04.08.08 – By B.L.Morgan, photo by Tom Casino / Showtime: Just like you I am a boxing fan. So, when the chance came to go see a world title fight that was taking place practically in my own back yard (which doesn’t happen very often) I jumped on it.
Knowing that the true journalists out on the internet could crank out a report of this event far faster than I could, I decided to give you the observations that a seasoned journalist (by the very fact of being a professional sportswriter) could no longer give you. I’m going to give you the lowdown of what went down at the arena (called The Showroom by EQC staff) from a fan’s perspective.
So, reporting to you from Section A Row 8 Seat 24, with his lovely wife Judi beside him, here’s what an ordinary guy (B.L.Morgan) saw on the night that Victor Darchinian blasted out Dimitri Kirilov..
The Emerald Queen Casino Itself:
This is a huge casino. Slot machines are everywhere. My wife kept telling me as we walked from through to the Showroom that she couldn’t believe that so many people could afford to drop so much money in all these slot machines. “They can’t afford it honey,” I told her. “But that isn’t going to stop them.”
If you eat at the EQC my advice is to get the short ribs with special sauce. I did. It was great.
Into The Showroom:
The EQC staff was extremely helpful. They made sure we knew where our seats were and kept asking us if there was anything we wanted. I was impressed. They know how to treat the paying customers.
Now onto the fights because I know that’s what you really want to hear about: I’m going to cover the main events (the ones that got televised first because by now you’re probably wondering if I’ll ever got to them.
Dirrell VS Paschall
When these guys were being introduced I noticed Paschall applauding when Dirrell’s name was announced. I thought that’s weird. I believe in being polite but hey, the guy’s getting ready to try to take your head off why do you want to applaud for him?
I scored all the first three rounds for Dirrell. He just looked too fast and skillful for the other guy. There was no way that Paschall was going to win a boxing match with Dirrell. Paschal seemed to realize this so he got very aggressive and at the end of round three caught Dirrell with a good shot and it looked like it rang his bells.
Paschall came out gunning in the fourth. He knew that was his only chance in this fight. He paid for it. Dirrell caught him with a tremendous counter right that floored him hard. That shot sounded like a shotgun going off.
Paschall got up with blood pouring. He looked like he was on the wrong end of a hatchet attack. The fight was stopped. Paschall hopped around clearly disappointed but showed great sportsmanship by congratulating Dirrell.
The bottom line was that this was a very good fight despite the disappointing ending. Paschal fought his heart out but just did not have the guns to deal with Dirrell at this point. He’s going to have to learn more to be able to do anything with a guy as quick as Dirrell.
(Extra note: From the arena the cut looked like it was caused by a head butt. Later on TV I saw that clearly the cut was caused by the punch that floored Paschall. We had really good seats but TV does have live view beat except maybe from ringside.)
The Main Event: Victor “Raging Bull” Darchinian VS Dimitri “The Baby” Kirilov
They should have known better than to throw a Baby in with a Raging Bull. Kirilov tried but he got trampled.
When Darchinian came out the cheer was deafening. There’s no feeling in the world quite like being in a smallish arena for a World Title Fight. If you get the chance go to one, do it! It’s electrifying.
When Kirilov came out he got some cheers. Not quite like Darchinian but he got some. (I gave him some.) But he also got some boos. I guess that’s what you get when you go against a world renowned power-puncher. It wouldn’t be long before he found out what else you get from a world renowned power-puncher.
We saw the Showtime broadcasters doing their thing but of course couldn’t hear anything they said. Al Bernstein actually looks younger in person than he does on TV.
Round One:
Darchinian comes out fast. He scored with a left to the nose right off the bat and it looked like he bloodied Kirilov’s nose with his first punch. Not a good sign for Kirilov, who also had a red face in the first thirty seconds.
Kirilov is quick but it’s easy to see and hear who’s packing the power in this fight. What surprised me was how fast Darchinian looks when you see him live. He looked every bit as quick as Kirilov.
Darchinian landed at least three really good thudding left hands in the round. When they landed the sound was like a whip and Kirilov’s head snapped back. That little guy is DANGEROUS!
Easy round for Darchinian.
Round Two:
Kirilov lands a good left moments into the round. I guess he wanted to send the message that he was still in the fight. Kirilov seemed to be leading the round until midway through then Darchinian took it back. Plainly he just seemed to decide; OK you’ve had your fun. Here I come again.
Tight Round, Darchinian’s.
Round Three:
Darchinian came out with guns blazing and Kirilov paid for it. Several times Darchinian stunned Kirilov with looping and straight lefts. Come to think of it he was cracking him with some good rights too. Basically Darchinian beat the snot out of Kirilov in that round.
Kirilov has extreme guts but that just got him a worse beating.
Lopsided Round, Darchinian’s
Round Four:
Kirilov comes out strong. He wants to send the message that he can put a hurt on Darchinian too. The problem is that he’s just not in the same league as far as power punching is concerned.
Darchinian starts scoring heavily again. I leaned over and told my wife, “Man, that boy hits hard! Kirilov looks tired. Darchinian’s punches sounded like shotgun blasts. Kirilov’s sounded like firecrackers. Guess which will hurt more.
Darchinian’s round.
Found Five:
I should just label this round: The Execution. Darchinian is a very bad dude. When he gets a fighter hurt he’s vicious! Darchinian jumped right on Kirilov. Kirilov tried to fight back but he just got overwhelmed. The actual punches that put him down I think was a left for the first knockdown. With people jumping up in front of us, it was hard to tell. The second knockdown was from a whole slew of shots. Darchinian just went after him like a starving pit bull with Kirilov being a steak.
My first thought when Kirilov went down the second time: Jesus, get that boy a doctor!
The referee stopped the fight. It was right on time too. Kirilov did get up a few moments later. He looked OK from where we were.
General Afterthoughts:
The crowd’s reaction to the Championship Fight was wild. I can see how a world champion could get addicted to being the center of that attention. A world champion at that moment must feel like a God.
General Notes on the Non-televised undercard fights:
All these fights were fun to watch. All the fighters tried their best to win. In this day of political correctness (which by the way I detest) I got the impression that no prizefighter should ever wear the label of bum or tomato can or anything like that. All of these guys; good records or bad, on the way up or down, gave incredible efforts. They bled for our entertainment. Every prizefighter should always be treated with respect.
All the punches landing sounded loud. Anybody in the audience wouldn’t have lasted a single round with any of the fighters that fought on that undercard. Show them the respect they deserve.
Final Thoughts:
Anybody who says that Boxing is a dying sport should have been in The Emerald Queen Showroom last night. It was wild, it was fun. Courage and skill of a high level was on display. If you get the chance to go and see professional boxing live, go and do it. The experience was well worth the money.