BraggingRightsCorner.com - 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 poise 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=2 0appeared to edge his older foe. 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 u p 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 11^th away from him.

Undercard Action

-Former Champion Steve Cunningham won a somewhat uneventful 12 round decision over Wayne ‘Big Truck ‘ Braithwaite by scores of 119-109, 118-110, and 117-111. The fight was Cunningham’s first since losing an epic encounter to Tomasz Adamek last December. Cunningham controlled the bout throughout and was effective mainly with his jab. Braithwaite remained dangerous every second however and landed some big shots on occasion. At the end of the day Cunningham’s ability to control the bout from the outside with his boxing ability was the deciding factor. Braithwaite fought well enough to land another payday and Cunningham will surely be eyeing a rematch with Adamek.

-Cruiserweight Contender Francisco ‘El Wizard’ Palacios looked impressive in destroying journeyman Manu Ntoh in under a round. The Puerto Rican had Ntoh on wobbly legs after a left hook and a right hand floored hi m moments later. The referee waived the contest after Ntoh seemed unfit to continue. This is the second consecutive first round stoppage for Palacios, who once again appeared to be in great shape and is dying for a title shot. Palacios is now unbeaten in 18 contests with 11 knockouts.

-Welterweights Ivan ‘The Terrible’ Kirpa and Miguel Angel Rodriguez fought a competitive fight, with Kirpa walking away with a 118-110, 120-108, 119-109 decision victory. Kirpa showed relentless aggression throughout the bout and punished Rodriguez, who is best known for losing by 7^th round knockout to Andre Berto. With the win Kirpa moves to 23-1 with 15 knockouts and is now in line to fight Berto for the WBC Welterweight title.

-Unbeaten Victor Fonseca shut out former champion Mauricio Pastrana over eight somewhat competitive rounds. Despite looking like a shell of his former self, Pastrana still showed enough toughness and grit to remain competitive with his younger foe despite losing by scores of 80-71 on all cards. With the win Fonseca moves to 15-0 with 8 knockouts.

-Lightweight Angelo Santana improves to 6-0 with 4 knockouts after a hard fought decision victory over Jaime Rodriguez. In the bout Santana had to adapt to the awkward style of his taller opponent but showed the adequate hunger and poise in pulling out the victory.

Post your comments here...

7-11-2009