Boxing

In what some media suggested was a little over the top, an Armenian professional boxer turned on more pressure on his next opponent by issuing bold threats to him ahead of a weekend fight.

Vic Darchinyan, a 32-year-old Armenia-born Australian who currently holds the IBF super-flyweight champion’s title, sounded super-confident before his November 1 fight against Mexico’s Cristian Mijares for the WBC and WBA belts, as he threatened to “damage” the holder, “finish him” and “break him in half.”

“I’m going to make him look like a very silly fighter and I’m going to knock him out,” Darchinyan said of Mijares, as quoted by MiamiHerald.com. “He’s going to be punished.”

Darchinyan (30-1, 24 KOs) won the International Boxing Federation junior-bantamweight title with a fifth-round technical knockout against Dimitri Kirilov on August 2. Earlier, Darchinyan also had a 30-month run as IBF flyweight champion.

Meanwhile, media quoted Mijares (36-3, 15 KOs) showing a more amiable approach to the “Raging Bull”.

“I have no bad blood toward Darchinyan, he’s the one doing all the talking. He’s not my enemy, he’s my opponent,” the 27-year-old Mexican said. “He just likes to talk too much, but I like that. It makes the fight more interesting for me. Words won’t prove anything.”

The three-belt unification fight is due at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., USA (Nov. 1st, 9 pm ET/PT).

Soccer

Champion FC Pyunik extended their lead over chaser FC Ararat by three points this week and need only seven in the remaining three rounds to officially seal their eights straight national title.

Pyunik beat Shirak 2-1 in an away match last weekend, while Ararat slipped with a 2-2 draw against Bananats.

On Day 25 of the championship, on Thursday, both teams won their matches. Ararat beat Shirak Gyumri 2-1, while Pyunik demolished Mika Ashtarak 3-0.

While the contest for the national trophy continues, Pyunik next travel to Kapan to play local FC Gandzasar on November 4, while Ararat will try to collect all three points in a match against the league’s stalwart Mika from Ashtarak.

Meanwhile, Armenia’s U-17 men’s team suffered the same fate as the women’s squad in a group tournament of the first qualifying round for the European championship. Playing in Spanish Tenerife, Armenia’s teenage team lost to coevals from Spain and Estonia (0-2 and 0-1, respectively) and drew with England 0-0. With only one point in three games Armenia finished bottom of the group.

(Source: Football Federation of Armenia)