By Francisco Salazar at ringside
Photos: Big Joe Miranda
Former two-division world champion Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan (36-3-1, 27 KOs) won a five round technical decision former IBF bantamweight champion Yonnhy “El Colombiano” Perez (20-2-1, 14 KOs) to claim the vacant IBO bantamweight belt on Saturday night at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles. Darchinyan rocked Perez in round one, knocked him down in round two and was in command all the way. The bout ended when Perez was cut by an accidental headbutt at 1:07 of round five. Scores were 50-44 on all cards.
Dr. Paul Wallace told the assembled media immediately after Vic Darchinyan’s fifth round technical decision victory over Yonnhy Perez: “There was arterial bleeding from the cut. The blood was dripping into his (Perez’s) eye, which would hinder his vision. Perez gave no indication that he wanted the fight stopped. The stoppage was strictly medical.”
Heavyweight DaVarryl Williamson stopped Michael Marrone in the seventh round of a scheduled 10 round bout. Williamson (27-6, 22 KO’s) dropped Marrone with a right hand to the head in the third round. Marrone (19-3, 14 KO’s) had his moments, despite his left eye swelling up. Williamson hurt Marrone in the seventh with another right to the head, dropping him with another right, prompting referee Zac Young to stop the fight at 2:30.
Junior welterweight Art Hovhannisyan stopped Jose Alfredo Lugo in the fifth round of a scheduled six round bout. Whether he boxed or brawled on the inside, Hovhannisyan (13-0-1, 7 KO’s) controlled the action. In the fifth, Hovhannisyan hurt Lugo (11-16-1, 5 KO’s) with a left hook to the head, then pushed him down to the canvas. Referee Zac Young ruled it a knockdown, eventually stopping the bout at 1:57 as he thought Lugo had taken too much punishment.
Junior welterweight Omar Figueroa stopped John Figueroa in the second round of a scheduled eight round bout. Omar Figueroa (11-0-1, 9 KO’s) was on the offensive, attacking the body throughout the bout. He dropped John Figueroa (7-10-3, 3 KO’s) in the second round with a right uppercut, followed by a straight right to the head. John Figueroa got up, but was taking too much punishment, prompting his corner to tell referee Jack Reiss to stop the fight at 2:05.
Flyweight Miguel Diaz (5-0, 3 KO’s) remained unbeaten with a four round unanimous decision over Alejandro Solorio. Diaz was hurt in the first round by a hard body shot by Solorio (4-4, 3 KO’s). Both fighters had their moments in the second and third until Solorio was dropped by a Diaz right hand in the third. Solorio survived, but was visibly tired in the fourth. All three judges scored the bout 39-36 in favor of Diaz.
In a four round junior lightweight war, Juan Reyes won a four round unanimous decision over Azat Hovahannisyan, who was making his professional debut. Both had their moments in the first two rounds, but Reyes (1-1) hurt Hovahannisyan repeatedly in the third. Hovahannisyan survived the round and was able to win the fourth, but it was not enough as Reyes won by scores of 40-36, 40-36, and 38-37.
