Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Gabi on a win streak
By Charles Raymond A. Maxey
EXPECT war when Davao City boxer Diosdado "Prince" Gabi steps into the ring to challenge International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan on March 3 at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California.
Both Gabi and Darchinyan are knockout artists with 37 KO victories between them, and boxing observers in the US are expecting a fierce battle come fight night.
Darchinyan, who was born in Armenia but is now fighting for Australia, holds a sensational ring record of 24-0 with 19 KOs.
Gabi, a fisherman's son from Barangay Lasang, Davao City, has a slate of 26-2-1 with 18 KOs.
Although he has two defeats, Gabi is riding on a 14-match win streak, eight of them by way of stoppages.
The 26-year-old Gabi hasn't lost since May of 2002 and is fighting for the world crown for the first time in his career.
The Filipino boxer's loses came at the hands of Thai fighters, a pair of unanimous decision setbacks to Sot Sor Veerapol and Samson Dutch Bot Gym in Thailand.
In his US debut last September, Gabi scored a fifth round technical knockout (TKO) win over Jose Alfredo Tirado of Mexico.
The referee stopped the fight after Gabi suffered a nasty cut early in the fight, although he was leading in all scorecards when action was halted.
Interestingly, the Darchinyan-Gabi battle is also a showdown of two famed trainers.
Former three-time world champion Jeff Fenech is training Darchiyan, while Gabi has master guru Freddie Roach in his corner.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (February 14, 2006 issue)
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