Boxing In Australia: Darchinyan Returns Victorious

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.