Sydney, 15th February 2006: Reigning IBF/IBO flyweight world boxing champion Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan has signed a promotional agreement with high profile American Gary Shaw, one of the world’s most influential boxing promoters. “I am very pleased to be working with Gary Shaw,” said Darchinyan, Australia’s only current professional mens boxing world champion. “He promotes some of the best boxers in the world today and I know that he can help me get the big fights in the USA that I have wanted.”
“Gary Shaw Productions, LLC” promotes four of the sports brightest stars in lightweight Diego Corrales, featherweight Manny Pacquiao, super middleweight Jeff Lacy and middleweight Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright. Darchinyan, the Armenian born, Australian citizen is another impressive addition to Shaw’s collection of world champion boxers.
“I am very happy to have Vic in the GSP family,” said Shaw. “He may be a flyweight in size, but he is a heavyweight when it comes to power and heart. Vic can fight and I expect him to be a world champion for years to come.”
Shaw rivals Don King, Bob Arum and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions as being one of the most powerful boxing promoters in the world today. His interest in Darchinyan speaks volumes for the 30 year-old, whose dazzling undefeated record stands at 24 wins from 24 fights with 19 wins by knockout, as being one of the best boxers in the world today.
“Vic can be a great multi-division world champion,” said Shaw. “It’s just that nobody knows he exists right now. As soon as people know he exists, it will be a completely different story for him.”
Gary Shaw began his New Jersey, USA based company in 2002, bringing a unique background from the regulatory and promotional sides of boxing. A member of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission from 1971-1998, Shaw then ran promotional company Main Events as its COO for the next four years before leaving to start his own company. He has promoted or co-promoted some of the biggest fights in the past eight years, including: Lewis vs. Tyson; Trinidad vs. Vargas; Castillo vs. Corrales I & II; Lewis vs. Klitschko; Tyson vs. Etienne; Tyson vs. Williams; Trinidad vs. Wright; Mosley vs. Wright and Lewis vs. Tua.
Promising bigger fights and greater world-wide exposure, Shaw has delivered immediately with Darchinyan’s next world title defence now set for Friday March 3, 2006 at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California in the USA. He will face 26 year-old Diosdado Gabi from the Philippines, who is rated No.4 in the world by the IBF and No.2 by the WBC.
Major American television network SHOWTIME will televise the fight across the USA as the main event of their “SHOBOX: The New Generation” series to an audience in the multi-millions, which will significantly boost the profile of Darchinyan.
The Darchinyan vs. Gabi fight will be televised live into Australia by Main Event Pay-Per-View at 3pm Eastern on Saturday March 4, 2006.
“This is a great opportunity for Vic,” said Darchinyan’s trainer and boxing great Jeff Fenech. “People will now see what I have been seeing for a long time. Vic Darchinyan is one of the most exciting and destructive boxers in the world pound for pound.”
Southpaw Darchinyan has previously targeted current WBC Interim flyweight world champion Jorge Arce from Mexico as the biggest fight for him in the USA right now. Darchinyan and Fenech travelled to Mexico on January 28 to see Arce’s latest win over Adonis Rivas. After the fight, Darchinyan entered the boxing ring, took the microphone and publicly challenged Arce.
“After I take care of business with Gabi, I want Jorge Arce,” said Darchinyan. “We met face to face and I told him I wanted to fight him. I loved his response. ‘I’ll fight you, but remember this was YOUR idea.’ He will find out the meaning of ‘interim’ when he gets into the ring with me!”
Gary Shaw has every intention of doing whatever he can to make Darchinyan vs. Arce a reality in 2006.
“I’m going to try and put Vic and Arce together,” he said. “I believe that Vic can beat Arce. I’m seeing Bob Arum and I will be speaking with him about a fight with Arce. He is the guy who you would want to fight and he is the one guy in that weight class right now who is getting all the press. Arce is the guy I want Vic to fight.”
“Arce is very popular in Mexico and the USA,” said Darchinyan. “He has a big name, but when I beat him, people will see that I am the best flyweight in the world.”
Arce (42 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw, 32 knockouts), had two wins over Darchinyan’s Team Fenech training partner Hussein Hussein in 2005. But the “Raging Bull” has watched Arce’s performances closely and has no doubt that he will win if the fight can be made. “He is a tough fighter, but he is not smart at all,” he said. “He comes straight at you. He doesn’t run. He comes forward and I can stop him. I know I can beat him. I will destroy him!”
Darchinyan, who has also launched his new website www.VicDarchinyan.com, captured the IBF flyweight world title by knocking out defending champion Irene Pacheco from Colombia in the 11th round of their December 16, 2004 clash in Florida, USA. The previously undefeated Pacheco, whose record was 30 wins from 30 fights with 23 knockouts, had successfully defended his title six times, five by knockout, since winning it in 1999.
Darchinyan added the IBO flyweight world title to his collection in his next fight by knocking out South African Mzukisi Sikali in the eighth round of their title unification bout at Homebush in Sydney on March 27, 2005.
In his last bout, Darchinyan knocked out Jair Jimenez from Colombia in the fifth round at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on August 24, 2005 to retain his world titles.
Left-handed Gabi, (26 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw, 18 knockouts), trains in Hollywood, California with leading boxing trainer Freddie Roach. A former WBC International flyweight champion, he is riding a four-year, 14 bout winning streak, including eight knockouts. Tickets to the Darchinyan
vs. Gabi are priced at US$70, US$50, US$40, US$30 and are on sale at the Chumash Casino Resort box office in the USA.
The hard-hitting Darchinyan joined Jeff Fenech’s “Team Fenech” in 2000 after representing his native Armenia at the Olympic Games and compiling an amateur record of 152 wins from 170 bouts. Fenech, the three-time world champion and International Boxing Hall of Famer himself, was very impressed with what he saw. A dynamic power puncher in the lighter weight classes who possessed a steely resolve to totally dominate his opponents from the opening bell.