“When I step into the ring and see my opponent, I say to myself: ‘I have worked this hard and lost this much weight for this guy’ and at that moment I just feel like letting it all out,” said IBF and IBO world champion Vakhtang (Vik) Darchinyan.
He is forced to lose 14-15 pounds before each boxing match. How does he do it? First of all, he doesn’t eat a lot; he eats the necessary amount to have the energy to train. Then, he trains with a lot of clothes on every day and on the last day, he goes into the sauna with warm clothes on. Vick says that he personally doesn’t like to go into the sauna a lot, but he is forced to do that in order to lose weight. Then he “lets it all out” by fighting with the opponent…
How does that small boxer get all the strength to scare even champions?-this is the question that everyone asks when they see Vick for the first time.
These days Vakhtang is in Armenia with his wife Olya. He came to the homeland right after his last match with Glen Doner. I took advantage of his visit to Armenia and interviewed the man, who is the pride and happiness of all Armenians out there.
-Vakhtang, I would first of all like to congratulate you on your last match against Glen Doner. Let’s start with that match, which the referee stopped in the 5th round because you had broken Doner’s jaw by hitting him with your head. They didn’t call it a “technical knock-out” and awarded you with the decision based on technicality.Recently, the presses wrote that you are planning to protest against that decision –
-Yes, I am. First, I must say that it wasn’t an attack with the head; I hit him with my hand. My agent and I protested against that decision and as far as I know, in a week they’ll change the “technical decision” to a technical knock-out; in other words, what actually happened.
– How was it that only the referee saw that you “hit him with your head”?
– I can’t say. Even the referee hadn’t seen anything like that. He simply took Doner’s and his trainer’s word for it (Doner’s trainer is his dad). This referee may get disqualified for one year for making the wrong decision
– Before your last match, you said that you wait yet another month and if no other champion agrees to box with you, then you will go up to the next weight-class.
– Yes, my decision hasn’t changed. Nearly 15 days have passed, but there is still no reply. It’ s quite possible that I will box with WBO champion Omar Narvaes. I have challenged him and it all depends on him.
– One time you challenged Jorge Arse, however the WBC weight-class world champion is Posaglek Wongonkhkam from Thailand. Is it possible to see you box with him?
– He is the world champion, but he is also afraid to box with me. Generally, his managers try to find the “suitable” boxers for him to fight with so that there won’t be any problems.
– If you move up to the next weight-class, will you forget about your current weight-class?
– Yes, but I will have the opportunity to box with the champions. I think that I can’t go on long without a ranking.
– Boxers usually make comments to each other before getting into the ring and they try to scare each other…How do you look at that?
– I understand because it’s all a show. For example, my last opponent Glen Doner also “talked the talk” during the match, saying ‘wait and see what I’m going to do to you in the ring’.
– What did you say?
– I said, ‘Tell me which round you want me to knock you out in’.
– Do you usually have good relations with the opponents after the match?
– Generally yes, but I didn’t see this last opponent after the match because he was immediately transferred to the hospital.
– One time you challenged Jorge Arse, but now he has moved on to another weight-class. Will you meet him again when you move on to another weight-class?
– I will, if of course, he doesn’t run away again.
– The last time you were in Armenia, university students gave you a lot of books to read. Have you had the time to read them?
– To be honest with you, I still haven’t read them. I just don’t’ have the time. When I end my boxing career, then I will have time to read those books.
– How many years are you going to continue knocking out your opponents?
– I will be in the ring for another 6-7 years. Then I will start working as a promoter.
– Where do you see yourself living in the future-in Armenia or abroad?
– It’s very hard to answer that question. I’m a citizen of Australia, I box in the U.S., but I packed up and came to Armenia after the last match. I work abroad and it would be impossible for me to continue my career in Armenia. But at the same time, I can’t live without Armenia. Besides that, I have some plans here and I want to develop professional boxing in Armenia. I may just organize an evening show dedicated to professional boxing, which will be broadcasted on Show Time. In a word, I’ll be in Armenia half the year and abroad the rest of the year.