By Jake Donovan
The foundation was laid nearly three years ago for this weekend’s battle of little big men. Small only in stature, but full-fledged heavyweights when it comes to knocking ‘em out and talking trash, Vic Darchinyan and Jorge Arce are two of the few in the sport who are equally entertaining in and out of the ring.
After almost three years of hurling insults at one another and basically everyone else in the sport, a dream fight at the lower weights becomes a reality. Showtime Championship Boxing kicks off its 2009 season with a gem when Darchinyan puts his multiple junior bantamweight titles on the line against his longtime rival Arce at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California (Saturday, 9PM ET/PT).
There has always existed genuine disdain between the two, but a great fight needs more than just a little trash talk to sell to the masses. There was many a boxing fan that longed for the fight in 2006, and believed the fight would never happen after both suffered humiliating losses a year later.
What a difference a little patience makes.
Both fighters hit the comeback trail and kept winning. With the results often coming in highlight reel fashion, interest was suddenly renewed. The matchup went from interesting to perhaps the most significant fight to be made in the junior bantamweight division the moment both fighters scored knockout wins in their last respective fights.
It was what went down that November night that makes this weekend’s collision well worth the wait.
When this matchup was first discussed, both fighters held titles in separate weight classes, but the balance of star power was heavily one-sided. Darchinyan (31-1-1, 25KO) was an established flyweight titlist, but was far more cult favorite than ticket seller.
On the other hand, Arce (51-4-1, 39KO) was being groomed as HBO’s next darling, with four fights coming in the form of pay-per-view undercards and Boxing After Dark headliners, as well as a co-feature slot on a Showtime pay-per-view card in October 2005.
Boxing fans clamored for a bout between the two, but the economics heavily favored Arce. So much, that the Mexican had the freedom to pick and choose his battles, deciding that Darchinyan needed to bring more to the table than just trash talk in order to “earn” the right to fight him.
In the ring, Darchinyan most certainly did his part. An Armenian based out of Australia, but who now calls Glendale, California home, he was enjoying regular appearances on Showtime – four straight in a span of less than 12 months. All told, all seven of his flyweight title-fight wins ended inside the 12-round distance, even if one went to the scorecards on a technicality. But it was his campaigning of his October ‘06 bout with Glenn Donaire to be ruled a knockout that earned further accolades among boxing fans.
The fight served as the co-feature to the rubber match between Joel Casamayor and Diego Corrales. Darchinyan scored a knockdown and won every round handily when Donaire, fighting with a broken jaw since the third round, was given the green light by the ringside physician to bow out of the contest six rounds into the evening. Darchinyan believed his opponent quit after growing tired of absorbing punishment, which is his mind should’ve resulted in his ninth straight knockout.
The rulebook read different, instead deeming the fight a technical decision. Darchinyan still won, his 27th straight without a loss at the time, but was hardly in celebratory mode. Nor was he able to celebrate win number 28, a 12th round stoppage of Victor Burgos in which his opponent slipped into a coma and was immediately brought to a hospital for emergency treatment.
While Burgos’ health would change for the better, both Darchinyan and Arce would see their luck turn for the worse.
Arce was on a hot streak of his own, winning 27 straight from 1999 through January 2007. The last win of that run was a 12-round decision over Julio Roque Ler, snapping a streak of eight straight knockouts after his opponent spent nearly the entire bout fighting as if lasting the full twelve was his only goal of the night.
Leading up to that fight, the Mexican celebrity was better known for his ability to thrill the crowd, draw blood (often his own) and close the show. The former lineal junior flyweight champion was doing so while leapfrogging weight classes, moving up to flyweight in 2005 before setting his sights on the junior bantamweight division later in 2006.
Two straight HBO-televised wins led to a shot at a junior bantamweight alphabet title against Cristian Mijares. Arce and his handlers believed at the time that it would be one more win to put that much more distance between he and Darchinyan, and any other fighter at or around the 115 lb division looking for a jackpot fight.
Twelve rounds later, they were proven very wrong. It didn’t even take that long, though, to realize that Arce was never going to win the fight. Unheralded at the time, Mijares put on a boxing clinic from the outset, and fought to close the show down the stretch, though Arce was able to remain upright. It was perhaps the only thing he did right that April ’07 night, dropping a lopsided decision, and forced to rebuild without the benefit of a major network along for the ride.
Darchinyan and his handlers thought the moment would prove to be their proverbial last laugh, but his world came crashing down just three months later. A title defense against Nonito Donaire couldn’t have proven more disastrous, losing every round before landing on the wrong end of the year’s best knockout and biggest upset. A left hook separated him from his senses, so much that he had no recollection of being knocked out in the post-fight interview.
Next up for both was a trip on the comeback trail. Arce’s tour has been limited to independent Top Rank PPV undercard appearances, save for a couple of bouts on TV Azteca. Five straight wins have come of it, though none against particularly notable competition and one where he was lucky to escape with the decision, in his April ’08 disputed win over David Lookmanhanak.
Arce’s ninth round knockout of Rafael Concepcion last September was a reminder of what the Mexican was capable of when forced to deal with adversity. The bout turned out to be a Fight of the Year contender, with Arce overcoming several rough moments to come on strong down the stretch to force a stoppage. The same could be said of his last bout, though in more condensed fashion, as he began slow before picking up steam and stop Isidro Garcia last November.
The win was his fifth straight, but it – much like his comeback as a whole - paled in comparison to what Darchinyan would achieve that same night and throughout 2008.
A 12th round knockout of Federico Catubay came four months after the worst possible night of his career, a confidence builder to get a head start on his 2008 campaign.
His year ended almost as soon as it began, trading knockdowns with Z Gorres and looking shaky early on before gathering his composure to seemingly outfight the Filipino over the course of their 12-round bout a year ago. The judges and an uncooperative referee helped change that equation, with several knockdowns going ignored as the brash Armenian was forced to settle for a split decision draw.
A rematch was ordered, but Gorres was forced to pass after being placed on the injured list from the brutal war. Gorres’ loss was Vic’s gain, in ways far greater than anyone could imagine.
Darchinyan went on to receive a title shot, with the winner said to come back around for a fight with Gorres. Darchinyan faced Dimitry Kirilov in August, dominating the Russian before knocking him out in the fifth round of their Showtime headliner.
With a belt back around his waist, Darchinyan wasn’t content on settling for title defenses. Bigger game was what he demanded, and what he received in a Novmber unification match with top-rated junior bantamweight Cristian Mijares. Three belts were on the line in what rated as possibly the division’s biggest fight since Johnny Tapia’s narrow points win in his grudge match with Danny Romero more than a decade prior.
Most boxing experts polled before the fight had Mijares winning handily, and staking his claim as a major contender for Fighter of the Year honors.
The fight was won handily, and a Fighter of the Year nominee emerged from the rubble. Only it wasn’t Mijares. Darchinyan defied the odds in a big way, once again jumping out to an early start. Mijares hit the deck in the opening round, and was dominated throughout, winning just one round on each of the three scorecards before getting laid out in the ninth.
With the win, Darchinyan became the first three-belt champion in the history of the junior bantamweight division. It can be argued that he also becomes the lineal champion by default; the top threat, Fernando Montiel, is now contending as a bantamweight, having claimed to no longer being able to make weight.
In the meantime, Darchinyan makes as notable of a first defense of the three unified titles as you can ask. Arce may be on the wrong side of the prime, but his popularity has hardly waned. Still high among his country’s favorite stars, the free swinging Mexican boasts a fighting style that will always be in high demand.
Darchinyan’s colorful blend of punching power and genuine disdain for anyone that dares share ring space will always allow him to enjoy a no middle ground, love-him-or-hate-him relationship with boxing fans.
Once upon a time, those traits were enough to get boxing fans talking about this fight in the mythical matchup sense. With plenty at stake in this fight – Darchinyan’s titles and standing as the world’s best junior bantamweight, Arce’s possible last chance to add to his lengthy resume, it’s enough to generate network interest, as well as enough money to get both to agree to make it a reality.
Add all of it together, and come fight night, it makes all of it well worth the wait.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .
