Saturday, 01 August 2026 · Philippines
News

Yamanaka Beats Darchinyan in Exciting Battle (ACTION PHOTOS)

TOKYO, Japan - In an intense combat, Japan's Shinsuke Yamanaka successfully retained his WBC bantamweight world title by scoring a well-deserved unanimous decision over Armenian slugger "The Raging Bull" Vic Darchinyan tonight at the Tokyo International Forum in Japan.

The judges verdict: Burt A. Clements, 117-111; Steve Morrow, 116-112; and Juan Carlos Pelayo, 116-112 all in favor of the still WBC bantamweight world champion Shinsuke Yamanaka who made the first title defense of the green with gold belt he won by knocking out hard-hitting Mexican Christian Esquivel in November of last year.

Darchinyan was cut over his left eyebrow, but even though he bled profusely, the "Raging Bull" continued being a dangerous and aggressive fighter until the last bell of the fight.

During the intense twelve rounds of war, Yamanaka used his fast right hooks which squarely hit the jaw of the always charging forward Armenian.

Photos by Carlos Costa.

In reply, several vicious blows from Darchinyan, thrown from the medium distance rocked the head of the Japanese.

Wearing black trunks with the flag of Armenia on the sides, Darchinyan was at all times the aggressor combatant who aimed at scoring a KO, and at all times looking for an opening to unleash his blows while in return getting hammered in a non-stop give-and-take rumble over twelve exciting rounds.

Even tough the fight was tough as huge hands flew constantly around the ring, none of the warriors was at any moment in danger of losing by KO.

The undefeated world champion Yamanaka showed class and mettle against an opponent of experience and great strength.

Comments

Share your thoughts on the above article by Carlos Costa.

Read our community comment guidelines here