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Sucking his trademark lollipop, donning a cowboy hat and straddling his trusted steed, Jorge Arce stood tall in the saddle, moseying to the squared circle with an attitude that combined confidence and showmanship.
Twelve rounds later, it’s time for Arce to dig in his spurs.
With a style that oozes machismo, Arce is more Fight Club than Sweet Science. He wants to be hit. He craves being tested. He has the mentality, bravado and insanity for running marathons, climbing mountains and slaying dragons.
But he doesn’t want showcases, and he especially loathes opponents like Julio David Roque Ler.
For all of Ler’s tight defense, rope-a-doping, matador walking and trash talking, any actual offense – which came in the form of clean, hard counter shots – was maddeningly rare. And no matter how much Arce tapped his chin and crotch to challenge both Ler’s ability and manhood, the fight was essentially a one-man performance within a cast of two.
The names across from Arce’s have become interchangeable, a miniature Bum of the Month Club. Hussein Hussein. Angel Priolo. Adonis Rivas. An old Rosendo Alvarez. Hawk Makepula. Prior to facing Ler, Arce had stopped eight straight, leaving little but destruction in his wake but also building next to nothing for himself.
For a brief period the target was Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, the World Boxing Council flyweight titlist and, more importantly, the division’s lineal champion. Arce’s thrilling March 2005 stoppage of Hussein Hussein was an eliminator for a July bout at Wonjongkam, but the champion demurred, refusing to fly to America. Wonjongkam remained in his native Thailand instead, fighting a six-rounder against designed opponent Mark Sales. Arce, meanwhile, knocked out Angel Priolo to pick up a WBC interim belt. [details]
Twelve rounds later, it’s time for Arce to dig in his spurs.
With a style that oozes machismo, Arce is more Fight Club than Sweet Science. He wants to be hit. He craves being tested. He has the mentality, bravado and insanity for running marathons, climbing mountains and slaying dragons.
But he doesn’t want showcases, and he especially loathes opponents like Julio David Roque Ler.
For all of Ler’s tight defense, rope-a-doping, matador walking and trash talking, any actual offense – which came in the form of clean, hard counter shots – was maddeningly rare. And no matter how much Arce tapped his chin and crotch to challenge both Ler’s ability and manhood, the fight was essentially a one-man performance within a cast of two.
The names across from Arce’s have become interchangeable, a miniature Bum of the Month Club. Hussein Hussein. Angel Priolo. Adonis Rivas. An old Rosendo Alvarez. Hawk Makepula. Prior to facing Ler, Arce had stopped eight straight, leaving little but destruction in his wake but also building next to nothing for himself.
For a brief period the target was Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, the World Boxing Council flyweight titlist and, more importantly, the division’s lineal champion. Arce’s thrilling March 2005 stoppage of Hussein Hussein was an eliminator for a July bout at Wonjongkam, but the champion demurred, refusing to fly to America. Wonjongkam remained in his native Thailand instead, fighting a six-rounder against designed opponent Mark Sales. Arce, meanwhile, knocked out Angel Priolo to pick up a WBC interim belt. [details]
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