|
~~~
DON'T MISS KING'S EXTRAVAGANZA PHOTO GALLERY.... by Audrey Chang
~~~
~~
KING'S EXTRAVAGANZA POST-FIGHTS PHOTO GALLERY....
by Audrey Chang~~
t="144">
AGBEKO BATTERS DARCHINYAN - RETAINS IBF BANTAM STRAP VIA
DECISION... by George Elsasser
-
-Photo Credit: Audrey Chang-
The "magic lantern" department of the purveyors of pugilism sometimes
get its "Expert" recognition tarnished - most recent egg on the face arrived
last noche with Showtime Saturday Special commentators going with the favorite
Vic Darchinyan over defending bantam champion Joseph Agbeko - to the tune of
holding a pre-fight poll on how many titles in different weight classes the
"Raging Bull" would have captured after last night.
Sight unseen or not, a large majority of fans went
overwhelmingly with the power punching Armenian over the Ghanaian -
apparently, most likely missed the Darchinyan-Donaire flyweight title fight
some six outings back - a close affair that ended with the Filipino standing
and Darchinyan resting on the canvas.
With that bit of knowledge, just maybe the defending
bantamweight champ had a chance of upsetting the proverbial apple cart -
personally, my thoughts were Darchinyan probably wins, but I wouldn't bet a
nickel on it. The Agbeko 26-1, with 22 KOs carried the amber light for all to
see.
JOSEPH AGBEKO DOMINATES DARCHINYAN AND INTRODUCES HIMSELF
TO THE BOXING WORLD; ALSO UNDERCARD ACTION... 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 se ed very poised as he appeared to take the first
two rounds. The champion from Ghana simply se ed to be a little busier and
Darchinyan was having trouble getting off.
 DeMARCO HALTS ADJAHO; CHAOS ENSUES.... by Chris Robinson
-Photo Credit: Audrey Chang/BRC-
After years of searching for a big fight, Lightweight
contender Anges "Baby Face" Adjaho was granted his wish with an intriguing
match up against dangerous Antonio DeMarco. Adjaho was coming off a victory
over former title challenger Fernando Angulo while DeMarco was best known for
his dismantling of Almazbek "Kid Diamond" Raiymkulov. The bout was billed as a
WBC Lightweight eliminator, with the winner being in line to fight champion
Edwin Valero, and you could tell just how important the fight was to each man.
ANTONIO DEMARCO KO'S ANGES ADJAHO AND WINS SHOT AT EDWIN
VALERO... by Frank Gonzalez Jr.
Saturday night in Sunrise Florida, at
the Bank Atlantic Center, Antonio DeMarco (22-1, 1, 16 KOs) of Tijuana took on
Anges Adjaho (25-2, 14 KOs) of Benin Africa in a WBC Lightweight Eliminator
bout. The winner would get a shot at the WBC titlist, Edwin Valero, who has
knocked out all six of his last opponents since he, "stepped up." Valero has
also knocked out every man he's ever fought so far as a pro boxer.
The way this fight started didn't sit
too well with the fans, who booed the lack of action as DeMarco and Adjaho spent
too much time looking at each other and not enough time throwing punches. When
there was a punch thrown, it was usually Adjaho throwing it. DeMarco lit up in
the final seconds of the first scoring a big straight left into the face of
Adjaho. It was the most effective punch in the round.
DON KING'S EXTRAVAGANZA: POST FIGHT RING QUOTES
JOSEPH KING KONG
AGBEKO: "He [Darchinyan] pushed me in the seventh round and
throughout the fight. He is very dirty and rough in the ring. I was
fighting two people in the ring: Darchinyan and the referee. But I
didn't care if there were five people in the ring tonight, I was going
in to win and come back out with my championship belt.
"Darchinyan talked a lot
before the fight and I turned him into "˜the raging bullshitter" like I
said I would. I'm still the champion, not the chimpanzee he said I
was."
 DON KING ANNOUNCES MICHAEL JACKSON TRIBUTE AS PART OF JULY
11TH BOXING EVENT IN SOUTH FLORIDA...
Promoter Don King announced today he will pay tribute to
Michael Jackson at a world championship boxing event King has
slated for July 11 at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla.
King plans to give Jackson boxing's traditional
ringside10-bell count honoring those who have passed and to
play Jackson's music and videos at King's previously announced
fight card highlighted by an International Boxing Federation
bantamweight championship between titleholder Joseph King Kong
Agbeko and world champion Vic "Raging Bull" Darchinyan, who is
moving up in weight to face Agbeko. This match will be
televised live on SHOWTIME beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed
on the West Coast).
King promoted the historic Jackson's Victory Tour in
1984 that reunited the Jackson 5, and he brokered a
colossal endorsement deal between Michael Jackson and Pepsi.
"I was shocked and saddened when I learned of Michael's
passing, and I shared the pain of Joseph and Katherine Jackson
without whom there never would have been a Michael Jackson and
their sons and daughters," King said.
"One never knows how they will react to something like this,
and I found it hard to do media interviews or even issue a
statement. Like so many other people around the world, I
have been trying to find a way to remember this musical
genius, who I loved and was a good friend of mine. My
next boxing event is on July 11, so I have decided to pay
tribute to him there in any way we can think of."
 JOSEPH
AGBEKO & VIC DARCHINYAN MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL QUOTES...
Two of the hardest-hitting boxers
in the world participated in a media conference call Tuesday to discuss their
upcoming world title fight on Saturday, July 11, live on SHOWTIME
at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast) from the BankAtlantic
Center in Sunrise, Fla.
IBF Bantamweight champion
Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko and two division world champion
Vic "Raging Bull" Darchinyan both possess
eye-popping knockout percentages. Agbeko (26-1, 22 KOs) of
Accra, Ghana, now fighting out of Bronx, N.Y., has knocked out more than 81
percent of his opponents while Darchinyan (32-1, 26 KOs), of Sydney,
Australia, by way of Armenia, is right behind him at 76 percent.
Darchinyan, an Aussie bomber who
is a four-time world champion at flyweight and super flyweight, will leave his
IBF, WBC and WBA titles at 115 pounds behind to move up to the 118-pound limit
to face the dangerous Agbeko. If victorious,
Darchinyan will become a three-division world champion.
-Photo Credit: Tom Casino-
7-17-2009 |
