06/07/2009 17:56
Vic Darchinyan to share world-title fight with Michael Jackson
Australian-Armenian boxing champion Vic Darchinyan will share the ring with the late Michael Jackson at next week's world-title fight in the US, AAP says.
Darchinyan, after unifying the super flyweight division with brutal knockout victories, is stepping up a weight division to take on Ghana's International Boxing Federation bantamweight champion, Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko.
Next Sunday's (AEST) fight at Florida's BankAtlantic Center is being promoted by Don King, who announced the event would double as a tribute night to Jackson.
King plans to give the late "King of Pop" boxing's traditional ringside 10-bell count before the Darchinyan-Agbeko bout and will play Jackson's music and videos.
King promoted Jackson's Victory Tour in 1984 that reunited the Jackson 5, and he brokered a lucrative endorsement deal between Jackson and Pepsi.
The colourful promoter has never been known to be lost for words or sidestep a media opportunity, but he said last week's news Jackson died in Los Angeles aged 50 left him speechless.
"One never knows how they will react to something like this, and I found it hard to do media interviews or even issue a statement," King said.