Vic Darchinyan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vic Darchinyan Վախթանգ Դարչինյան
Darchinyan in 2011
Statistics
Real name	Vakhtang Darchinyan
Nickname(s)	The Raging Bull
Rated at	Flyweight Super-flyweight Bantamweight Super-bantamweight Featherweight
Height	1.66 m
Reach	164 cm
Born	(1976-01-07) 7 January 1976 (age 49) Vanadzor, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	53
Wins	43
Wins by KO	32
Losses	9
Draws	1
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  Armenia European Championships Bronze 1998 Minsk Flyweight Goodwill Games Bronze 1998 New York Flyweight

Vakhtang "Vic" Darchinyan (born January 7, 1976) is a famous Armenian former professional boxer. He competed from 2000 to 2017. Vic held many world boxing titles in different weight classes. These included the IBF flyweight title from 2004 to 2007. He also held the WBA, WBC, IBF, and lineal super-flyweight titles between 2008 and 2010.

Darchinyan also won four IBO titles. He won them at flyweight, super-flyweight, and twice at bantamweight. This was between 2005 and 2011. Vic is a southpaw boxer, meaning he fights with his left hand forward. He had a unique style and powerful punches. In 2004, he became the first Armenian boxer to win a world title.

Vic Darchinyan's Early Life

Vic Darchinyan was born on January 7, 1976, in Vanadzor, Armenia. His father, Ruben Darchinyan, was an Olympic wrestling coach for Armenia. Sometimes, Ruben's name could be seen on Vic's boxing shorts. Vic also has a sister named Liana.

When Vic was 5, he wanted to be a boxer. He dreamed of becoming a world champion. His father told him there was no professional boxing in Armenia back then. Instead, his father wanted Vic to become a wrestler. Vic did wrestle as a child, but he always said he would become a world boxing champion. He later left wrestling to follow his dream.

Darchinyan met his wife, Olga, in Sydney, Australia, in 2001. Olga is an English teacher. They got married a year later. In 2007, they had a son named Ruben II.

Amateur Boxing Career

Vic started boxing at age 8 in Vanadzor, where boxing was very popular. He was trained by Vazgen Badalyan. As an amateur, Darchinyan won 158 fights and lost 18. He had 105 knockouts.

Vic boxed in many countries for Armenia. He competed in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. He reached the third round in his weight class. He lost to Bulat Jumadilov from Kazakhstan. After the Olympics, Darchinyan moved to Australia. He became an Australian citizen that same year. He became a professional boxer at age 24 on November 3, 2000.

Vic Darchinyan won a bronze medal at the 1998 European Amateur Boxing Championships. He also won a bronze medal at the 1998 Goodwill Games. In the same year, he won a bronze medal at the 1998 Boxing World Cup.

Olympic Results

• Defeated Ilfat Ryazapov (Russia) 20–11
• Lost to Bulat Jumadilov (Kazakhstan) 8–15

Professional Boxing Career

Vic Darchinyan was promoted by Gary Shaw Promotions. From 2000 to 2004, Vic won 21 fights without any losses. He won 16 of these by knockout. During this time, he won the Australian, Oceanic, and Pan Pacific flyweight titles.

Becoming IBF Champion

On December 16, 2004, Vic won his first world title. He defeated the undefeated champion Irene Pacheco in the United States. Pacheco had been champion for over five years. Vic won by technical knockout in the 11th round.

His first title defense was in Australia on March 27, 2005. He fought Mzukisi Sikali. Vic won by technical knockout in the 8th round. He defended his title again on August 24, 2005, against Jair Jimenez. Vic knocked Jimenez down in round 4 and won in the 5th.

On March 3, 2006, Vic defended his title against Diosdado Gabi. Vic knocked him out with a left punch in the 8th round. Three months later, he stopped Luis Maldonado in the 8th round. In his fifth title defense, Vic faced Glenn Donaire on October 7, 2006. Vic won when Glenn Donaire gave up during the fight.

On March 3, 2007, Darchinyan fought former champion Victor Burgos. Vic knocked Burgos down in the second round. He stopped him in the twelfth round. Burgos was seriously injured and could not fight again.

On July 7, 2007, Darchinyan lost his first fight. He lost to Nonito Donaire, Glenn Donaire's younger brother. Darchinyan was knocked down in the fifth round. The referee stopped the fight. Darchinyan lost his IBF and IBO flyweight titles. This fight was named "Knockout of the Year" and "Upset of the Year."

Moving to Super-Flyweight

Three months later, Darchinyan won the vacant IBO super flyweight title. He stopped Federico Catubay in the 12th round.

On February 2, 2008, Darchinyan fought Z Gorres in the Philippines. The fight ended in a split draw, which means the judges had different scores. Darchinyan knocked Gorres down in the first round. Gorres also knocked Darchinyan down in the second round. The fight was very close and had some confusing moments.

Despite the draw, Darchinyan earned the chance to fight for the IBF title.

Winning a Second World Title

Six months later, on August 2, 2008, Darchinyan fought IBF super-flyweight champion Dimitri Kirilov. Vic showed great speed and boxing skills. He knocked Kirilov down twice in the 5th round and won by knockout.

Becoming Unified WBA and WBC Champion

On November 1, 2008, Darchinyan fought Cristian Mijares. Mijares held the WBC and WBA super-flyweight titles. Darchinyan was aggressive from the start. He knocked Mijares down in the first round. In the ninth round, Darchinyan landed a strong left punch that knocked Mijares out. Darchinyan became the first boxer to hold all three major titles in this weight class.

Darchinyan successfully defended his WBC, WBA, IBF, and lineal titles on February 7, 2009. He fought Jorge Arce and won by technical knockout in the 11th round. Arce had cuts on both eyes, so the doctor stopped the fight.

On December 12, 2009, Darchinyan defended his WBC, WBA, and lineal titles against Tomás Rojas. He won by knockout in the 2nd round. On March 6, 2010, Darchinyan defended his titles again against Rodrigo Guerrero. He won by a unanimous decision.

In June 2009, The Ring ranked Darchinyan as one of the top 10 boxers in the world.

Moving to Bantamweight

Darchinyan decided to move up to the bantamweight division. On July 11, 2009, he fought IBF champion Joseph Agbeko. Darchinyan lost by unanimous decision. Despite this loss, he was still the super-flyweight champion for the WBC and WBA.

On May 20, 2010, Darchinyan won the vacant IBO bantamweight title. He defeated Eric Barcelona by unanimous decision in Australia.

Vic then joined a four-man bantamweight tournament. On December 11, 2010, he lost to Abner Mares by a split decision. Many people thought Darchinyan had won the fight.

On April 23, 2011, Darchinyan fought Yonnhy Pérez in a third-place match. Vic knocked Perez down in the second round. He was in control of the fight. The fight ended in the fifth round when Perez was cut by an accidental headbutt. Darchinyan won. He dedicated his victory to the victims of the 1915 Armenian genocide.

On September 3, 2011, Darchinyan fought Evans Mbamba in Armenia. Vic won by unanimous decision. He kept his IBO bantamweight title.

On December 3, 2011, Vic faced WBA champion Anselmo Moreno. Moreno used his longer reach to win the fight. The judges scored a unanimous decision for Moreno.

On April 6, 2012, Darchinyan lost to WBC bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka in Japan. Darchinyan was ahead on points early in the fight. A clash of heads caused a bad cut on Darchinyan's eyebrow. He fought with blood in his eyes and lost the decision.

Super-Bantamweight and Featherweight

Darchinyan moved up in weight again. On September 29, 2012, he defeated Luis Del Valle. He won the vacant NABF super bantamweight title.

A rematch between Vic Darchinyan and Nonito Donaire happened on November 9, 2013. Darchinyan, at 37, fought well against the younger Donaire. He was leading on the scorecards. But in the 9th round, he was knocked down and the fight was stopped.

After this, Darchinyan moved up to featherweight. On May 31, 2014, he challenged Nicholas Walters for his WBA featherweight title. Darchinyan was knocked out in the fifth round.

He won his next fight against Juan Jimenez in Mexico on February 7, 2015. He won by TKO in the 9th round. On June 6, 2015, he lost to Jesús Cuellar by TKO in the 8th round. Darchinyan finished 2015 with two more knockout wins. He won the vacant WBC–ABCO super bantamweight title.

In 2016, he was knocked out by Sergio Frias. He did not fight for the rest of that year.

After some time off, Darchinyan knocked out Pakpoom Hammarach in one round on March 10, 2017. This fight was in Australia. It was his last fight there. He has said his next fight will be his very last.

Outside of Boxing

On September 21, 2008, Darchinyan and fellow boxer Arthur Abraham were honored by Armenian President Serge Sargsyan. They received medals for their "great services for Armenia."

Professional Boxing Record

See Also

In Spanish: Vic Darchinyan para niños

• List of flyweight boxing champions
• List of super-flyweight boxing champions
• List of WBA world champions
• List of WBC world champions
• List of IBF world champions
• List of WBO world champions