Vic Darchinyan vs. Z. Gorres

February 2, 2008

OUTCOME: Draw (decision under review)

ANDY'S PICK: Darchinyan by Knockout 

THE BET:
6.75 Units on Darchinyan to Win at -135

THE PAYOUT:
0 Units

Often times a seemingly invincible fighter faces an opponent who brutally and all too easily destroys his mystique in the blink of an eye.  It happened with many former greats such as Roy Jones Jr. and Mike Tyson and in July 2007 it happened to Vic Darchinyan.  At the hands of Nonito Donaire, Darchinyan seemed vulnerable and downright ordinary.  Well Nonito Donaire is a tremendous fighter and hadn't really been discovered until that night.  He is fast, strong and very busy, and his style was a perfect weapon against the unorthodox, offense minded Darchinyan.  However, Darchinyan is by no means a shot fighter and Z. Gorres is by no means Nonito Donaire.  Gorres is a skilled and rugged fighter but lacks the speed, craftiness, chin and power that allowed Donaire to neautralize Darchinyan.  In addition, whereas Darchinyan was looking up to the 5'6" Donaire, he will be looking down at the 5'4" Gorres.  Gorres' Southpaw style should pose no problems for Darchinyan who demolished his last southpaw opponent, Diosdado Gabi.  More so, Darchinyan has been in with the tougher competition unlike Gorres who has faced only one top ranked fighter, Fernando Montiel, losing a close but hometown decision.  As for the 115 weight, I believe the 2 or 3 extra pounds will have absolutely no bearing on the outcome of the match.  The fact of the matter is Darchinyan has featherweight power.

I see the fight as being a mainly one-sided affair with Darchinyan landing some heavy artillery early, wearing down Gorres, who will begin to get on his heels towards the middle rounds.  Once this happens, the fighter who calls himself Z is a dead man walking.  Darchinyan will begin to land big power shots at will and I expect one of them to put Gorres down for the count by the 11th.  Bottom line is Gorres just wont have enough in his arsenal to counteract Darchinyan's awkward style and unrivaled power.  After this fight Darchinyan will most likely seek a rematch with Donaire and I for one will stay home to watch that one.