In 2008 and 2009 Vic Darchinyan put his historical stamp on boxing. He'd had a good run as a major titlist at flyweight, as a blunt object, beating all contenders about the head. He proved one of the most p4p physically imposing titlists, and as awkward a stylist as he was an imposing hulk of the lower weights. This is a combination few could seemingly overcome, until a young Nonito Donaire, the year before, had figured him out and shut him down with awesome ease. Darchinyan moved up to super flyweight and went back to the drawing board. It wasn't long before he broke down Freddie Roach's Dmitry Kirilov to win one of the four major belts in his new division. In November of 2008, only a few months after Kirilov, Darchinyan would match Mexico's Cristian "El Diamante" Mijares. Mijares, held two of the four major world titles. He was a smooth, conventional operator, and a name in the p4p conversation.
So, we got a unification of most of the marbles. In modern boxing's confusion, 3/4 of these titles tends to make journalists call you "undisputed" though any idiot can make any dispute they wish. It's not difficult (Ask The Flat Earth Society). Whoever won this bout would technically be the first modern fighter to be called undisputed in the super flyweight division. Due to politics, it's nearly impossible to do it in any division. This is why the current cruiserweight tournament deserves so much attention, I might add. So, for real boxing fans, the fighters may have been small, but the 2008 unification match was big. It was also a classic clash of styles, on paper.
A smooth operator VS a rough banger. It's boxing history on repeat. Mijares was thought to be a bit slick for Vic. And too sharp a counter-puncher for the crablike Darchinyan, who was so notoriously aggressive and unconventional, his skill was often missed. At a glance, it might have been too difficult to figure out what skills made Darchinyan successful. A deeper look showed a craftiness shrouded by Darchinyan's poor temperament, bizarre movements, and arrogance. He used deception, distraction, superior reflexes that normally belong to "cuter" boxers, to land the shots that destroyed body and spirit alike. Mijares and fans who didn't see it would soon find out the hard way.
Darchinyan's style flummoxed and broke the Mexican down through most of their match. If round one looked like this. . .
. . .you can easily see how round nine, with the cards in Vic's favor, looked like this:
A ninth round KO to become the "undisputed" super flyweight champion of the world from the modern era's Raging Bull. Even as he raged forward, there was method to the madness, shifting and forcing Mijares backward, measuring with the right, annihilating with the left. He owned the momentum; he shut down any ability for his opponent to set his feet and counter, and ran him over. It was a tremendous performance.
In 2009, Vic would defend the three titles against Jorge Arce in another dominant exhibition of skill and brute strength. That would mark the end of the three fight streak I assume will eventually put him in the Hall of Fame. He'd still win title fights after Arce, but he'd be waxing and waning the entire way, up until 2017, most recently. His wins against Kirilov, Mijares and Arce mark a brief peak for a truly unique fighter, as I see it. With another move up in weight, the kind of power he lorded over flyweights and super flyweights was not to be seen. It was fascinating while it lasted. Mijares is still fighting as well, and he'd go on to win a few more world title fights, but, to this day, the only man to ever stop him was Vic Darchinyan.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
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