HOLLYWOOD, Florida, 18 December 2004 — Australia’s Vic Darchinyan shocked Irene Pacheco on Thursday, stopping the previously unbeaten Colombian in the 11th round to capture the International Boxing Federation flyweight title.
Darchinyan, 28, improved to 21-0, with 16 wins inside the distance. He dominated early but was struggling late when a fireworks show nearby brought a 10-minute halt to the bout between the eighth and ninth rounds.
Pacheco, who fell to 30-1, lost a point in the ninth and two more in the 10th for low blows.
Having to open his offense, Pacheco was floored late in the 10th and again 44 seconds into the 11th, when referee Jorge Alonso called the fight. Darchinyan, the mandatory contender, did most of his late damage behind a left hook.
The 33-year-old Pacheco captured the title in 1999 and had made six successful defences. But this bout was his first since September, 2003.
Darchinyan was fighting outside of Australia for the first time in a bout originally scheduled for September 3 but postponed because of Hurricane Francis.
