The Australian, Australia
Feb 9 2009
Vic’s dominance written in blood
JORGE Arce had said Vic Darchinyan could only cause trouble with one
hand.
He was right.
Darchinyan’s left hand popped its way through Arce’s defences, his
resolve, his experience, and through most of the skin above and around
both eyes.
Between the 11th and 12th rounds, ring doctor Paul Wells struck a blow
himself, for decency. He didn’t allow Arce to take another shot in an
IBF super flyweight championship fight yesterday.
It was Darchinyan’s 34th fight, his 26th knockout and his 32nd
victory, with one draw thrown in. It might not have been the violent
end that he had promised, but it was systematic and a little
instructive, too.
The Armenian-born Australian Darchinyan dominated from the start,
taking the fight to two-time champion Arce in every round with
seemingly no concern for the Mexican challenger’s dangerous
counter-punches.
"I told you, I’m going to punish him, and I’m going to finish him,"
Darchinyan said.
"I wanted a clean knockout, not a technical knockout, but, still, I’m
happy with my fight."
He defended his WBA, WBC and IBF belts, after becoming the first
fighter to hold all three titles in the 115-pound class.
The build-up to the bout was marked by sledging on both sides, but
Darchinyan was respectful in victory.
"He surprised me," he admitted. "I didn’t expect him to fight like he
did. He proved he was tough and a good fighter. I hit him with some
good shots and he kept coming."
Darchinyan was the first man to stop Arce since Michael Carbajal 10
years ago.
Darchinyan’s attack is self-explanatory. But his defence wins fights,
too. He stood almost to the side against Arce, moving his shoulders
constantly, giving "El Travieso" very little to hit.
Throughout, Darchinyan’s corner kept yelling, "Double jab! Keep your
distance! Double jab!" Darchinyan pretended to listen, and did indeed
paw at Arce’s face with an occasional right lead, but mostly he
snake-charmed Arce with punching angles that you don’t see every
night.
"He’s a lot like that lazy susan you see at the Chinese restaurant,"
said Gary Shaw, Darchinyan’s promoter. "You reach for the prime
rib. All of a sudden, it moves to the other side. He takes an
opponent’s game plan completely away."
But let’s be clear. This guy can hit.
In the fourth round, he rocked Arce hard with a left, and Arce’s
survival instincts took him to the far ropes before the bell rang. A
couple of other rounds ended with Darchinyan wobbling Arce.
Finally, in the 11th, there was too much blood and too little time to
keep it going. All three judges gave Darchinyan 10 of 11 rounds, which
was about right.
The cut men in both corners were busy after two rounds, with Arce
carving up Darchinyan’s eyebrow with a left hook. Arce needed to do
more of that, to test Darchinyan’s chin with counterpunches. He
couldn’t, primarily because Darchinyan was so good in defence.
Arce was agitated at the end and unhappy about the doctor’s call.
"Going into the last round, a fighter always has a chance to win," he
said.
"I recognise he is a strong fighter, but that cut was from his
elbow. He’s a dirty fighter who throws a lot of elbows."
What’s next for the Sydney-based Darchinyan?
"We could go for a fourth belt in this weight class, or we could go
with (Fernando) Montiel at 118," Shaw said.
"Or we could go with Israel Vazquez at 122."
That’s the same Vazquez who emerged from the brutal, beautiful trilogy
with Rafael Marquez and became the fight fan’s fighter.
Vazquez posed for pictures with Darchinyan afterward. Their fight
would promise tons of talk. Just don’t underestimate a crafty
left-hander.
Orange County Register, AFP