FILIPINO TITLE challenger Diosdado Gabi failed to deliver in what would have been the biggest night of his life, losing by a nightmarish 8th round knockout to defending champion Vic Darchinyan yesterday in California.
The 26-year-old Gabi who has been training in the United States under famed coach Freddie Roach since late last year, had an encouraging start by frustrating Darchinyan with good body shots and active jabs.
The 30-year-old Darchinyan was able to fiddle with the style of Gabi starting in the fourth round and slowly worked his way inside the Filipino’s defense.
In the fateful eighth round, Darchinyan unleashed a fierce right punch that floored a seemingly wornout Gabi. The southpaw Gabi barely got to his feet, prompting referee David Mendoza to stop the contest at 2:42 of the round.
The win propelled the Australia-based Armenian Darchinyan to superstar level that will most likely give him bragging rights to challenge the legitimate stars of the flyweight division.
Darchinyan has been vocal about his eagerness to challenge Mexican Jorge Arce, the current top gun of the 112-lb division.
Also in the Aussie’s radar is Hawaiian sensation Brian Viloria, the current World Boxing Council (WBC) lightflyweight ruler who traces his roots in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur.
Fresh from signing up with influential American promoter Gary Shaw, Darchinyan kept his International Boxing Federation (IBF) and International Boxing Organization (IBO) 112-lb belts since winning them two years ago.
Darchinyan defended the crown twice last year in Australia, defeating South African Mzukisi Sikali via eighth round TKO in an IBF/IBO unification match, then stopped Colombian Jair Jimenez in the fifth round.
It was Darchniyan’s second US fight and his first under Shaw after a grand American debut on December 2004 in Hollywood, California where he demolished the then-unbeaten Irene Pacheco of Colombia via 11th round stoppage to snatch the IBF crown.
