By DANIEL LANE, The Sydney Morning Herald
AMERICAN boxing fans will watch today to see whether Australia's world champion, Vic Darchinyan, can bounce back from his last-start loss to reclaim his mantle as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters.
Darchinyan's manager, Elias Nasser, said from California that there was widespread interest to see if Darchinyan still had ''it'' after his failed July bid to move up a weight division to take the International Boxing Federation's bantamweight title from Ghana's Joseph Agbeko.
Their interest has also been piqued by the suggestion the Mexican challenger Tomas Rojas is determined to send Darchinyan tumbling into retirement.
''Vic is a true champion,'' Nasser said. ''The worst thing you can ever do to Vic Darchinyan is to doubt him - it always brings out his very best. And this is a huge fight.
''He knows everyone wants to see if he'll rebound and he's also aware there is a lot at stake, including the possibility of a rematch with Nonito Donaire. The belief here is that would rival the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao bout as the biggest of 2010.''
Donaire, a Filipino, knocked Darchinyan out in the fifth round of their IBO world title fight in 2007. It was the first time Darchinyan had tasted defeat as a professional.
Darchinyan's trainer, Angelo Hyder, said Australia's ''Raging Bull'' was showing the signs of a winner. His preparation included sparring against former Kostya Tszyu opponent Zab Judah, who weighs 15 kilograms more than the Aussie.
''It's also the first time Vic has made weight the night before the weigh-in, so all is good,'' Hyder said. ''He knows not to get obsessed by the KO and to work for the win.''
Source: smh.com.au
No comments:
Post a Comment