Joseph Agbeko dominates Darchinyan and Introduces Himself to the Boxing World

Much was on the line heading into Saturday’s night showdown between IBF Bantamweight Champion Joseph Agbeko and two-division champion Vic Darchinyan. Outside of Agbeko’s prized IBF hardware was a deep matter of passion and pride, as both men had gotten extremely personal with one another in regards to their proclamations of victory. The verbal warfare was intense and many figured the only that could top it was the action that would take place within the ropes when the two men clashed. In the early rounds Agbeko seemed very poised as he appeared to take the first two rounds. The champion from Ghana simply seemed to be a little busier and Darchinyan was having trouble getting off. In the third Agbeko appeared to up the ante as he surprised Darchinyan with numerous right hand shots. Vic appeared to be frustrated but Agbeko remained poised and finished the round with another solid rally. In the fourth Darchinyan came out recklessly with little effect. Agbeko began to take serious control in this stanza and he was befuddling Darchinyan with his lateral movement and unorthodox style. A late rally by Darchinyan didn’t appear to be enough to steal the round. The fifth round started out fast as well as both men exchanged combinations in center ring to start off the round. Agbeko began making the fight more physical and his punches were landing at a higher rate. Darchinyan’s face told the story, as he began bleeding20out of his nose while also appearing to get more gassed. The sixth round was a slow round but you got the feeling that Darchinyan was running out of time, as Agbeko again appeared to edge his older foe. appearing to get more gassed. The sixth round was a slow round but you got the feeling that Darchinyan was running out of time, as Agbeko again appeared to edge his older foe. The seventh was more of the same because even though the action wasn’t scintillating you could tell who was in command. The seventh round saw Darchinyan score a late knockdown that appeared to be somewhat of a push. With the knockdown Darchinyan would look to steal some momentum heading into the next round. In the e ighth round Agbeko turned up the pressure once again, knowing full well he had to regain control of the bout after suffering a knockdown towards the end of the eighth. He did just that and a late round rally by the African punctuated another solid round. Darchinyan had more success in the ninth as he landed some big left hands but Agbeko was undaunted and his chin stood up to everything. In the tenth Darchinyan appeared to get frustrated and shoved Agbeko to the canvas. The champion rose to finish the round strongly. Bleeding and seemingly out of answers, Darchinyan appeared to be in big trouble. Agbeko appeared to make throat slashing gestures to kick off the eleventh round and he could smell victory. He controlled the round with his aggression and began overpowering his Armenian foe. &nbs p; Coming into the final round Agbeko appeared prime and fresh while Darchinyan appeared very weary. Both men fought furiously early on and it was a true sign of the championship quality each possess. As the round came to a close the crowd erupted and rose to their feet. Both men were raised in the air but there was only one clear winner. Scores of 116-111, and shockingly 114-113 twice were read in favor of Agbeko, who retains his IBF title while also showing the boxing world the elite level he is on. At the end of the day we all learned a valuable lesson. No matter how much buzz a fighter has created for himself you never want to overlook his opponent, especially when they are a champion. Vic Darchinyan has proven his toughness but tonight belonged to Joseph ‘King Kong’ Agbeko. Under the bright lights he truly arrived and nobody can take July 11^th away from him.