Saturday, December 07, 2013
Blog Co-Author
Donaire stops Darchinyan in round 9
Donaire defeated Darchinyan when they first fought in July 2007, knocking the then-unbeaten Armenian out in the fifth round to explode into the world title picture.
Darchinyan has since lost four more matches, while Donaire climbed the pound-for-pound ratings.
Donaire, however, came into Saturday's fight having lost his previous match against Cuban boxer Guillermo Rigondeaux – his first loss in 11 years.
After a slow opening round, the two boxers briefly opened up in the second round when Donaire staggered Darchinyan inside the final minute, only to see Darchinyan respond with hard shots of his own.
Darchinyan seized control in the middle rounds, as he landed the flashier shots while also staggering Donaire in the end of the fifth round with a flurry of punches, although the Filipino was saved by the bell.
Darchinyan was the busier fighter in the sixth until the eighth round, and his work started to show as Donaire began the ninth round with blood flowing out of his nose. But Donaire finally turned on the aggression in that round, staggering Darchinyan with a huge left hook that sent him to his knees.
The Armenian beat the count, but was clearly on wobbly legs. Donaire landed more power shots, eventually pushing Darchinyan to the corner when he unloaded several more blows that prompted the referee to finally stop the fight.
Donaire was awarded a technical knockout victory at the 2:06 mark of the ninth round.
“I tried to work on a different style, which is going back,” said Donaire, who said he was advised by his corner to “box and be smart.” “But part of my body still memorized the fighting style, which worked in the end.”
It was Donaire’s first fight since losing to Rigondeaux in April, and he admitted that he battled some moments of self-doubt, especially when Darchinyan connected on some heavy punches.
“When he hit me in the cheek, I felt like he broke my cheek, and I thought, is this it for me?” Donaire said. “But I put my heart into it, and you know what, I will never ever quit.”
It was a sorry loss for Darchinyan, who had neutralized Donaire’s vaunted left hook in the early rounds using a high guard, which the Filipino was unable to penetrate. Once Donaire was able to pierce his guard, however, the end came quickly for Darchinyan, who suffered his sixth professional loss.
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