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Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan arrived in the U.S. late last week to finish training as he looks to become a world champion in a third weight class when he challenges International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight champion Joseph “King Kong” Agbeko on Saturday, July 11, live on Showtime (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).
Darchinyan has already solidified his status as the No. 1 super flyweight in the world and one of the top pound-for-pound boxers. Now, with less than one month to go before his highly anticipated showdown with Agbeko, Darchinyan is back in the U.S. , where he has been dominant in his last three world title fights.
The world championship match will originate from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise , Fla. , and is being co-promoted by Don King Productions and Gary Shaw Productions, LLC.
“Hurricane Vic is building up steam and should be at full strength by the time it makes landfall in Florida on July 11,” said Gary Shaw, Darchinyan’s promoter. “King Kong Agbeko will be sunk into a tropical depression of immense proportions when Vic finishes with him.”
The hard-hitting, Australian, by way of Armenia , arrived in Las Vegas on Thursday, June 4, for a full month of intense training leading up to the fight at Johnny Tocco’s Boxing Gym.
“I’m just starting to get used to this weather,” Darchinyan said. “It’s too hot here. I came from cold weather in Sydney to the hot humidity here. There’s a big difference. I can tell sweating in the gym.”
“But, it’s getting better and I’m getting used to it. In one more week, I will be ready for the fight and in perfect condition. The heat here is similar to the heat and humidity in Florida , so this will help.”
Darchinyan says his training camp has been going as planned, and fans can expect to see more of the polished boxing skills he displayed in recent fights to go along with his devastating hooks and jabs.
“My training has been going great,” Darchinyan said. “I started my first sparring session in Las Vegas today (Wednesday, June 10). I’ve been preparing very hard and, physically, I’m going to be much stronger than I was in my last fight
Darchiyan is on a strict high-protein diet consisting of large amounts of fish, non-fatty meat and fresh soup that is prepared a particular way.
He completed his weightlifting workout while training in Sydney . Now, with just one month to go, he is focusing on cardio and sparring. A typical routine day for Darchinyan consists of running, push-ups, sit-ups and sparring.
The Darchinyan camp has rented a house so that their training in Las Vegas is similar to life at home in Sydney .
“Everything is going as planned. Everything is perfect. In one more month I will be 110 percent ready for the fight.”
Never shy to give his thoughts on the fight and his opponent, Darchinyan, as always, predicts a knockout.
“The guy (Agbeko) is talking big,” Darchinyan said. “He’s saying that he’s too big for me and that I’m small. He says he’s going to send me back to my weight division. But when I punch him and I punish him, he is going to see a big difference from what his other opponents have given him. I’m going to be much more powerful than any one he has faced.
“I’m going to knock him out. From the first round, I am going to go after him, punish him, punish him and knock him out. I’m going to show the fans a real good knockout and a very good, exciting fight.”
Darchinyan (32-1, 26 KOs) solidified his status as the No. 1 super flyweight in the world – and one of the top boxers pound-for-pound – with back-to-back impressive victories over Jorge Arce last Feb. 7 on Showtime and Christian Mijares on Nov. 1, 2008, on Showtime.
An Australia-based Armenian, Darchinyan exited his signature victory over Mijares with the IBF, World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA) 115-pound belts. A former IBF flyweight champion, Darchinyan is appearing on Showtime for a ninth time.
Agbeko (26-1,22 KOs), of New York by way of Ghana, will be making the second defense of the 118-pound crown he won with a seventh-round TKO over Luis Perez in August 2007. A winner of five in a row, Agbeko is coming off a 12-round decision over William Gonzalez on Dec, 11, 2008.
The 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.
