By Jake Donovan
One year later, Jorge Arce isn’t done yet.
A remarkable comeback year for the free-swinging Mexican star ended in spectacular fashion, as Arce scored a first round knockout over journeyman Adolfo Ramos.
Arce weighed just below the super bantamweight limit of 121 ½ lb, while Ramos came in at 121 lb for their 10 round bout, which aired live on Fox Sports Espanol from Estadio 20 de Noviembre in Campeche, Mexico.
The bout never threatened to be competitive on paper, and was even less so in reality. Arce came out calm and collected in the opening moments of the fight, moving like a man who knew he could end things any time he wanted.
The bout’s lone knockdown came midway through the opening round, when Arce landed a flush right hand to floor Ramos for the mandatory eight count. The sequence served as the beginning of the end, as Arce wasted no time in finishing off the Colombian. Two separate barrages had Ramos covering up until the referee came in to bail him out of trouble.
The official time was 2:06 of the first round.
Arce improves to 56-6-2 (43KO), while Ramos falls to 18-11-1 (10KO).
The win is the fourth in five fights this year for Arce, who now eyes a super bantamweight showdown with undefeated rising Puerto Rican star Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr.
Few give Arce much of a chance in such a fight, but that he’s even in position for such an opportunity speaks volumes of how far he’s come in 2010. Many in the industry had him written off as damaged goods after a disastrous 2009 year in the ring, which was bookended with lopsided losses.
His 2009 campaing began with Vic Darchinyan battering him en route to an 11th round stoppage. Seven months later, he failed miserable to avenge the loss of his younger brother Francisco Arce in failing way short against Simphiwe Nongqayi.
It was a different story in 2010, where Arce went 4-0-1 (3KO), picking up an alphabet title along the way. The lone non-win of the year came three months ago in a disputed 10-round draw against fellow faded former champion Lorenzo Parra.
The bout with Parra was a sanctioned title eliminator, with the winner slated to face Vazquez. Even with the stalemate verdict, Arce was still granted the opportunity for a heavily anticipated showdown in 2011, providing that he took care of business on Saturday evening.
He did just that and in emphatic fashion, capping a year that – his level of competition notwithstanding – few believed the 31-year old still had in him.
TELEVISED UNDERCARD
Any hopes of Joksan Hernandez turning things around in his once-promising career may have been forever dashed after his 10-round unanimous decision loss at the hands of Jorge Lacierva.
No scores were announced, though the outcome was never in doubt.
Lacierva dominated the action from beginning to end, twice dropping Hernandez in the opening round and battering the former featherweight prospect throughout the bout.
Hernandez never seemed to get untracked, as he remained a step behind Lacierva all night. A right hand had him in trouble in the sixth round, and was so spent by fight’s end that a half-jab, half-push by Lacierva had him tumbling across the ring late in the ninth.
All told, it was a disastrous year for Hernandez, who came in riding a five-fight win streak and a whirlwind of promise, only to see his 2010 campaign begin and end with unexpected losses.
In between came a four-fight win streak, including a thrilling 10th round knockout of previously unbeaten Miguel Beltran Jr. However, the loss to Lacierva appears to have sucked all of the promise out of his career as he falls to 21-3 (14KO).
Meanwhile, the resurgence of the 32-year old Lacierva marches on. The Atlanta-based Mexican has now won five straight as he improves overall to 38-7-6 (26KO).
His last loss came three years ago in a tightly contested 12-round title fight with Celestino Caballero. The bout managed to get lost in the shuffle, as it preceded the 2007 Fight of the Year in the classic second battle between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez.
Lacierva himself was forgotten about, but has reminded the featherweight division in a big way that he still has plenty of fight left in him.
The live telecast opened with Ramon Hirales easily cruising past Omar Soto in their 12-round junior flyweight co-feature.
Scores were 120-106, 119-109 and 118-108 in favor of Hirales, who scored knockdowns in the fourth and tenth rounds and was in complete control throughout the bout.
Hirales is one of the more surprising success stories of 2010. Few gave him a legitimate chance in his July showdown with then-unbeaten Johnriel Casimero, who was being groomed for a future crack at the lineal junior flyweight championship.
However, Hirales turned the tables in edging the 20-year young Filipino in a well-deserved split decision to now serve as the mandatory challenger to Giovani Segura, who himself enjoyed a huge year including a knockout win over Ivan Calderon to dethrone the long-reigning junior flyweight king.
Hirales has fought twice since the July upset win over Casimero, going 12 rounds each with Manuel Vargas this past September and now Soto (15-7-1, 6KO). All told, the Mexican went 4-0 on the year.
The show – which was the final scheduled Top Rank Live card of 2010 – was presented by Top Rank Inc. and Zanfer Promotions.
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.
