WHEN it was first announced that Vic Darchinyan, the heavy-handed Armenian-Australian was coming to the Philippines to showcase his fighting skill, the handlers of Filipino stylist Z Gorres knew it was going to be more than just a fight.
“This is a big gamble on our part but we believe that Z Gorres can do it,” said Michael Aldeguer, who manages Gorres, during the weekly PSA Forum.
The Gorres-Darchinyan bout is an International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-flyweight title eliminator that takes place on Feb. 2 at the grand ballroom of the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu.
Darchinyan is best remembered by boxing fans as the brash puncher who terrorized the IBF flyweight (112 lbs) class before meeting his Waterloo in Filipino-American Nonito Donaire Jr. last August.
Despite losing to Donaire, Darchinyan remains a livewire opponent who can end a fight with one punch, making him a legitimate threat at any moment.
Gorres knows this, obviously.
“I am training like no other and I will pour everything against Darchinyan,” said Gorres, whose determination is shown by his strict training regimen.
So as not to miss yesterday?s session, Gorres flew to Manila from Cebu late Monday night and was already back in the Queen City by sundown to resume his training at the well-equipped ALA Boxing Gym.
Aldeguer said that should Gorres emerge victorious, he will be next in line to face off with Russian Dimiri Kirilov, who is the current IBF 115-lb king.
“A win over a big-named opponent like Darchinyan will legitimize Gorres? status,” said Aldeguer, who is being groomed to represent his father, the respected Bacolod-born, Cebu-based sportsman Antonio Aldeguer.
Solar Sports is staging the slambang show and early signs point to a success, according to Aldeguer.
“The initial response is very good and we have been receiving inquiries about VIP tickets this early,” added Aldeguer.
“We did not think twice in getting this fight,” said Solar Sports executive Ralph Roy.
Gorres holds a 27-2-1 winloss-draw card with 14 knockouts, while Darchinyan sports a 29-1 slate 23 demolitions.
