For Love of the Game: Vic Darchinyan manhandles Luis Del Valle

Photo Credit: VakthangVicDarchinyan/Facebook

There was a time when Vic Darchinyan was the most feared fighter in his division. There was a time when Vic Darchinyan could gore and bully his way against anybody who dared to step into his path. There was a time when Vic Darchinyan was invincible in the eyes of many boxing observers. Yes, there was a time when Vic Darchinyan, the Raging Bull from Armenia fighting out of Australia was on top of the boxing world...

Up until he came across the nightmare that is Nonito Donaire, Jr., and his myth of invincibility went pfft. And with a single blow from Donaire's wicked left hook to the chin, Vic Darchinyan's world crumbled to the ground and he was never the same again.

After that first blot on his once-unblemished career, Vic Darchinyan embarked on a rollercoaster ride: eking out a draw against Z Gorres; bombing his way through Dmitri Kirilov, Christian Mijares and Jorge Arce; stumbling against Joseph Agbeko and Abner Mares; rebounding against Yonnhy Perez and then dropping consecutive losses to Anselmo Moreno and Shinsuke Yamanaka.

At 36, Vic Darchinyan, who once held at one time or another every major championship belt in boxing's alphabet soup in every division that he fought in, is obviously at the tail-end of his career. But Vic Darchinyan is a proud man, more so a very proud fighter. His pride and desire to win is the fire that fuels his drive to fight whoever and whenever the boxing gods bring him.

And so, it was on Saturday night that he brought his wares to the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut for the HBO Boxing After Dark fight card against a young and undefeated prospect in Luis Del Valle in a 10-round bout (the first time Darchinyan has appeared in a 10-rounder in 10 years) for the 'lowly' NABF super bantamweight crown.

Vic Darchinyan, who used to headline his fights, but had to play second fiddle to the Edwin Rodriguez-Jason Escalera main event this time around, did not mind the demotion. All Vic Darchinyan was concerned about was to give a good account of himself inside the ring as well as show that he still has the goods to be a player in his division.

Right after the opening bell as his wont and amid the chants of his fans and supporters, Vic Darchinyan immediately initiates contact. He attacks and probes Luis Del Valle's defenses. The two fighters exchanged power punches, testing each others will and chin.

The partisan crowd chanted Dar-chin-yan! Dar-chin-yan! as they applauded their fighter, unorthodox and herky-jerky and trying to bully his way against the young Luis Del Valle.

Luis Del Valle, a brave young lion, stood his ground and tried to engage Vic Darchinyan punch for punch, power for power and grit for grit. But as the fight went on, it was obvious that the young fighter's will was no match for the veteran's aggression.

Vic Darchinyan used every trick in the book to daze and confuse his young inexperienced opponent. He bulldozed and rushed his way, pushing and smothering his opponent as he pummeled him with power shot after power shot. He would hug and clinch his way out of trouble on a few times that Del Valle's punches found its mark.

Vic Darchinyan descended on Luis Del Valle with mean intentions, throwing bombs along the way. But Luis Del Valle showed his big heart and strong will. His chin took all that Darchinyan could give and dished out his own brand of damage.

In rounds 4 and 5, Vic Darchinyan started to wither his game opponent as Del Valle elected to engage him in a brawl. Vic Darchinyan, by this time, was landing his big left upstairs.

In round 6, Vic Darchinyan gave Luis Del Valle lessons in pro boxing, old dirty tricks and all: leading with his heads, elbows, forearms, etc. The rough-house tactics took their toll on Luis Del Valle, and he has the marks and cuts to show for it -- a cut on the bridge of the nose as well as a gash on the chin.

The brutal beating continued in rounds 7 and 8 as Luis Del Valle traded with Vic Darchinyan, but the Armenian was beating him to the punch and landing at will. But Luis Del Valle is a young warrior and so full of heart; he would come back albeit landing one hard shot at a time while receiving several hard shots in the exchanges.

In the last 60 seconds of the fight, he landed a right hand on Darchinyan that made him backtrack a bit and momentarily halted the attacks. However, Vic Darchinyan came back and retaliated with hard shots of his own up until the end of the round.

The last two rounds were an exhibit of 'how to take everything on the chin,' literally and figuratively speaking. Despite at the receiving end of vicious punches, you can never count Luis Del Valle out though, a young and determined fighter with power in both hands who is always dangerous at any time in any round in a fight.

The 9th round looked one-sided in favor of Vic Darchinyan, looking more like the Raging Bull of old; he is administering a good old fashioned beating on his opponent when Luis Del Valle's left hook snuck and found its mark on Darchinyan's face, visibly rocking him and stopping him in his tracks. Luis Del Valle tried to move in for the kill but Vic Darchinyan fought back while eluding his attacker's assaults and survived the round.

Vic Darchinyan may be dominating and menacing in the ring but his style also makes him vulnerable; thus, there is always drama in his fights. And most fight fans love these kinds of drama.

Vic Darchinyan came back strong in the 10th and final round to seal the win. The judges gave Vic Darchinyan a unanimous decision winning by 99-91, 99-91, 96-94 on all scorecards. Vic Darchinyan landed a high 54% 205/381 of his powershots to Luis Del Valle's anemic 25% 129/524. Luis Del Valle threw more punches 577 to 552 but Vic Darchinyan landed more 227 to 132, a 41% to 23% statistical edge.

Vic Darchinyan traveled to Connecticut and may have gotten himself an 'insignificant' piece of hardware if we put into account where he was coming from. But to Vic Darchinyan, it does not really matter whether the price is big or small, because all he wants to do is fight.

Yes, the Raging Bull showed that there is still a lot of fight left in him, and Vic Darchinyan wants to have more fights in the future and it will not hurt boxing if we give him more chances to fight.

 Note: This article was previously published on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner

Road To Glory: Edwin Rodriguez bombs his way to victory

In the main event of HBO Boxing After Dark's "Road To Glory" fight card at the MGM Grand's Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT, Edwin Rodriguez made his case very clear by drubbing into submission erstwhile unbeaten boxer Jason Escalera in the 8th round of their 10 round bout for the USBA super middleweight belt.

In the aftermath of the one-sided carnage, Edwin Rodriguez, who is undefeated with 22 wins and 15 knockouts on his resume, proclaimed that he is ready to step up and face the likes of Kelly Pavlik or any other marquee fighter who wants a piece of his scalp.

"Today I wanted to send a message and I believe I did. I'm ready now. My promoter and manager have done a great job moving me along and if they think I'm ready, I'm ready."

Caught in the euphoria of his win, Edwin Rodriguez even vowed that he is willing to move up to light heavyweight and challenge former WBC titlist and Ring Magazine Champion Jean Pascal if the latter obliges their friendship notwithstanding.

"Pascal is a good friend, but this is business. If he wants to get it on, I'm down as well."

The fight with Jason Escalera (13-1, 12 KOs) was an easy one for the bigger and heavier Edwin Rodriguez as he used and exploited his advantages in talent and power over his raw and inexperienced opponent to perfection. Rodriguez ballooned to 186 lbs from 166 lbs while Escalera rehydrated to 176 from 165 lbs after the weigh-in the day before the fight.

Edwin Rodriguez outworked, outwitted and outslugged Jason Escalera round after round en route to an 8th round TKO when the referee Steve Smoger finally stopped the one-sided fight just 8 seconds into the fateful round when Rodriguez cornered and continued to pummel the obviously hurt and almost defenseless Escalera in the corner. The dazed Jason Escalera, with blood oozing from his busted right ear from Rodriguez' vicious hard lefts, submitted to the referee's verdict without protest.

The omen of things to come came early just seconds into the first round when Edwin Rodriguez, nicknamed "La Bomba," unleashed his bombs right away and caught Jason Escalera early in the chin with a power shot that sent his mouthpiece out of his mouth and onto the canvass. He would receive several more hard blows downstairs and upstairs from Rodriguez's hard two-fisted attacks up until 2:05 remaining in the round when the referee had to stop the beatdown so that Jason Escalera could have his mouthpiece back in place.

The short respite was to no avail as Edwin Rodriguez resumed bombing his way into Jason Escalera's porous defense, landing 49 of his 82 powershots in the round. What Jason Escalera lacked in experience and skills, though, he more than made up for in his huge heart and showed that he possesses a granite chin, as he absorbed everything that his opponent threw his way while applying token resistance and trying to shake off the cobwebs in his head.

It was all downhill from there for Jason Escalera as he tried to wage an uphill battle with an opponent who is not only better skilled and talented than him, but also has a vast array of weapons in his arsenal.

The story of the fight was the glaring contradiction between the two protagonists in poise, savvy, experience, power, talent and skills. The story of the fight was Edwin Rodriguez's constant pressure and consistent overhands, hooks and upper cuts to Jason Escalera's ineffective counterpops. It was also the story of Escalera's 'flying mouthpiece' and Rodriguez's accuracy with his power shots as Jason Escalera's mouthpiece was dislodged from his mouth on numerous occasions as a result of Edwin Rodriguez's bombs connecting with his mouth, jaw and chin.

Punch Statistics showed that Edwin Rodriguez stamped his class over the hapless Jason Escalera in this particular fight. Rodriguez connected 195/335 power punches for a 58% accuracy compared to Escalera's woeful 65/222, 29% connection rate and outlanding him 231/537 for a 43% clip compared to 95/440, 22% total punches.

Yes, the slow, methodical and deliberate beating that Edwin Rodriguez delivered on Jason Escalera is a mirror of his maturity and readiness for bigger fights ahead. The verdict is still out there though for Edwin Rodriguez, and a future fight with the likes of Kelly Pavlik and the other big names in the division will show his real worth as a prizefighter.

The win was doubly sweet for Edwin Rodriguez since it happened on the birthday of his twins, who were born 'premature' six years ago to the day.

Note: This article was previously published on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner

ESPN First Take: Mayweather-Pacquiao Saga Continues

Fight to Educate: Demetrius Andrade schools and blasts Alexis Hloros in two

Middleweight boxer Alexis "Hurricane" Hloros (16-5-2, 12 KOs) of Mt. Clemens, a prime attraction at Michigan's famed Royal Oak Music Theatre wherein he made a career of plastering patsies to pad his records, was himself plastered Thursday night by undefeated contender and 2008 Olympian Demetrius "Boo Boo" Andrade (18-0, 13 KOs) inside two rounds at the 11th annual Fight To Educate Pro-Am card held at the Wireless Verizon Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Demetrius Andrade neutralized the Hurricane early and did not commit any boo-boos as he schooled the Michigan native in the finer aspects of the sweet science, eventually stopping him in the second round of the 10-round bout.

On paper, Alexis Hloros' record might be good, but a closer examination will reveal that most of his wins were against fighters with losing and atrocious records, and the only other time that he stepped up in opposition was against James Kirkland in 2011 wherein he also got blasted within two rounds.

Fight To Educate is a "charity event that combines a love of sports with the vision of assisting children and seniors in need, who with fundraisers like this could be 'down for the count.' During the past 10 years, Fight To Educate has raised more than $500,000 in donations benefitting local New Hampshire non-profit organizations."

The organizers revealed that "proceeds from the 11th annual Fight To Educate will benefit SEE Science Center (www.see-sciencecenter.org), The Bobby Stephens Fund for Education (www.stepheneducationfund.com), and New Horizons for New Hampshire."

ESPN First Take: Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. speaks about his future, jail time and Manny Pacquiao

Credits: David Becker/Getty Images

After his release from jail, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has so far managed to maintain a low profile when it comes to his career and personal life. Except for a few interviews here and there, Mayweather has been quiet on all fronts; no mean feat for a person who historically craves the limelight and a magnet of controversy both in his words and actions.

In one of the interviews he did for FightHype, a sober Floyd Mayweather, Jr. opened up his mind and bared some of his plans. He spoke about his personality ("It's about having personality, you know. You gotta be outspoken and have personality. It's not really the bad guy. I enjoy entertaining. That's what it's about, giving the fans excitement and entertainment. Some pay to see me win, some pay to see me lose, but they all pay."), his relationship with his rapper buddy 50 Cent ("everything that he touch turns to gold"), his promotions company, his time in a Las Vegas prison, and of course, Manny Pacquiao.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. gave us a glimpse of his life in jail which included his distrust of the food that was being served, "I was surviving off commissary. I didn't eat the food at all...I don't like it and I didn't trust it" and the activities that he did to keep himself in good physical shape, like ridiculously pushing himself to do push-ups -- from a few hundreds to a thousand push-ups or more per day -- "I started doing 436 pushups a day. Then I went from 436 to 872. Then I went to 1308, so I was doing like 1300 pushups a day."

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. also divulged that he also found time to read while incarcerated, "I was doing a lot of reading from the fans, and just reading different books, different magazines." It would have been interesting to know what kind of books and magazines Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has found a liking to, except that the interviewer did not pursue the topic.

But the most telling part of the interview was the one regarding his views and positions on fighting Manny Pacquiao. His ambivalence on the topic was palpable as he tried to explain his reasons, as well as reiterating his uncompromising stand on his demands.

"I don't have any hate towards Manny Pacquiao, you know. I respect him, but I'm just saying, it's not a crime. I'm also saying I'ma do random blood and urine testing, you know, just so I can be in a clean sport. That's all I'm asking."

"Actually, we don't do the same type of numbers, so how can we split? We don't draw the same type of money."

"It's kind of hard. I mean, Arum wants money, but the thing is, it's about putting the fighters in a good position. It's about Pacquiao and Mayweather. It's about putting both fighters in a good position, and of course I'm going to put myself in a good position."

"I can't really say why he won't do the random blood and urine tests...at this particular time, I don't know if he wants to do it or not."

These pronouncements are nothing but empty rhetorics though, since we have all heard this before. These pronouncements are nothing but a sad refrain from a fighter who is showing ambivalence in fighting the one person who could test his will and limits as a prizefighter. There is no question that Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is one of the greatest fighters of his era and is actually favored to beat Manny Pacquiao if ever they face each other in the ring, but until the day happens we will never really know the answer.

Obviously, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is putting the blame on Bob Arum for the failed negotiations of the megafight. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is still adamant that he will call the shots when it comes to the purse split as well as the percentage of the pay-per-view revenue. And lastly, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. makes it appear that Manny Pacquiao is still against random blood testing. (For the record, Manny Pacquiao has gone on record on numerous occasions that there is no more problem on his part with the blood testing issue -- random, Olympic or otherwise.)

And Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has this to say as a parting shot, "The only thing I can continue to do is, if I do fight again, I'll fight whoever they put in front of me."

It would have been great for boxing if only Floyd Mayweather, Jr. would be true to his pronouncements, but based on his track record, we will all need to take everything that he says with a grain of salt.

  Note: This article was previously published on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner