By Cliff Rold

Ghana’s finest fighters have suffered some rough nights, and occasionally odd scoring in the U.S. since the retirement of the great Azumah Nelson.  Ike Quartey may or may not have earned the nod versus Oscar De La Hoya in 1999; he certainly performed better than the three and four point deficits he lost by in split decision.  Most felt Quartey had done enough to beat Vernon Forrest in 2006 only to see the tallies go the other way then as well.

In recent vintage, Joshua Clottey let the Antonio Margarito fight get away and left the Miguel Cotto fight in the hands of the judges.  Ghana was due for a big one to break their way.

The ringside judges on Saturday night made it worth a sweat.  At 116-111 and a far too close pair of 114-113 scores, Joseph Agbeko (27-1, 22 KO) retained his IBF Bantamweight title for the second time since capturing it from Luis Perez in September 2007.  It was easily Agbeko’s finest hour until now.

The now is far finer.

In a fight with its share of headbutts, shoves, and bad intentions, Agbeko held his ground and pulled out the win versus one of the hottest fighters in the game, World Junior Bantamweight champion Vic Darchinyan (32-2-1, 26 KO).  A division fragmented by geography and, sometimes, fan apathy over much of the last two generations has shown serious signs of life in the last year. 

Can Agbeko, as one of the few champions under the wing of aging promotional lion Don King, get the full push he’ll need to seize the division as his own?     

Let’s go to the report card. 

Pre-Fight Grades
Pre-Fight: Speed - Darchinyan B+; Agbeko B/Post: B/B
Pre-Fight: Power - Darchinyan A; Agbeko B/Post: B+/B
Pre-Fight: Defense - Darchinyan B-; Agbeko B/Post: B-/B+
Pre-Fight: Intangibles - Darchinyan A; Agbeko B/Post: B/A

It was hard to tell who the athletically faster man was on Saturday; Darchinyan probably was by a hair.  However, having speed and effectively using it are two different things.  Proving again the old adage ‘timing beats speed’ Agbeko regularly timed accurate lead rights and body shots as Darchinyan raced in with little form or strategy.  When Darchinyan probed with the jab, as was the case in a fiery ninth-round attempt to stave off defeat, he competed.  The jab was a key in flaming out Dimitri Kirilov, Cristian Mijares, and Jorge Arce in his last three bouts.  Its absence may have been the key to this loss.

Maybe.

Agbeko had a lot to do with taking the jab away from the southpaw.  Along with utilizing the straight right, Agbeko’s made sure always to keep his lead foot outside of Darchinyan’s, forcing the challenger to his left by stepping into winging lefts and then around as Darchinyan reset.  It was textbook stuff and was exactly what Agbeko needed to win.  In the pre-fight report card, it was noted tactical consistency was the Ghanaian’s big advantage over the physical tools Darchinyan brought to bear.  The fight sometimes looked sloppy, but Agbeko-Darchinyan was determined with the winner’s mind as much as muscle.  Even when an errant knockdown call in round seven (replays showed a push caused the slip to the floor) threatened to narrow the scores, Agbeko never got off his game plan.

Defense was also important.  Agbeko came in needing not to let his chin hang over his shoes, not to become a target for Darchinyan’s lethal uppercut.  He made the punch largely a non-factor by staying at the range he wanted and forcing Darchinyan to practically jump in with his shots, an edge of split seconds in timing counters. 

So thorough was Agbeko’s control of Darchinyan by the end that it brought out some less than sportsmanlike behavior from the Australian-based Armenian.  Darchinyan was lucky to have no points deducted as he pushed Agbeko to the floor more than once, none worse than an arms extended shove in the eleventh.  He was frustrated, cut over the left eye, complaining of head butts he was helping to cause by diving in and, having landed some of his best bombs in the ninth only for Agbeko to come back and demand round ten, beaten.  His in-ring responses were not quite as bad as those witnessed from Marco Antonio Barrera in his 2003 loss to Manny Pacquiao but they got closer to the line then needed. 

To his credit, Darchinyan manned up in the post-fight interview and never stopped launching shots in hope of a win.  The emotion he showed in the ring, his hatred of losing, is part of what makes him must viewing win or lose.

Agbeko gets full credit in terms of intangibles displayed.  He did not shrink.  He’s won four straight now on U.S. soil and never let the biggest moment get to him.  He also showed one hell of a chin when Darchinyan did get home.  There will be those who wonder if Darchinyan lost a little bit of power in moving up the scale three pounds.  Perhaps it is the case but more likely is the case of Agbeko just having one heck of a beard.       

Going Forward

Unlike the night he lost a Flyweight belt to Nonito Donaire (21-1, 14 KO), Vic Darchinyan left the ring still the World Junior Bantamweight champion.  He can return to 115 lbs. and pick up a victory or two before deciding the next big move.  Or, at 33, he can find a big fight again right away at 115 or 118.  Agbeko is unlikely to find bigger money than a Darchinyan rematch if that were desired; Donaire is arriving shortly at 115.  Both fights place Darchinyan back in the marquee again;  Agbeko would probably be the wiser course.  Nothing on Saturday indicated Darchinyan would be able to deal any better now with the speed of Donaire than he did the first time in being knocked out.  There were at least moments of success with Agbeko.

For Agbeko, the choices will partly depend on the willingness of others beyond a potential mandatory with the deserving Yohnny Perez (19-0, 14 KO).  If Darchinyan wanted a rematch, he could cash in.  If Don King and Bob Arum worked together, we could get an excellent showdown between Agbeko and the winner of the WBO Bantamweight tilt between Fernando Montiel (39-2-1, 29 KO) and Eric Morel (41-2, 21 KO) later this year.  WBA titlist Anselmo Moreno (26-1-1, 8 KO) would be a tough night but won’t be a name on the tip of most tongues.

There is also the man who would be the difference in being seen as one of the best, instead of the outright best, in class.  Japan’s long reigning WBC Bantamweight titlist Hozumi Hasegawa (26-2, 10 KO) has never looked better than he has in the last couple years.  Eight defenses against solid opposition since 2005 make him the man right now and he has expressed interest in tests outside the land of the rising sun.  There may or may not be enough money for Agbeko-Hasegawa, but it emerges now as the best fight available and deserves a buzzing request for fruition from the hardcore faithful.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com