There were two good cards Down Under last night with bills in suburbs of both Sydney and Melbourne, featuring and IBO championship fight and two Australian title bouts.

At the Auburn RSL Club in Auburn, NSW, ex-IBF/IBO Flyweight Champion Vic Darchinyan returned to the ring for the first time since suffering a shocking knockout loss to heavy underdog Nonito Donaire in July and captured the IBO Super Flyweight title in the process.

Darchinyan, 29-1 (23), was made to work by opponent Federico Catubay, 20-14-3 (11), a former Filipino Flyweight titlist. Catubay didn't have the skills to match the former world champion punch for punch but made up for it through sheer toughness and an iron chin.

The power of Darchinyan began to tell as early as the seventh when he dropped Catubay for an eight count. The Filipino made it back up and got his second wind but the harsh head and body attack from Darchinyan produced another knockdown in the eleventh frame.

It was all Darchinyan after that as "The Raging Bull" battered Catubay until a referee spared the 27 year old from further punishment.

Leonardo Zappavinga, 11-0 (8), won a battle of undefeated lightweights to retain the Australian title via a third round stoppage of Ryan Langham, 9-1 (5).

Welter southpaw Matthew Paulley, 14-5-4 (7), stopped novice Manfa Luksaikongdin, 2-3 (2), and red hot lightweight prospect William Kickett, 7-0 (4), stopped Jud Paderna, 8-8 (4), in the first round.

At the Basketball Stadium in Dandenong, Victoria, Shane Brock, 8-2-1 (6), crushed Matt Meredith, 3-5-1 (1), in the first to annex the vacant Australian Flyweight crown.

Light heavyweight Daniel Lovett, 15-3 (9), stopped overmatched beginner Alofa Solitua, 0-3 (0), in the third.

Click to read more boxing articles by Bruce Dingo

Discuss in Boxing Forum

---

Related Boxing Articles...

• Australian Boxing Results.

  Yesterday in Sydney, Australia, IBF flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan retained his title with a stoppage of challenger Mzukisi Fikali in the eighth round. Darchinyan, known for his aggressive style and >
  
  

• Darchinyan Stops Jiminez.

  Vic Darchinyan successfully defended his IBF and IBO flyweight titles tonight in Sydney with a predictable fifth round stoppage win over tough Colombian challenger Jair Jiminez. After a sluggish couple >
  
  

• Darchinyan Wins the IBF Title.

  It was a battle of undefeated fighters at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel, Hollywood, Florida, USA as Irene Pacheco risked his IBF flyweight title against Australia-based Armenian Vic Darchinyan. And >
  
  

• Super Flyweight Boxing Champion Darchinyan Answers Challenge Of Jorge Arce

  World super flyweight champion Vic "Raging Bull" Darchinyan is ready to give WBA interim super flyweight champion Jorge Arce, 51-4-1 (38) a shot at his titles. Darchinyan, 31-1-1 (25), from Sydney, >
  
  

• Boxing Update: Arce Targets Darchinyan

  Jorge Arce, one of boxing’s most brash talkers, is no longer clamoring for a fight against WBC super bantamweight champion Israel Vazquez. Arce has now set his sights on >
  
  

• Gary Shaw Boxing: Darchinyan To Fight In Armenia?

  The President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, received Super Flyweight Champion Vic Darchinyan, his promoter Gary Shaw and Gagik Tsarukyan, President of Armenia’s Olympic Committee, on Tuesday in >
  
  

• Darchinyan Unexpectedly In Vegas Boxing Spotlight

  After Jose Luis Castillo's unexpected weight watchers fiasco on the scales yesterday, one of Australian boxing leading hopes, Vic "Raging Bull" Darchinyan, will be thrust into the white hot spotlight >
  
  

• Arce-Darchinyan Set.

  Australian Vic Darchinyan, the man who won his IBF flyweight title by stopping longtime champion Irene Pacheco will fight WBC light flyweight champion Jorge Arce in March. The fight will >
  
  

• Boxing In Australia: Vic Darchinyan Wants Jorge Arce

  Reigning IBF/IBO flyweight world boxing champion Vic "Raging Bull" Darchinyan has his knockout targets set on WBC Interim flyweight champion Jorge Arce. 26 year-old Arce defends his title against Rosendo >
  
  

• Boxing In Las Vegas: Darchinyan Keeps Titles With Win Over Maldonado

  Australian IBF/IBO Flyweight Champion Vic Darchinyan looked impressive last night at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, finishing Mexican challenger Luis Maldonado halfway through the eighth round after >
  
  

---