Team Bakhtin Eyes Darchinyan October Clash in Russia

By Andrey Bazdrev and Alexey Sukachev

Former Japanese record-breaking national champion and long-time bantamweight contender Alexander Bakhtin (27-0, 11 KOs), 29, fresh off his win over Jose Angel Berranza this May, looks for much harder challenges ahead of him. The next goal for the Russian, who spent merely a decade fighting exclusively in Japan, is his former USSR compatriot and famed multi-champion Vic Darchinyan (36-3-1, 27 KOs).

“We have already conducted negotiations with Gary Shaw and currently preparing for a fight with Vic”, informed Bakhtin’s manager Vladimir Hryunov. “There’s a possibility this clash will land somewhere in October at the Ice Palace in Balashikha, a few miles to the east of Moscow, or at “Dynamo” arena in Krylatskoye, the recent venue for Denis Lebedev vs. Roy Jones Jr.. Sasha also fought on the undercard of “The Battle of Two Empires”, while Balashikha is an adopted hometown for Bakhtin; he lives and trains there."

Interestingly, both probable combatants started their pro careers just two weeks apart; however, their achievements are hardly comparable at this point of their respective runs. Darchinyan, 35, is the best Armenian fighter to enter the squared circle and can very well be the next Hall-of-Famer from the former USSR. He was an IBF flyweight king, moved up to become the first ever undisputed super flyweight champion and presently is a legitimate force in the bantamweight ranks.

Though undefeated his Russian counterpart is also largely untested at the elite level. He was a perennial 118lb contender but recently entered 122 lbs ranks. Bakhtin is currently rated #3 by the WBC and can have a shot at the reigning champion Toshiaki Nishioka in his foreseeable future. Meanwhile, WBC #1 ranked “Mexican Russian” Giovanni Caro (22-8-4, 17 KOs) faces tough WBC #2 South African Simpiwe Vetyeka (22-1, 13 KOs) in the final eliminator on July 2 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, which means Bakhtin can move up in ranks pretty soon.