Last night in the main event, after being knocked down, Shane Mosley fought only to survive not to win against a much smaller opponent. The main event would have been a more entertaining fight if Mosley tried for the KO he needed in the later rounds, but instead he seemed satisfied with taking a decision loss.
But in another fight, another older fighter Jorge Arce came back from a knock down, and went on to dominate the later rounds and win a TKO against a much bigger opponent!
I thought Arce had little chance because of the size and age difference, but what a performance! He won a world title in his fourth weight division, becoming one of the few boxers to ever accomplish this.
Jorge Arce is the epitome of everything I love about the sport of boxing.
But in another fight, another older fighter Jorge Arce came back from a knock down, and went on to dominate the later rounds and win a TKO against a much bigger opponent!
I thought Arce had little chance because of the size and age difference, but what a performance! He won a world title in his fourth weight division, becoming one of the few boxers to ever accomplish this.
Jorge Arce is the epitome of everything I love about the sport of boxing.
Mexican star Jorge Arce (57-6-2, 44 KOs) survived an early knockdown to come back and stop Puerto Rico's Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. in the 12th round of an action-packed fight.
With the crowd roaring, Arce pounced on Vazquez in the 12th round and was rocking him repeatedly with hard shots. Vazquez was against the ropes and his head was being snapped all over the place, but referee Joe Cortez allowed the punishment to continue until Tutico Zabala Jr., Vazquez's co-promoter and one of his cornermen, threw a water bottle into the ring and then came into the ring himself to rescue the hurt fighter at 55 seconds.
The victory made Arce a three-division world titleholder -- he also won belts at junior flyweight and junior bantamweight (as well as an interim title at flyweight).
Arce, 31, had also badly hurt Vazquez, the son of the former three-division titlist Wilfredo Vazquez Sr., in the 11th round and had him reeling.
Vazquez, 26, was making third defense and looked like he would navigate Arce's pressure. Just as the bell ending the fourth sounded, Vazquez connected with a flush left hook to the jaw that floored a surprised Arce and crowd. He bounced back up, took the mandatory count and then had the minute rest period to try to recover.
Vazquez (20-1-1, 17 KOs) did not press the issue in the fifth round, letting Arce, who was cut over his left eye, off the hook. He had recovered from the knockdown to make the rest of the fight highly competitive, including a lengthy stretch in the seventh round when they stood in close range and traded shots along the ropes.
With the crowd roaring, Arce pounced on Vazquez in the 12th round and was rocking him repeatedly with hard shots. Vazquez was against the ropes and his head was being snapped all over the place, but referee Joe Cortez allowed the punishment to continue until Tutico Zabala Jr., Vazquez's co-promoter and one of his cornermen, threw a water bottle into the ring and then came into the ring himself to rescue the hurt fighter at 55 seconds.
The victory made Arce a three-division world titleholder -- he also won belts at junior flyweight and junior bantamweight (as well as an interim title at flyweight).
Arce, 31, had also badly hurt Vazquez, the son of the former three-division titlist Wilfredo Vazquez Sr., in the 11th round and had him reeling.
Vazquez, 26, was making third defense and looked like he would navigate Arce's pressure. Just as the bell ending the fourth sounded, Vazquez connected with a flush left hook to the jaw that floored a surprised Arce and crowd. He bounced back up, took the mandatory count and then had the minute rest period to try to recover.
Vazquez (20-1-1, 17 KOs) did not press the issue in the fifth round, letting Arce, who was cut over his left eye, off the hook. He had recovered from the knockdown to make the rest of the fight highly competitive, including a lengthy stretch in the seventh round when they stood in close range and traded shots along the ropes.
Comment