Eleven years after his last fight in Armenia, Vic ‘Raging Bull’ Darchinyan (37-3-1, 27 KOs), made his much-awaited homecoming a triumphant one at the Karen Demirchyan Sports Complex in the Armenian capital Yerevan.
The 35 year-old Darchinyan, who has fought the vast majority of his career in Australia and the United States, had way too much for his South African challenger, 29, defended his IBO title with a landslide decision on all three cards to inflict South Africa’s Evans Mbamba (18-2, 9 KOs) second defeat in 20 contests.
The fight marked the first time a professional world boxing championship match has been staged in Armenia.
The ‘Raging Bull’ is now hoping to gain a rematch with former opponent Nonito Donaire after the Filipino stopped him in five rounds in 2007 to take his IBF flyweight title and may have to move up to super-bantamweight to get his opportunity.
Darchinyan is ranked #1 by the WBA, #2 by the WBO, #5 by the WBC and #6 by the IBF, coming into this fight. Mbamba, who fought for the second time out of his native state, was best known for his one-sided loss to then-WBC interim champion Tomas Rojas in 2009.
