Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire, 18-1, 11 KO’s, pulled off a grand upset and Grade A revenge by knocking out the popular and exciting Armenian born Australian “Raging Bull” Vic Darchinyan, 28-1, 22 KO’s, in the fifth round at Harbour Yard Arena in Connecticut last night on Showtime Championship Boxing.
Darchinyan, who was defending both the IBF and IBO Flyweight Titles, defeated and broke the jaw of Donaire’s brother Glenn in a six round stoppage last October. This time around, the Donaire family got the better end of that bout. Darchinyan saw the fight from the student perspective of a boxing clinic.
Donaire, who led by scores of 50-45, 48-46 and 48-46 at the time of the stoppage, was ecstatic to overcome his role as the underdog to take the victory.
“I came in here as an underdog, nobody believed in me but I did it,” he stated for the record. “I said yesterday that one punch can make the difference between me and him. I fought guys who are heavier so I timed my shots. He has heavy hands but my brother said he isn’t as tough as he thinks he is. I shut him up but he still won’t admit that I beat him.”
Darchinyan’s opinion on the matter following the fight was, “I am okay…but I am very disappointed. I got caught with a great shot and these things happen in boxing. Of course I want a rematch.”
Given that this night turned out to be positive fortune for underdogs, it is entirely believable and worthy of Darchinyan to suggest that. This fight was a great chapter in what may become a legendary boxing match up between two physical, dynamic warriors. If Darchinyan is able to get his rematch, he will have to work hard to get to a level where he would be favored yet again. He will also have to find a different method by which to break and read patterns on both the offensive and defensive end.
One of his big weaknesses of behavior in the fight was that he was caught completely off guard by Donaire’s lead right hands. A more orthodox approach to boxing involved jabs from the left side in order to set up right handed shots. The strategy worked perfectly against the offense-oriented Darchinyan, a southpaw that keeps his hands lower than might normally be suggested by a trainer.
On the main event of the card, another statistically unexpected outcome took place as the Travis Simms, 25-1, 19 KO’s, suffered his first career defeat by way of unanimous decision to lose his WBA Light Middleweight Belt against the still undefeated Joachim Alcine, 29-0, 18 KO’s. This fight was a more controversially decided contest than the clear-cut knockout presented in the Darchinyan-Donaire bout. One specifically shady aspect of the match included a ninth round knockdown by Alcine in which Simms may have slipped, causing his right glove to graze the canvas. Referee Mike Ortega, however, ruled the movement as a knockdown, making for a two point round Simms also claimed that he injured a hand in the second round, partially blaming the injury for the outcome of the fight.
Simms would also be within his rights asking for a rematch. The final scores for the bout read 116-109, 115-110, and 114-111, but the fight appeared to be much closer according to The Sports Network. Oddly enough, the fight was in Simms backyard, only a twenty minute drive from his home of Norwalk. Assuming that the knockdown was actually legit and equated to a three point swing in the fight would suggest that Simms was actually within range of a close decision victory.
Also on the under card of the feature bout for the evening was a near perfect seven round demolition of Genaro “Poblanito” Garcia, 35-6, 20 KO’s, by a young and gifted Luis “El Demoledor” Perez, 25-1, 16 KO’s, for the vacant IBF Bantamweight Title. Perez, who led 70-61 on all cards at the time of the stoppage, waited for a perfect incremental moment to counter with a left hook and finish the fight with 39 seconds left to go in the round.
Heavyweight Demetrice King, 12-15, 9 KO’s, stopped Bermane Stiverne 12-1, 12 KO’s, in the fourth round of their bout.
Panamanian Guillermo Jones, 35-3, 27 KO’s won an eight round unanimous decision over Zack Page, 13-14, 5 KO’s, in a Cruiserweight contest. Jones dropped Page in the second from a left jab. Jones’ claim to fame is his first round knockout of insurance salesman, journeyman and recent Evander Holyfield stepping stone Jeremy Bates last January.
Monte “Two-Gunz” Barrett, 31-6, 17 KO’s, easily controlled the opening round against the St, Louis, Missouri-based Cliff Couser, 26-12, 13 KO’s, before getting caught by Couser’s big right hand at the end of the round. Barrett barely beat the count but managed to get to his feet in order to be saved by the bell. The fight was the first for Barrett since being knocked out in the eleventh round of a challenging title shot against the Seven Foot Former WBA Heavyweight Champion Nikolay Valuev. Valuev lost his Heavyweight Title to Ruslan Chagaev in April to set up a title unification bout between Chagaev and WBO Heavyweight Champion Sultan Ibragimov.
Middleweight Sergio Rivera, 2-0, 0 KO’s, defeated Delvin Laney, 0-1, 1 KO, by an aggressive and entertaining four round unanimous decision.
Welterweight prospect Devon Alexander, 12-0, 7 KO’s, knocked out Marcus Luck, 8-15, 3 KO’s, in the third round of their bout. Alexander scored two second round knockdowns.
Showtime’s Championship boxing presentation turned out to be a success, as did the actual event at Harbour Yard Arena in Connecticut. Altogether, the favorite fighters in Simms, Darchinyan and Barrett were all taken down by lesser known fighters. As for whether or not these fights prove something fundamental and long-lasting about the men that lost is yet to be seen and still unproven.
