KINGKONG AGBEKA DOWN ON CANVAS BY RAGING BULL DARCHINYAN             

By Rod Mijares, July 11, 2009
www.Fil-AmBoxers.com 

Joseph “King Kong” Agbeka were down so many times in the 12-round bout courtesy of Vic “Raging Bull”  Darchinyan.  BUT WAIT… it was not because of devastating left hooks by Darchinyan that sent Agbeka to the floor on many occasions but because of the right hand push by the Raging Bull out of frustrations that were more effective than his punches.

Before the fight, Vic Darchinyan was asked if he hate his opponent to be effective in his fight.  He answered in affirmative.  After the fight, he hated Agbeka more for giving him a cut on each eye, for losing the fight and providing not only a devastating setback on his future but also casting doubts on his capacity to win even against unheralded but proven to be more skilled and better boxers.

This championship bout could have been Darchinyan’s bid for a 3rd title in three different divisions.  There was even a text survey on how many weight classes Vic Darchinyan will be champion before the end of his career.  46% voted for more than 3 weight classes.  Sad to say, 46% of those who voted were also stunned, shocked and maybe saddened by the way their boxer failed to get his 3rd title on his first try on his 3rd weight class, the bantamweight division.

Before the main event, the promoters, the crowd and everybody in attendance at the Bank Atlantic Center, Sunrise, Florida paid tribute to Alexis Arguello, Michael Jackson and Arturo Gatti.  Darchinyan dedicated this fight to Alexis Arguello while Joseph Agbeko dedicated it to Michael Jackson, possibly because, his promoter Don King is a business partner and a friend of the Jackson family.  Agbeko, in fact, wore a signature look alike glove of Michael Jackson over his left boxing glove as he entered the ring.

From the first round up to the end, Joseph Agbeka controlled and dictated the tempo of the fight. It was ironic, because the way Darchinyan and Agbeka moved inside the ring during the fight, Darchinyan with his open arms extended on the sides and the slow movements of his legs like trampling on the ring, he could have been the King Kong and not Agbeka.  On the other hand, with constant movements of Agbeka’s head and shoulders and constant weaving of his body punctuated by a lunging straight right to Darchinyan followed with a left hook to the head and body, Agbeka could have been the Raging Bull and not Darchinyan.  These charging and body movements were signature Agbeka from beginning to end that work to his advantage.  Besides Agbeka defended so low at times that it was very disappointing for Darchinyan to unleash his power left hooks as most of the times they hit nothing but air.

Darchinyan suffered a cut on his left eye on the second round.  Before the end of the 3rd round, the crowd went in frenzy as both boxers threw crazy and wild punches as if it’s the end of the world for both of them. 

In the fourth round, Darchinyan connected with a left hook as Agbeka was pinned on the ropes.  He followed this up with a push that sent Agbeka down.  There was a flurry of counter-punches from both protagonists in the early stages of the fifth round.  Darchinyan was on the offensive and tried his best to throw a knockout punch but to no avail but left him breathless.

Darchinyan delivered an effective upper cut to Agbeka in the 6th round.  Again on the 7th round, he hit with a left hook that stunned Agbeka and followed this up with a push with his right hand that again sent Agbeka down on the canvas.  Referee Tommy Kimmons thought it was a blow that reeled Agbeka down as he administered a mandatory 8-count.  This mistake made Team Agbeko to conclude that Agbeko was fighting two opponents instead of one.  To top it off, the timekeeper lost track of the time and extended round 7 for a minute more than the 3-minute per round.

About 20 second to go in the 8th round, Agbeko suffered from a low blow.  When the fight resumed they exchanged blows and fought to the finish even after the bell rang to the crowds pleasure and clamor.  Before the start of the 10th round Darchinyan’s corner instructed him to go for a knockout.  Instead, Darchinyan’s right eye was covered with blood because of an accidental head butt.  Agbeka fought smart along the way and his punches were more effective in hitting their targets.  Darchinyan was so tired and his cuts could have bothered him so much that in the twelve round he resulted to embracing and holding Agbeka most of the time than look for a knockout punch that could have turned the tide around.

Joseph “King Kong” Agbeka of Ghana won by a unanimous decision against the not so “Raging Bull” Vic Darchinyan of Armenia to retain his IBF bantamweight title.  Judge Rocky Young scored it 116-111 while Mike Ross and Michael Pernick both scored 114-113.