ALLAN THE MAN

Donaire defeated Darchinyan when they first fought in July 2007 at the flyweight division, knocking out the then-unbeaten Armenian in the fifth round in a bout that announced his entrance to boxing stardom.

In a 10-round match that served as the featherweight debut for both men, it was the 37-year-old Darchinyan who seized control in the middle rounds as he was the busier fighter. At the end of the fifth round, he staggered Donaire with a flurry of punches in the final seconds, and the Filipino boxer had to be saved by the bell.

Darchinyan was still the busier fighter in the sixth until the eighth round, and his work started to show as Donaire began the ninth round with blood flowing out of his nose. But Donaire finally turned on the aggression in that round, staggering Darchinyan with a huge left hook that sent him to his knees.

The Armenian beat the 10-count but was clearly on wobbly legs. Donaire landed more power shots, eventually pushing Darchinyan to the corner where he unloaded several more blows that prompted the referee to finally stop the fight.

Donaire was awarded a technical knockout victory at the 2:06 mark of the ninth round.

He immediately dedicated the victory to his native Philippines, where more than 10,000 are feared dead in the wake of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan).

"First and foremost, prayers to people in the Philippines who were hit by the typhoon," he said. "Please have your prayers for people in the Philippines."

“I tried to work on a different style, which is going back,” said Donaire, adding that he was advised by his corner to “box and be smart.” “But part of my body still memorized the fighting style, which worked in the end.”

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