By Lyle Fitzsimmons
SUNRISE, Fla. – Next time, Vic Darchinyan probably heads west.
The trash-talking Armenian-turned-Australian lost his second fight in as many tries on the east coast of the United States, dropping a unanimous decision to incumbent champion Joseph Agbeko in a failed attempt for the Ghanan fighter’s IBF bantamweight championship before 9,227 fans at the BankAtlantic Center.
Agbeko, making his second defense of a crown he won from Luis Alberto Perez in September 2007, swept the ringside scorecards with counts of 116-111, 114-113 and 114-113 to win a competitive contest that matched a hard-charging, wide-swinging slugger against a more-skilled, straighter-punching boxer.
BoxingScene.com had it even at 114-114.
“Darchinyan talked a lot before the fight and I turned him into ‘The Raging Bullshi**er like I said I would,” said Agbeko, referring to a contentious pre-fight press tour in which Darchinyan – nicknamed “The Raging Bull” – often got the better of the verbal exchanges.
“I have always said I would carry the greatness of Ghana with me to the top and that’s what I have done. I was to be considered among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. I think I have earned it.”
The win lifts Agbeko to 27-1 in a career that began in 1998 and restarted in 2007 after a three-year hiatus. He’s now won six straight since the break, including the seventh-round TKO of Perez in Sacramento, Calif., and a subsequent majority decision over William Gonzalez at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. last December.
“You saw a man fighting against all odds, but he still overcame because he had faith,” said Don King, who promotes Agbeko. “And his faith got him through.”
Darchinyan is now 32-2-1 and presumably will head back to the super featherweight division, where he holds the IBF, WBA and WBC championship belts. His only previous lost came in Bridgeport, Conn., where he was stopped in five rounds by Nonito Donaire and dropped his IBF and IBO titles in the flyweight division.
He’d gone 4-0-1 in five fights since, including an impressive ninth-round KO of Cristian Mijares last November in Carson, Calif., which netted him the WBA and WBC belts at 115 pounds, in addition to the IBF title he’d walked in with.
“He was the better fighter tonight,” Darchinyan said. “I will go back and watch the tape and correct my mistakes.”
Each fighter had moments in the first round, with Darchinyan pressing forward and landing to the body, while Agbeko sent him briefly off balance with a straight right hand as the aggressive Armenian-turned-Australian charged forward.
Hostilities settled slightly in the first half of the second, but picked up again in the back half – initially when Agbeko landed another straight left to a straight-forward Darchinyan, and later when the free-swinging ex-Olympian landed thudding shots to a retreating Agebko’s body, including a bolo-like left just before the bell.
Agbeko asserted himself with straighter shots in the third, landing the more effective shots in a three-minute stretch that featured as much grappling as clean punching. A straight right hand and a grazing follow-up left hook from the Ghanan were the most effective punches.
He again threw better and straighter shots in the fourth, including a left at the halfway point and a counter right with about 20 seconds remaining in the session. Darchinyan put on a final charge, literally, when he drove Agbeko to the ropes with, what else, a looping left hand just before the bell.
Both men looked wearier for the struggle through the fifth, with Darchinyan continuing his charges and leaving Agbeko wincing along the ropes after some particularly effective bodywork midway through. Darchinyan, though, headed back to his corner with a similar wince following another sweeping hook from Agbeko in the late going.
Darchinyan responded to his corner’s plea for more bodywork in the sixth, landing his best shot of the round – a wide left to the ribs – with about 20 seconds remaining.
Agbeko seemed on the verge of winning the seventh, but just as quickly lost the chance when he was sent to the canvas with a right hand in the final 30 seconds. The two men came together and Darchinyan threw a right that wound up being more of a cuff behind the neck that sent Agbeko to the floor.
He quickly rose, but was given the rest of the mandatory 8 count, signifying an official knockdown.
Punches went on beyond the bell in the eighth, another rough-and-tumble round that saw Darchinyan displaying an ugly and worsening bruise under his left eye, and saw Agbeko grimace and fall backward to the ropes after he was struck with a low blow that drew a warning from referee Tommy Kimmons.
Darchinyan appeared the stronger and fresher fighter in the ninth while continuing to land thudding, albeit wide, shots to Agbeko’s midriff, arms and shoulders.
The sight of his own blood was troublesome in the 10th for Darchinyan, who continually dabbed a cut over his right eye, and was later frustrated enough to fling Agbeko to the floor with his left arm while holding him with the right.
Frustration continued in the second-to-last session, which saw Darchinyan turn his back and walk away after being hit with a borderline low blow and later send Agbeko to the floor with another push. Agbeko landed consecutive straight shots at the bell, prompting his corner to tell him he needed a knockout to win.
“I took a different tactic into the ring tonight,” Darchinyan said. “I went for the big punch and I lost and I can’t say anything about that. I was repeating the same mistakes and I was getting upset. It’s not an excuse. I took the bad tactic and I wasn’t smart enough tonight.”