Darchinyan stops Arce in 11th

Vic Darchinyan rocks Jorge Arce with a long right hand during Saturday’s unification bout at Anaheim’s Honda Center. (Photo by Ross Rivera)

By ROSS RIVERA, Special to the Wave

Story Published: Feb 11, 2009 at 8:17 PM PDT

Story Updated: Feb 11, 2009 at 8:17 PM PDT

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In one of boxing’s most prominent and competitive weight divisions, Vic “The Raging Bull” Darchinyan successfully retained his unified super flyweight (115) title, first with words, then fists.


Darchinyan’s 11th-round technical knockout of Mexico’s Jorge Arce before 5,450 Saturday at Anaheim’s Honda Center enabled him to defend his IBF, WBC and WBA crowns for a second time.


Judges Raul Caiz Jr., Marty Denkin and Pat Russell all had the fight scored 10-9 in Darchinyan’s favor when it was stopped at the end of the 11th round.


Darchinyan (32-1-1, 26 KOs) gave credit to his opponent afterwards.


“I respect him,” he said. “He proved he was a good fighter. His punches weren’t as hard as the audience thought.”


Arce (51-5-1, 39 KOs) was not happy the fight was stopped.


“They should have allowed the fight to continue,” he said. “There were only three minutes to go.”


After months of verbal sniping, both fighters battered away at each other with rapid-fire power in front of ringsiders who paid up to $300 to view the bout.


Arce, a veteran of more than 50 fights, showed no signs of age as he kept pace with Darchinyan through nine rounds. Still, an early cut led to a long, grueling night for Arce.


Darchinyan, notorious for being relentless, continually landed left and right hooks, leaving Arce’s face a bloody mess at the end.


After dethroning Cristian Mijares, then defeating Arce, only Fernando Montiel, the WBO’s flyweight champion, stands in the way before Darchinyan moves up one weight class to challenge champions Israel Vasquez or Japan’s Hasegawa to assume the role of “pound for pound” best fighter.


“We seek to move up in weight, perhaps against Vasquez,” Gary Shaw, Darchinyan’s promotor said. “Anyone who fights Vic Darchinyan will make money.”

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