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EXPERTS BACK VIC DARCHINYAN TO FLATTEN JOSEPH AGBEKO
Christian Nicolussi
Daily Telegraph
July 10, 2009 12:00am
Australia
MOST of the world's best boxing judges believe Aussie bruiser Vic
Darchinyan will flatten big-hitting rival Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko.
In a poll, 22 of the 27 writers tipped Darchinyan to win the IBF
bantamweight title this weekend, with few expecting the fight to go
the distance.
Victory in Florida will make Darchinyan arguably the most successful
boxer in Australian history.
But the Armenian-born Sydneysider was not getting carried away with
what the experts said as he relaxed in a Miami hotel last night.
Boxing: See our special section "I'm not worried about what they're
saying or who they are tipping, I'm only focused on this fight,"
Darchinyan said. "I remember when I fought (Cristian) Mijares (in
November), only a few judges tipped me to win.
"They all thought Mijares would beat me, but I won, so you can't pay
too much attention to it.
"All my training is complete now. I'll meet Agbeko for the first time
tomorrow at the weigh-in. I've never seen him in the flesh.
"We were supposed to meet for a media training session a couple of
days ago, but I waited for around 40 to 50 minutes and he never showed,
so I went off and did my own thing."
Darchinyan only arrived on the west coast this week and said there
had been plenty of hype surrounding the fight.
Darchinyan has a huge following in the US and in his homeland Armenia,
but he continues to fly under the radar in Australia.
He has only lost two of his 34 fights and is expected to have too
much power for Agbeko.
His Ghanian opponent has only been beaten once in 27 fights but has
had just four fights since 2004.
The Boston Herald's Ron Borges said: "It's going to be a tough
fight. Darchinyan is going to get hit and he is going to get hurt,
but not as badly as the other guy. Darchinyan wins by TKO 7."
The Sports Network's Lyle Fitzsimmons added: "It's a toughie. Agbeko
is a legit bantamweight who's knocked out legit bantamweights,
albeit none with the name cache of the guys Darchinyan has tangled
with. And Vic is the sort of fighter who can always overwhelm a foe,
but can always catch a big KO shot coming in as well.
"Either way, it's got to be fun to watch. I'll lean to Vic by a
ninth-round TKO."
Chris Cozzone, from FightNews. com, was one of the few who was prepared
to tip Agbeko. He said: "Someone's got to do it, so put me down for
Agbeko - a mid- to late- round KO."
Darchinyan's father Rubik will watch his son for just the third time
in the US.
Christian Nicolussi
Daily Telegraph
July 10, 2009 12:00am
Australia
MOST of the world's best boxing judges believe Aussie bruiser Vic
Darchinyan will flatten big-hitting rival Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko.
In a poll, 22 of the 27 writers tipped Darchinyan to win the IBF
bantamweight title this weekend, with few expecting the fight to go
the distance.
Victory in Florida will make Darchinyan arguably the most successful
boxer in Australian history.
But the Armenian-born Sydneysider was not getting carried away with
what the experts said as he relaxed in a Miami hotel last night.
Boxing: See our special section "I'm not worried about what they're
saying or who they are tipping, I'm only focused on this fight,"
Darchinyan said. "I remember when I fought (Cristian) Mijares (in
November), only a few judges tipped me to win.
"They all thought Mijares would beat me, but I won, so you can't pay
too much attention to it.
"All my training is complete now. I'll meet Agbeko for the first time
tomorrow at the weigh-in. I've never seen him in the flesh.
"We were supposed to meet for a media training session a couple of
days ago, but I waited for around 40 to 50 minutes and he never showed,
so I went off and did my own thing."
Darchinyan only arrived on the west coast this week and said there
had been plenty of hype surrounding the fight.
Darchinyan has a huge following in the US and in his homeland Armenia,
but he continues to fly under the radar in Australia.
He has only lost two of his 34 fights and is expected to have too
much power for Agbeko.
His Ghanian opponent has only been beaten once in 27 fights but has
had just four fights since 2004.
The Boston Herald's Ron Borges said: "It's going to be a tough
fight. Darchinyan is going to get hit and he is going to get hurt,
but not as badly as the other guy. Darchinyan wins by TKO 7."
The Sports Network's Lyle Fitzsimmons added: "It's a toughie. Agbeko
is a legit bantamweight who's knocked out legit bantamweights,
albeit none with the name cache of the guys Darchinyan has tangled
with. And Vic is the sort of fighter who can always overwhelm a foe,
but can always catch a big KO shot coming in as well.
"Either way, it's got to be fun to watch. I'll lean to Vic by a
ninth-round TKO."
Chris Cozzone, from FightNews. com, was one of the few who was prepared
to tip Agbeko. He said: "Someone's got to do it, so put me down for
Agbeko - a mid- to late- round KO."
Darchinyan's father Rubik will watch his son for just the third time
in the US.