411’s Prizefight Preview: Mijares vs. Darchinyan
Posted by Matt Knowles on 10.31.2008
For the 1st time in the history of the 115-pound division, all three major belts will be on the line in one bout, with the winner becoming UNDISPUTED junior bantamweight champion!
Welcome back fight freaks! It's time for another edition of the gloriously inaccurate Prizefight Preview!
The "inaccurate" portion of the previous sentence is in reference to how bad my predictions were over the month of October. Vitali Klitschko's destruction of Sam Peter, combined with Bernard Hopkins' turn-back-the-clock performance against Kelly Pavlik, left myself, along with a number of other so-called experts, wondering how we couldn't see those beat-downs coming. My theory of "youth over experience" only panned-out once this past month, with Chad Dawson completely out-gunning Antonio Tarver over 12 surprisingly one-sided rounds. One-outta-three will get you to the all-star game in baseball, but hurts the cred in the prizefight prediction world. Good thing I retired from sports gambling in junior high.
Now, we look forward to what looks to be an outstanding boxing calendar in November, with high-profile bouts all over the weight class grid. Here's a small cut-and-paste visual of what to expect this month (I decided to include MMA cards also, since there are some monster match-ups this month):
Saturday Nov. 1, Showtime: Mijares vs. Darchinyan, undisputed 115-pound championship
Wednesday Nov. 5, Versus: Faber vs. Brown, WEC featherweight championship
Saturday Nov. 8, HBO PPV: Calzaghe vs. Jones, linear light heavyweight championship
Saturday Nov. 15, PPV: Couture vs. Lesnar, UFC heavyweight championship
Saturday Nov. 22, HBO: Hatton vs. Malignaggi, linear light welterweight championship
Saturday Nov. 29, HBO: Williams vs. Phillips, interim WBO junior middleweight title
Friendly reminder to all: you better go out and stock the fridge and freezer ASAP, because your boyz are going to be making a bunch of fight night visits in November!
The first order of business this month takes place on Saturday night, as Showtime will bring us the biggest junior bantamweight bout in over a decade. In the main event, southpaw slickster Cristian Mijares, the WBC/WBA champ, will be looking to further unify the division as he goes head-to-head with hard-hitting IBF title holder "The Raging Bull" Vic Darchinyan. The bout is taking place from the mecca of SoCal boxing, The Home Depot Center in Carson, California, which has recently hosted such bouts as Vasquez-Marquez (1 and 3), De La Hoya-Forbes, and most recently Mosley-Mayorga.
In the good ‘ole days, namely the late 80's and early 90's, there were three recognized title belts in the prizefight world: the WBC, WBA, and IBF. To become "undisputed champion" you had to capture all three of those straps in one weight division. Sounds pretty simple, right?
Well nowadays, with the emergence of the WBO, IBO, Ring Magazine belt, and a variety of other obscure sanctioning bodies, the sport of boxing has become increasingly confusing to keep up with for Average Joe Sportsfan. If "Joe" asks a fight fan who the welterweight champion is, there are at least 5-6 answers that would all be somewhat correct.
Through all of the championships that have come and gone, the "big 3" are still, relatively speaking, the most prestigious and worth-while of the bunch. Therefore, I am going to go ahead and play "boxing god" and choose to not recognize those other so-called championships for the time being, and refer to this Saturday's bout as…
THE UNDISPUTED JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP.
Heck, it just sounds good to say it/hear it/write it/read it….UNDISPUTED
And I'm sure Mijares and Darchinyan are thinkin' the same thing!
In the mythical pound-for-pound debate, Cristian Mijares' name has begun to pop-up on a number of top 10 lists. He made a big splash onto the world scene with his surprisingly dominant performance over fellow Mexican superstar Jorge Arce this past year. Since that time, he has made five other successful defenses of the WBC belt, while also capturing the WBA strap by out-pointing Alexander Munoz back in May. With another victory in a unification bout this Saturday night, Mijares would make a very strong case for consideration as the 2008 Fighter of the Year.
Vic Darchinyan had also been in the pound-for-pound debate, up until a surprising KO loss to Pilipino phenom Nonito Donaire this past year. In that bout, Vic not only lost the IBF flyweight title, but also his stigma of invincibility. Many fighters don't have the pride/confidence to come back from one-punch KO losses (especially those that make the SportsCenter top 10, a feat that is rare in this day and age of boxing). To his credit, Darchinyan re-focused his career path by moving up one division, and, in his most recent contest, thoroughly destroyed Dimitri Kirilov to capture the IBF junior bantamweight strap. With a second world title to his resume, it is safe to assume that the Raging Bull's confidence is back in tact.
There is a great deal of irony in this match-up when you consider the traditional styles of fighters who hail from Mexico and Australia. Mexican prizefighters are generally known for being head first, blood-and-guts brawlers who throw crushing hooks to the head and body. The stigma with Australian fighters is that they are slick-moving boxers with good punching power and pin-point accuracy. With the upcoming match-up between Mijares and Darchinyan, the traditional scripts have been completely flipped!
Vic Darchinyan has an incredibly aggressive, straight-ahead approach that most resembles the classic Mexican style. He marches forward in a southpaw stance and throws lefts and rights from all types of wild angles. Against mediocre competition, his power has spelled doom and produced a number of highlight-reel KO victories. For being such a small man in stature, he produces sensational power, and may be considered one of the top 4-5 punchers in the sport in their respective weight class (personally, I'd put him #2 only behind PacMan).
Since becoming world champion, Cristian Mijares has proven to be one of the best pure boxers on the planet. His southpaw style and rapid jab have provided nightmares for all of his recent foes. While Darchinyan throws shots from a wide trajectory, Mijares has more traditional fundamentals with his combinations, throwing accurate shots up the middle followed by hooks upstairs and downstairs. Combine this type of punching style with a great chin and good power for 115 pounds, and you have yourself a potential star-in-the-making.
The beauty of unification bouts is that, in most cases, each man will be fighting an opponent who is superior to all past foes. This Saturday, in my estimation, will be no different. Mijares has never faced a dynamite puncher the likes of Vic Darchinyan. On the flip-side, the Raging Bull has never had to deal with a master-class boxer with the skill-set that Mijares possesses. Whenever this is the case, the cream always rises to the top, and with a dominant performance, a legacy of greatness can begin for one of the combatants.
So, how are these styles going to blend once the two champions square off at center ring? If recent history has taught us anything, it is that I have been horrible at predicting fights….well, that, plus the notion that the more accurate, straighter puncher will get to the target with greater frequency and effectiveness compared to the free-swinging power puncher (see Vitali Klitschko vs. Sam Peter). This is the main reason that Mijares is the betting favorite, and should escape with a decision victory. Keep in mind, though, that with Darchinyan's lights-out power, one shot could change the entire bout. If Mijares' chin can stand up against the bombs coming his way, he'll be adding a third belt to the trophy case this Saturday night.
Say it with me people: UN – DI – SPUTED!!! (feels good every time!)
