By Cliff Rold
Cut stoppages stink, especially when they halt a serious fight in the right sense of the word. However, the boos that follow such stops vary. If they come too early, or deny a rallying fighter his chance to make a miracle happen, the boos can rain well past the official announcement of the decision.
Saturday was no such case. Sure, the fans would have liked to see a more conclusive end but no one could say they were denied their money’s worth. Former Flyweight and Jr. Bantamweight champ Vic Darchinyan (36-3-1, 27 KO) made his fourth start at Bantamweight in his last six fights, his third straight overall, and finally picked up a big win in the class.
At 35, Darchinyan is clearly not done with the rigors of the game and has become the ultimate case of not judging a fighter until the picture is complete. When he was being scraped off the floor against Nonito Donaire in 2007, the idea that his best wins, his defining, was still ahead of him, might have sounded crazy.
It is what has happened. Saturday, he took a big step towards a title in a third weight class. The two men who will compete in the needing-to-be-rescheduled Showtime Bantamweight Tournament final are the only men besides Donaire to have bested him.
A win over either, this late in his career, would be incredible. After the way Darchinyan blasted former IBF 118 lb. beltholder Yonnhy Perez (20-2-1, 13 KO) on Saturday night, it wouldn’t be shocking.
Let’s go to the report card.
Pre-Fight: Speed – Darchinyan B+; Perez A-/Post: B+; B+
Pre-Fight: Power – Darchinyan A; Perez B/Post: Same
Pre-Fight: Defense – Darchinyan B; Perez B/Post: B; C+
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Darchinyan A; Perez A/Post: A; B+
In the pre-fight report card, one of the key questions observed heading into Darchinyan-Perez was whether Perez could move Darchinyan backwards with activity versus having his activity walk him into a big shot? It turned out more the latter, with a caveat.
Perez didn’t have to walk into a shot. Darchinyan set it up, blasted him, and kept him stunned for most of the four completed rounds. To no surprise, after being hurt in the first and dropped in the second, Perez dug deep and showed his warrior heart with a solid third round rally. It wasn’t enough to win the round, but it showed he had every intention of winning the fight.
At least until the cut.
Darchinyan, on air, accused Perez of not letting the cut be an out and there was reason to question whether Perez showed any desire to go on. It was muted if there. However, after enduring a succession of grueling, long affairs at the world-class level going to back to his Silence Mabuza win, Perez has proven enough to get the benefit of the doubt on any accusation of quitting. However, the notion floated by some of the post-fight coverage that Perez might have been showing wear from all those tough rounds should also defer benefit of the doubt to Darchinyan.
Perez looked fine until Darchinyan caught him with the left hand. Few have taken that shot well, straight or as a wicked uppercut, well over the last decade or so.
There was discussion on the Showtime broadcast about the damage to either man of taking two straight losses. In this case, damage ought to be mitigated by respect for risk. Perez and Darchinyan have made habit of fighting bad asses. Both are likely to continue. Is there anyone who wouldn’t want to watch Perez fight again? Does that person actually like boxing? These two, winner and loser, are both well positioned and sure to mix again with the other half of the Showtime tournament, Abner Mares (21-0-1, 13 KO) and Joseph Agbeko (28-2, 22 KO) when Agbeko recovers from a sciatic nerve injury.
That means, in the big picture, Bantamweight can expect to stay in their leading role in any discussion of the best division in boxing for a while. There is the chance any of the four could be matched with a WBA titlist in Anselmo Moreno (30-1-1, 10 KO) who has made noise about fighting bigger names. And, lest anyone forget, Darchinyan mentioned again his desire for a Donaire (26-1, 18 KO) rematch.
Bantamweight stayed hot on Saturday night and fistic fans should appreciate, even celebrate, living through this memorable run in one of boxing’s classic landscapes.
Report Card Picks 2011: 12-4
Ratings Impact
Bantamweight: Darchinyan moves up and Perez down but neither makes a huge step either way. Big moves are less likely when a division matches its best as frequently as Bantamweight has been lately.
Jr. Bantamweight: Darchinyan is removed as the lineal champion. The win over Perez makes almost certain he won’t have any need for a return to 115 lbs. and the likelihood of any drop backwards in weight was always tentative at best. Whether the vacancy is filled any time soon is anyone’s guess.
Strawweight: In a shocker, 39-year old Muhammad Rachman has a belt again, coming off the floor to stop undefeated Kwanthai Sithmorseng for a WBA belt. 2-4 in his last six, Rachman probably isn’t a serious top ten guy at 105 even with the win, but is was so outstanding as to demand the respect of a rating.
If curious about where that rating lies…
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com