Pacific flyweight title (112 lbs)
- IBF Australasian super flyweight title (115 lbs)
Awards
On September 21, 2008, Darchinyan and fellow boxer Arthur Abraham were honored by Armenian President Serge Sargsyan during a 20th anniversary celebration of the nation's independence. Both men were awarded with medals "For the great services for Armenia" of the first degree.[13]
See also
- List of flyweight boxing champions
- List of super flyweight boxing champions
- List of current world boxing champions
- List of undisputed boxing champions
- Ring Magazine pound for pound
- List of boxing triple champions
Notes and references
- ^ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/boxing/darchinyan-keen-to-take-on-ufc/story-e6freygr-1225830028931
- ^ http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/interviews/77110/
- ^ http://www.vicdarchinyan.com/biography.html
- ^ Vic Darchinyan's Showtime biography Showtime URL accessed 1 August 2006
- ^ Vester, Mark (2008-02-02). "Darchinyan-Gorres Ends in Controversial Draw". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ Vester, Mark (2008-02-02). "Shaw To Protest Darchinyan-Gorres Result". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ Corner, Jahmal (2008-11-02). "Darchinyan KO's Mijares in super flyweight clash". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
- ^ "Darchinyan stops Mijares in super flyweight unification bout". Canadian Press. 2008-11-02. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
- ^ "Darchinyan stops Mijares in title unification bout". Sports Network. 2008-11-02. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
- ^ Blake, Brian O. (October 4, 2010). "Showtime Holds Press Conference For Upcoming Bantamweight Tournament". SportsBettingWorld.com. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
- ^ http://asbarez.com/98477/anca-wr-to-honor-vic-darchinyan-at-annual-banquet/
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.boxingscene.com/arthur-abraham-vic-darchinyan-honored-armenia--44016
External links
- See him in The HyeFighter Show
- Official website
- Boxing record for Vic Darchinyan from BoxRec (registration required)
- 1976 births
- Living people
- Armenian boxers
- Australian Armenians
- Australian boxers
- Boxers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- World Boxing Association Champions
- World Boxing Council Champions
- International Boxing Federation Champions
- World super-flyweight boxing champions
- Olympic boxers of Armenia
- Southpaw boxers
- People from Vanadzor