Tweet
Flyweight titlist Darchinyan to fight Donaire on Oct. 7 (ESPN)
Flyweight titlist Vic Darchinyan, the power puncher extraordinaire, will make his fifth defense against Glenn Donaire on Oct. 7, promoter Gary Shaw told ESPN.com Monday night.
The fight will be the co-featured bout on the Showtime-televised card headlined by the previously announced rubber match between lightweight world champion Diego "Chico" Corrales (40-3, 33 KOs) and Joel Casamayor (33-3-1, 20 KOs).
A formal news conference announcing the card is scheduled for Wednesday at host site Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Darchinyan (26-0-1, 21 KOs), a 30-year-old Armenian based in Australia, had expected to face Argentina's Omar Narvaez in a title unification match.
After agreeing to the fight, Narvaez backed out, angering Shaw, who recently went to Argentina to make the deal. The title fight was contingent upon Narvaez defeating mandatory challenger Rexon Flores on Aug. 5. However, after Narvaez won a lopsided decision, Shaw said he received an e-mail from a Narvaez representative saying that there had been a change of plans and that Narvaez would instead stay in Argentina for a different fight in the fall.
The 26-year-old Donaire (16-2-1, 9 KOs) is 3-0-1 since suffering a surprising first-round TKO loss to Z Gorres on the Erik Morales-Manny Pacquiao I undercard on March 19, 2005 in Las Vegas.
"Glenn took the Gorres fight on short notice, and I don't think that it is indicative of who Glenn is," Shaw said. "He is a very skilled fighter, but I recognize that Vic Darchinyan throws bricks and there is not anyone he can't take out with one punch. Glenn will have to fight smart and box, and shoot his shots down the middle to be competitive. If he does that, Vic will be in for a very tough fight."
Shaw said that while Darchinyan is disappointed about not being able to lure another champion into the ring, he is excited about facing Donaire, a native of the Philippines living in California.
"When I called him [in Australia] to talk to him about the fight, all he asked me was, 'Will this guy give me competition, because all I want are competitive fights,'" Shaw said. "Vic wants to fight the other champions, but we can't make them fight Vic. We will still try to fight Narvaez and the other champions, [Lorenzo] Parra and the champion from Thailand [Pongsaklek Wonjongkam]. In the meantime, Donaire and Vic will make a good fight."
Darchinyan and Donaire fought on the same card March 3 in Chumash, Calif. Darchinyan stopped Diosdado Gabi in the eighth round to retain his title. Donaire was held to a majority draw in a six-round fight against Jose Albuquerque.
Donaire watched Darchinyan fight in the main event and told his manager, Cameron Dunkin, that he wanted to fight Darchinyan.
"He had asked for this fight," Dunkin said. "Darchinyan is a tough, hard-punching guy. We have a lot of respect for him. But my guy can really fight and he has been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, and he's not going to blow it. He's really excited about the fight."
From ESPN
The fight will be the co-featured bout on the Showtime-televised card headlined by the previously announced rubber match between lightweight world champion Diego "Chico" Corrales (40-3, 33 KOs) and Joel Casamayor (33-3-1, 20 KOs).
A formal news conference announcing the card is scheduled for Wednesday at host site Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Darchinyan (26-0-1, 21 KOs), a 30-year-old Armenian based in Australia, had expected to face Argentina's Omar Narvaez in a title unification match.
After agreeing to the fight, Narvaez backed out, angering Shaw, who recently went to Argentina to make the deal. The title fight was contingent upon Narvaez defeating mandatory challenger Rexon Flores on Aug. 5. However, after Narvaez won a lopsided decision, Shaw said he received an e-mail from a Narvaez representative saying that there had been a change of plans and that Narvaez would instead stay in Argentina for a different fight in the fall.
The 26-year-old Donaire (16-2-1, 9 KOs) is 3-0-1 since suffering a surprising first-round TKO loss to Z Gorres on the Erik Morales-Manny Pacquiao I undercard on March 19, 2005 in Las Vegas.
"Glenn took the Gorres fight on short notice, and I don't think that it is indicative of who Glenn is," Shaw said. "He is a very skilled fighter, but I recognize that Vic Darchinyan throws bricks and there is not anyone he can't take out with one punch. Glenn will have to fight smart and box, and shoot his shots down the middle to be competitive. If he does that, Vic will be in for a very tough fight."
Shaw said that while Darchinyan is disappointed about not being able to lure another champion into the ring, he is excited about facing Donaire, a native of the Philippines living in California.
"When I called him [in Australia] to talk to him about the fight, all he asked me was, 'Will this guy give me competition, because all I want are competitive fights,'" Shaw said. "Vic wants to fight the other champions, but we can't make them fight Vic. We will still try to fight Narvaez and the other champions, [Lorenzo] Parra and the champion from Thailand [Pongsaklek Wonjongkam]. In the meantime, Donaire and Vic will make a good fight."
Darchinyan and Donaire fought on the same card March 3 in Chumash, Calif. Darchinyan stopped Diosdado Gabi in the eighth round to retain his title. Donaire was held to a majority draw in a six-round fight against Jose Albuquerque.
Donaire watched Darchinyan fight in the main event and told his manager, Cameron Dunkin, that he wanted to fight Darchinyan.
"He had asked for this fight," Dunkin said. "Darchinyan is a tough, hard-punching guy. We have a lot of respect for him. But my guy can really fight and he has been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, and he's not going to blow it. He's really excited about the fight."
From ESPN
Comment