Showtime Boxing: Darchinyan Vows To KO Agbeko For IBF Title

ByBoxing Press


© Tom Casino / Showtime Boxing

Due to travel complications, two-division world champion Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan was unable to participate in Tuesday’s media workout in South Florida with his opponent, IBF bantamweight champion Joseph King Kong Agbeko.

Showtime caught up with the four-time world champ at the hotel pool on Wednesday, just three days before he faces Agbeko in his quest to become a three-division world champion on Saturday, July 11 at the BankAtlantic Center live on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Darchinyan, who proved his dominance in the 115-pound division with dominating victories over Christian Mijares and Jorge Arce on Showtime, had a lot to say about Saturday’s fight and his boxing future. Saturday’s world title fight will be Darchinyan’s first scrap at 118 pounds.

“He’s not too much bigger than me. This will be no difference for me at all. All of my sparring partners were bigger than him.

“I’m just looking at him as another opponent. I’m going to give him a lesson and knock him out. It’s going to be an exciting fight.

“I’m going to play with him and destroy him. I’ll start throwing bombs in the middle rounds. I’ll knock him out before the end of the 12th.

“Every boxer should go for the KO. I seek excitement only. I want to be exciting. I want to be one of the best in the history of boxing. That means I go for the knockout.

“I’m going to take it easy early and slow him down. I’m going to make him look stupid and knock him out.

“I don’t have respect for my opponents in the ring. I might have respect for them outside, but inside it’s a war.

“After this fight we’ll see what we do. I’d love to fight Nonito Donaire again if he’s ready for me. He hasn’t done much since we fought. If Showtime isn’t interested in that I’ll move up to 122 pounds and keep moving up.

“I know he well prepared for the fight. But, so have I. I’m ready for Saturday night. My training has been phenomenal. I’ve been in the gym for five months.”

Two of the pound-for-pound hardest hitting boxers, both main event fighters possess eye-popping knockout percentages.

Agbeko (26-1, 22 KOs) from Accra, Ghana, now fighting out of Bronx, N.Y., has knocked out over 81 percent of his opponents with Darchinyan (32-1, 26 KOs), from Sydney, Australia, by way of Armenia, right behind him at 76 percent.

Tickets to the event, priced at $75, $40 and $25 and $10 (with a limited number of golden circle seats available at $200), can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, charge by phone at (800) 745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com or BankAtlantic Center box office.

The event is promoted by Don King Productions in association with BankAtlantic Center. Agbeko vs. Darchinyan and DeMarco vs. Adjaho are co-promoted with Gary Shaw Productions.

The Showtime co-feature pits two top-10 ranked 135-pound contenders in the biggest fight of their lives when Antonio DeMarco (21-1-1, 15 KOs), of Tijuana, Mexico, takes on West African native Anges “Baby Face” Adjaho (25-1, 14 KOs) in a 10-round bout.

Showtime Championship Boxing announcers Gus Johnson and Al Bernstein will call the action with Jim Gray reporting from ringside. The executive producer of Showtime Sports is David Dinkins Jr., with Bob Dunphy directing.