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 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 tosteal 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 11th 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 7th 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.