Sky Sports.com

Special features

Blogs & Opinion

Wayne McCullough:

Recent Comments:

Marc Nolan on A Dunne deal?

"I'm sorry but the public do not want to see Wayne fight Bernard Dunne. Bernard has nothing to gain by a fight with Wayne McCullough. Wayne, you have been a great ambassador for the ... " View all comments

Rajesh Dhammi on The Juan for Floyd

"Marquez is pure class. Many boxers could learn a thing or two from him. Diaz shook Marquez but he did not budge. I think Manny is scared of a third fight with him; in their second ... " View all comments

Colin Garratt on Look who's stalking

"Cotto back to his best! But I still don't think he could live with the likes of Hatton, Pacman or Mayweather they would all grind him down and finish him late. To me he only seems OK ... " View all comments

Raging Bull shines

Darchinyan lights up the ring

Wayne McCullough Posted 11th February 2009 view comments

Vic Darchinyan treated Jorge Arce as a stepping stone last Saturday at the Anaheim, CA, Honda Center even though Arce is a former two time world champion and is tough as nails.

Arce tried over and over again in the fight but didn't hit his target as much as he would have liked and the bout was stopped before the final bell was able to ring.

Darchinyan has come back well since his first and only loss to Nonito Donaire in July 2007. He has moved up in weight and fought four times, winning three and drawing in the other. He has an unorthodox style of fighting. A southpaw who likes to lunge in with his hands low, Darchinyan throws punches at odd angles but carries dynamite in both hands.

Darchinyan: Exciting in the ring

Darchinyan: Exciting in the ring

From the opening bell, Darchinyan came looking for the KO, landing accurate left uppercuts to his opponent's head at will. He looked like the younger fighter and even though he is 3½ years older than Arce, Darchinyan was the one pushing forward.

Arce was reaching with his punches and was leaving himself open. The third may have been Arce's only winning round as he started to throw straight right hands and left hooks to Darchinyan's head. He had some success but his Armenian opponent, nicknamed "Raging Bull", caught on quickly to Arce's plan.

From the opening bell, Darchinyan came looking for the KO, landing accurate left uppercuts to his opponents head at will. He looked like the younger fighter and even though he is 3½ years older than Arce, Darchinyan was the one pushing forward.

Wayne McCullough
Quotes of the week

Darchinyan landed a picture perfect left uppercut to Arce's head rocking him momentarily. He pulled through but his legs still looked shaky right up to the end of the bout.

Going into the 11th round Arce was looking for a KO knowing that was what he needed. But he had taken a lot of headshots throughout the fight and during that same round, he took a lot more. The fight was stopped in between rounds 11 and 12 on the doctor's advice to the referee. Arce seemed to protest, showing how much of a warrior he is.

Darchinyan successfully defended his WBC, IBF and WBA belts and looked good doing it against a world class fighter like Arce. At the time of the stoppage, he was ahead on all three judges scorecards 109-100.

Donaire is the only fighter to defeat Darchinyan so maybe he will try to avenge that loss at his new weight. Donaire showed patience and quick accuracy against a moving target to win by KO so will Darchinyan want to fight him again?

Fernando Montiel holds the WBO belt at super flyweight so a complete unification bout could be the best fight for Darchinyan right now.

He may not have a personality that many people like but Darchinyan brings excitement to his fights and this is what boxing needs today.

Post to your View!

Be the first to post a comment on this story

Add Comment*

Send us your views

Are you a Sky Sports subscriber?

*All fields required, your email address will be kept private

back to top

Other Boxing Experts:

Latest Posts in Boxing:

The Panel

Shocked and in awe

The Panel were surprised but delighted to see David Haye out-point Nikolai Valuev to win the WBA world title....

7 comments

Adam Smith

David or Goliath?

In the second of his two-part preview Adam Smith weighs up the options and still finds it hard to pick a winner!...

0 comments

Jim Watt

David's brave demise

Jim Watt delivers his big-fight preview - and fears David Haye's bravery will also prove his downfall....

7 comments

Latest News RSS feeds

Bring on the Klitschkos!

David Haye has set his sights on either of the Klitschko brothers after being crowned WBA heavyweight champion last night.

Haye crowned WBA champion

David Haye is the new WBA heavyweight world champion after out-pointing Nikolai Valuev in Germany.

A dream come true - Haye

David Haye revealed he damaged his right hand as he out-boxed Nikolai Valuev to fulfil a lifelong boxing ambition.

Round-by-round report

See how David Haye out-boxed and out-foxed Nikolai Valuev to become WBA world heavyweight champion.

Ruiz keeps name in the frame

John Ruiz lined himself up for a potential clash with the winner of David Haye-Nikolai Valuev with a routine win on the Nuremberg undercard.

Features

Book Haye to win!

Book Haye to win!

Book David and Goliath at home and you could win a pair of the Hayemaker's official fight shorts...

Fighting talk

Fighting talk

We look back at what David Haye, Nikolai Valuev and just about anyone else has said about their showdown.

The final countdown

The final countdown

It's time for The Truth, as we assess the weigh-in and all the options on the eve of David and Goliath...