Darchinyan Dominates Mijares
The
first super flyweight, unification bout in history was supposed to be
Cristian Mijares’ coming out party. This was the fight where he finally
got a chance to showcase his reputed top 10, pound for pound skills on
a national stage.
Instead,
the normally wild Vic Darchinyan fought a disciplined, perfect fight
and pounded Mijares over 9 mostly one-sided rounds before a merciful
TKO stoppage.
The
raucous, mostly Mexican crowd at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA
gave Mijares a grand reception as he made his way to the ring. At the
stare down he retained a cocky smirk, perhaps feeling Darchinyan had no
boxing skills to contend with his superb counter-punching.
Mijares’
smile was wiped off within the first 30 seconds, as Darchinyan
repeatedly beat him to the punch with lead straight and overhand lefts.
The clean shots were heavily due to Darchinyan not rushing in and
utilizing a sharp jab.
Mijares
also showed early sluggishness, leaning forward with his punches which
resulted in Darchinyan dropping him hard with a perfect counter
uppercut. Showing his usual cockiness, Darchinyan goaded him to get up
just as the bell saved the WBA/WBC champ for an early knockout.
In
round 2 Mijares still struggled to establish any offense, realizing
that Darchinyan’s hand-speed and jab had taken away his chances to
counterpunch. After eating a series of thudding overhand lefts, Mijares
attempted to make it brawl, and fared better catching Vic with two nice
counter hooks to the temple. However, the light-punching Mijares could
gain no respect and Darchinyan fired right back to close an exciting
round.
Mijares
started to get more comfortable in rounds three and four, finally
showing decent glove blocking and lateral movement away from
Darchinyan’s powerful left hand. Unfortunately, these defensive
adjustments didn’t translate into good offense, and Darchinyan
continued to dominate the exchanges, now adding in wincing, round-house
left hooks to the body.
It
wasn’t until round 5 where Mijares finally landed a head combination,
punctuated by a hard hook. Darchinyan responded in kind as Mijares
waved him in. Despite his machismo for fans, Mijares was falling
further and further behind on the scorecards.
Darchinyan
continued his work in round six, blistering Mijares with punishing
combinations, most ending with his powerful left hand. Mijares, touted
as the one of the most technically skilled fighters at the lower
weights, could do nothing but continue waving Vic in, hoping he’d make
a mistake.
Round
7 saw Mijares finally gather some sustained offense, clipping
Darchinyan with a sneaky uppercut and a counter hook as the IBF champ
briefly went back to his old ways of lunging in. However, Darchinyan
kept Mijares honest by ripping him with another left uppercut as the
round ended.
By
round nine, Mijares had no choice but to continue coming forward in
hopes of scoring a KO. But it was Darchinyan who would succeed, driving
Mijares back with a hard jab before nearly knocking him through the
ropes with a laser-sharp straight left.
Mijares
spun on the canvas, and his fans watched in shocked dismay as the
referee waved the fight off with just a few seconds remaining in the
round.
With the win, Vic Darchinyan now becomes the first man in history to unify the Super Flyweight division.
Remembering
the writers who picked against him, Darchinyan made it a point in the
post-fight interview to ask about his new pound for pound standing.
“All
writers, did I keep my promise [to knock out Mijares]?” Darchinyan
quipped. “Where am I now pound for pound? I knocked him out!”
Indeed,
many writers will now have to consider Vic’s placement now that he’s
moved up from flyweight to super flyweight and unified the division in
just two fights. In addition, those two unification bouts came courtesy
of devastating highlight-reel knockouts.
What
made this fight so impressive was the way Darchinyan, thought of as
just an awkward brawler, outboxed Mijares thoroughly in every round.
Vic’s speed and stinging jab left Mijares confused, and a fish out of
water when he abandoned his normal counter-punching style to press the
action.
But,
the most significant change to Vic’s style last night was he rarely
lunged in with wild hooks. This flaw left him KTFO last year against
Donaire, but tonight whenever Darchinyan did rush in, it was preceded
by a hard jab followed by a straight shot. This drastically lowered his
chances of eating anything big in return.
Darchinyan
should at minimum be in everyone’s top 15, but many will be reluctant
to place him higher until he rematches Nontio Donaire, the man who
knocked him cold last year and briefly derailed his career.
If that fight cannot be made, look for Darchinyan to seek out Fernando Monteil or Jorge Arce (who scored a 4th roundKO this weekend over Isidro Garcia).
Whomever he fights, the lighter weights just got a little more exciting with Vic Darchinyan back on top.Roy Jones Confirms Hopkins Main Option After Calzaghe
Roy
Jones, Jr. is already looking past his November 8 fight with undefeated
light-heavyweight champ Joe Calzaghe, verifying that he’s open to
facing bitter rival Bernard Hopkins.
The
change of heart comes seven years after a highly-anticipated rematch
fell through when both men stubbornly refused to compromise on their
contract negotiations.
“People want to see me and Bernard do it again after I beat Joe,” Jones wrote in a column for ESPN.com.
“I beat Bernard 15 years ago and I will do it again if we fight. I’d
like that fight and if it makes sense and we come up with a good deal,
for sure I will do it. People want to see if Bernard can get revenge…
But first I need to take off Joe, which I will do.”
Calzaghe Dimisses Hopkins, Executioner Rules Out Dawson, Promises “Hell” for Jones-Calzaghe Winner
In the wake of Hopkins’ stunning win over Kelly Pavlik, Joe Calzaghe rebuffed rumblings of a rematch with the Executioner.
Since winning a split decision in an ugly April bout, Calzaghe has not had a kind word to say about his last dance partner.
“Screw Hopkins, I’m not fighting again for any amount of money, I’ve been doing this for too long,” he spat to WalesOnline.co.uk.
“Hopkins beating Pavlik in the style he did gives my victory over
Hopkins more credibility. When I beat Hopkins, people say he was just a
washed up old man, a shadow of the fighter of years gone by. But he
just annihilated the so-called next big thing in boxing in a fight he
called the fight of his life.”
Dismissing
these words and young lion Chad Dawson, Bernard Hopkins made a promise
that the winner of Jones-Calzaghe will have no option but to face him.
“Scratch
Chad Dawson off, I’ve got bigger fish to fry,” Hopkins countered. “I
listened to everything and I heard what Joe said the other day, that I
won’t get a rematch. Joe knows in his heart the judges beat Bernard
Hopkins. I’ll be ringside on November 8 and all hell is going to break
out in the media and with the fans. I set the bar so high. With Joe
Calzaghe, I won’t worry about a decision this time. I will knock him
out. But my next fight will be no later than February, no earlier than
March.”
Hopkins’
words show that he leans towards Calzaghe picking up the win. We’ll see
if Roy can turn back the clock as Hopkins-Jones II is far more
appealing and likely to happen than a Calzaghe rewind.
Jones-Calzaghe, Who Wins?
Conventional
wisdom has Jones as the big underdog in this bout. After 3 consecutive
losses, Jones, Jr. launched a low-key comeback in 2006 which culminated
with an easy decision win over an undersized Felix Trinidad.
On
the other hand, 2006 marked the year of Calzaghe’s official recognition
as a top pound for pound fighter. He effectively ruined Jeff Lacy’s
career with one of the most dominating performances ever seen in a
superfight. Later, he beat another undefeated young lion in Mikkel
Kessler before gutting out a rough win against Bernard Hopkins in April.
Jones
has not scored a knockout in six years, so to win he’d have to outbox
Calzaghe. And with Jones now relying on his shell defense to mask his
decreased stamina, it’s highly unlikely he’ll be able to score enough
to override the massive amount of punches Calzaghe will throw.
Plus, Calzaghe will look much better facing a more stationary Jones as opposed to the crafty, always moving Bernard Hopkins.
Still, Jones has shown flashes of his once renowned hand-speed, and possibly might be able to turn back the clock for one fight.
Smart
money should be on a Calzaghe decision or possible stoppage. Whatever
the outcome, it’ll be an entertaining bout where both guys deliver the
showmanship boxing is missing these days.
Poll AnswersThrowback Fighter of the Week: Wilfred Benitez
Coming from a celebrated boxing family, Wilfred Benitez amazingly turned pro in 1973 as the young age of 14!
His
exceptional defense and aggressive counter-punching lead him to a title
shot in 1976 against legend Antonio Cervantes, and Benitez outpointed
the WBA, 140 pound champ to became the youngest person ever to win a
title at age 17.
Benitez
made 3 successful defenses but was lured to the big money that awaited
him at welterweight. In 1979, Benitez narrowly outpointed Carlos
Palomino before facing Sugar Ray Leonard to end the year.
Benitez
fought a highly technical contest and gave Leonard his toughest fight
up to that point. But Leonard’s greater physical strength and edge in
speed proved decisive, and Leonard handed Wilfred his first loss via a
15th round TKO.
Although undersized, Benitez continued to move up in weight to secure big money fights. He won the WBC 154 pound strap with a 12th round TKO over Maurice Hope, and outpointed Roberto Duran in his second defense.
In
1982, Benitez ran into his worst nightmare in Tommy Hearns. Too small
to get inside, Benitez was forced to stay on the outside and eat
repeated jabs and occasional rights in route to a decision loss.
That
fight would be Benitez’s last title shot, and his career spiraled down
after losses to Mustafa Hamsho and Davey Moore in 1983 and 1984.
A 1990 comeback under Emanuel Steward proved no better, and Benitez retired for good in September of that year.
Back
in his native Puerto Rico, Benitez suffers from a degenerative brain
condition from his years of boxing and diabetes. He lives on a $200 a
month stipend from the WBA.
Wilfred Benitez was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996, and boasts on a final record of 53-8-1, 31 KOs.vs. Cervantesvs. Palomino
