Armenian boxer nabs vacant WBA flyweight title

Armenian boxer nabs vacant WBA flyweight title

PanARMENIAN.Net - The undefeated Artem Dalakian, a Ukrainian boxer of Armenian origin,handily beat Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria by unanimous decision for the vacant WBA flyweight title in the Superfly 2 event in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, February 24, Rappler reports.

The belt became vacant with the retirement of Japan's Kazuto Ioka.

Viloria (38-6, 23 knockouts) landed a clean right hook in the opening round but the younger Dalakian (16-0, 11 KOs) set the pace early on with more aggressive combinations. Another Viloria hook in the second round staggered the Ukranian but Dalakian just got back up with a flurry of 3-4 punch combos in the third.

Rough-housing by Dalakian earned him a second warning in the middle of the fourth round, while the veteran Viloria maintained his methodical pace. This started to wear out on The Hawaiian Punch by round 6, as Dalakian just continued to circle Viloria and pour on the combinations.

More of the same followed in the seventh until a solid straight right from Viloria staggered the excited Ukranian, causing him to wrap up for the rest of the round. This made Dalakian considerably slow down in the eighth, as he again caught a straight right from Viloria.

A solid left jab by Dalakian early in round 9 opened the floodgates on Viloria’s defense. However, a point was deducted from him for continuously pushing Viloria down to the mat. Nevertheless, Dalakian landed two solid right punches to own the round.

Dalakian successfully busted Viloria’s forehead up early in the 11th and the Ukranian went for the kill. However, replays showed that Dalakian cut him up with his elbow rather than his right. Viloria just endured the final round as he turned Dalakian’s white shorts crimson with free-flowing blood.

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