By Jake Donovan
It’s not often that a fighter vacates the title with the intention of regaining it in his very next fight. Nor is it usual for that same fighter to give up that same belt to move down a division in what is thought to be the twilight of his career.
Then again, most fighters aren’t like Jorge Arce.
The wildly popular Mexican fighter and former reality star announced on Friday his intention to give up his alphabet title at 122 lb. in favor of dropping back down to the bantamweight division in hopes of capturing a belt in a fifth weight class.
Arce has acquired hardware at 108 (two reigns including lineal status from July ’02-March ’05), 112 (interim), 115 and 122 while only winning a regional belt at bantamweight. The 32-year old hopes to correct that in a November 26 rematch with Angky Angkotta, which doubles as a vacant title fight.
For those who honor any fight under the auspices of a major sanctioning body as a legitimate world title claim, a win next weekend would give Arce titles in five weight classes, making him the most belted fighter in Mexico’s rich boxing history.
However, there are those who rightfully question the validity of his world championship claims, in particular his stay at flyweight.
Arce held interim title status while failing to secure a showdown with lineal champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam. The two were slated to fight in July ’05, but the fight was scrapped along with the entire show, including a long awaited grudge match between Lucia Rijker and Christy Martin.
The journey then led the free-swinging Mexican to the super flyweight division, where he swung and missed in three separate tries to capture a major title. Lopsided decision losses to Cristian Mijares (which ended a seven-year, 26-fight win streak) and Simphiwe Nongqayi were bookended by a stoppage loss at the hands of lineal 115 lb. champ Vic Darchinyan.
Arce finally struck gold last January in his technical decision win over Angkotta. The glory was short lived as he immediately bolted to the 122 lb. division. It proved to be one of the wisest moves of his near 16-year career, as he became a major player after scoring a dramatic upset 12th round stoppage of previously unbeaten Wilfredo Vazquez Jr this past May to capture the 122 lb. belt.
He has since made one defense, a revenge-filled 4th round knockout in his rematch with Nongqayi this past September, before revealing on Friday his decision to vacate and pursue a bantamweight belt.
“He wants to challenge for the vacant 118 lb., which will take place November 26 in Mazatlan, Mexico,” explains Sean Gibbons, who serves as Arce’s matchmaker for co-promoter Zanfer Promotions. “If he wins that title, he is still looking at the winner of the planned vacant title fight between Nonito Donaire and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., to recapture that title.”
The vacancy at 122 provides a title opportunity for the planned showdown between Nonito Donaire and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, which is being targeted for the first quarter of 2012. Donaire revealed in the wake of his 12-round points win over previously unbeaten Omar Narvaez last month that the fight would be his last at 118, with his next fight to take place one division north.
Rumored opponents included Arce, Vazquez and Toshiaki Nishioka, the supremely talented titlist from Japan who just scored a decision win over Rafael Marquez early last month. It’s possible that Donaire gets to fight all three, but the order in which he gets them remains up in the air and also contingent on coming out victorious every time out.
It now looks Donaire will get Vazquez Jr first. The second generation Puerto Rican boxer has fought just once since the surprise loss to Arce, scoring a third round knockout over woefully overmatched former strawweight titlist Roberto Leyva, who subsequently announced his retirement.
A win by Donaire would also give him major title wins in four weight classes, though like Arce has an interim title reign included in the mix. Such a dispute is why Arce has elected to drop back down to 118, a surprising move considering his historically struggling at the scales until he moved up higher in weight late in his career.
However, it’s well worth the sacrifice for Arce if it means putting a smile on the faces of his countrymen and also once and for all silencing his remaining critics.
“For Mexico to have a legitimate four-division means a lot to Arce,” Gibbons states. “Some question one of his reigns – is it four, is it 3 ½? But he wants to remove all doubt and serve his country proud.”
His handlers are happy to accommodate his wishes, even if they find it a bit unnecessary.
“It’s fine on paper, but not required to define the great fighter that Jorge Arce truly is,” says Gibbons.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com
