NOKIA THEATER, LOS ANGELES, CA — Vic Darychinyan (36-3-1, 27 KOs) used his well-known power and aggression to jump out to an early lead and hold firm for a fifth round technical decision win last night over Yonnhy Perez (20-2-1, 14 KOs).
Darchinyan tested Perez’s durability early and often with heavy left hand shots. The Raging Bull landed the punch flush several times in round one. However, Perez fired back with body shots to back off Darchinyan’s attack.
Round two was all Darchinyan. He scored an early knockdown off a compact left uppercut. Perez beat the count only to receive whipping right jabs followed by another left uppercut. Perez laid on the ropes while Darchiyan unloaded a fusillade of 1-2s and uppercuts. Perez, showing a resilient chin, refused to go down again despite being in dire straits. Darchinyan followed up with more straight lefts as Perez tried to back away. A right hook wobbled him, and Perez found himself again rocked by a left uppercut to close out the stanza.
Yonnhy Perez returned from the grave in round three by the taking the fight inside. The Colombian found a home for overhand rights and short left hooks. Darchinyan made it ugly with some shoves, but his punches had far less steam than what was seen in round two. He came back in round four, nearly knocking down Perez with a huge, partially blocked left hand. Perez was still landing on the inside, but Darchinyan’s power was much more pronounced. Another promising observance for Darchinyan fans was the fact the Raging Bull was now making a point to attack his opponent to the body. Still, Perez remained unwithered by several hard straight lefts and an awkward right hook.
The all-action fight was dashed in the fifth when Darchinyan barrled headfirst into Perez, who was stationary against the ropes. The errant headbutt produced a gushing, jagged cut between Perez’s eyes. The ref called the fight with the ok of Perez. With five rounds in the books, Darchinyan’s early blitz was enough to give him a clear win with the score of 50-44 on all three cards.
With Abner Mares vs. Joseph Agbeko lost to injury, Darchinyan was able to shine and re-establish his name at bantamweight. The Raging Bull is now in line to face the Mares-Agbeko winner or possibly reignite the stalled talks to rematch Nonito Donaire. Gary Shaw, who promotes Darchinyan, advised that he will petition the IBF to sanction for an interim title fight with #4 ranked Abner Mares, who defeated Darchinyan by a close split decision back in December. Perez was ranked #7 going into last night’s fight.
“Bantamweight is a hot weight to be at right now and the powers in boxing should work to make as many of these stellar matchups happen as soon as possible,” Shaw explained. “Plus, Abner Mares should have the right to fight for the IBF title and shouldn’t have to wait an inordinate amount of time. There are so many action fights to be made at this weight. I’m sure when Joseph is well again he’ll defend against the interim champion in another great fight.”
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 