From Dan Rafael:
[Vic] Darchinyan will move up in weight and challenge bantamweight titleholder -- and fellow power puncher -- Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko this summer, Darchinyan promoter Gary Shaw told ESPN.com on Thursday.
Shaw said he made a deal with Agbeko promoter Don King for the bout, which will take place at a site to be determined this summer, most likely in June. Showtime will televise in the United States, Shaw said.
"The fight is made. That's breaking news," said Shaw, adding that he was awaiting official approval from the IBF, which recognizes Darchinyan as its 115-pound champion and Agbeko as its 118-pound titleholder. "It will be on Showtime and be a co-promotion between Don and myself."
You might remember Agbeko (26-1, 22 KO) from his bang-it-out win over William Gonzalez on the undercard of Cunningham-Adamek in December. Hell of a tough fight. He makes for a fairly compelling matchup against Darchinyan (32-1-1, 26 KO), who is on an outstanding run right now and has (re-) risen in the pound-for-pound ranks with dominant victories against Dmitri Kirilov, Cristian Mijares and Jorge Arce.
Darchinyan is small, but it's generally pretty relative at these classes. Boxrec lists them as having a half-inch difference in height, with Agbeko the taller man at 5'6". Agbeko is five years younger, but Vic has only taken one real beating in his career and has a much larger amateur background, plus he has fought much better competition as a pro. Agbeko may be the "bigger" man with Darchinyan moving up, but I see no way to not consider Vic a heavy favorite.
Good fight, though, and one of the best opponents for Vic at 118 pounds. Should be a crowd-pleaser, too.