Darchinyan vs. Arce On Feb 7th

By Boxing News - 01/14/2009 - Comments

arce_mijares333By Manuel Perez: IBF/WBA/WBC super flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan (31-1-1, 25 KOs) takes on Jorge Arce (51-4-1, 39 KOs) on February 7th at The Pond, in Anaheim, California. This fight has the makings of a classic, but more than likely it will end up disappointing. Arce, 29, just looks badly overmatched in this one. He’s got power, and has proven himself throughout his career winning titles in the light flyweight and flyweight divisions.

However, this is the super flyweight division and Arce as good as he was in the lower divisions several years ago, he appears to come up short in the talent needed to win at this level. Darchinyan, easily the hardest puncher in the super flyweight class, hits way too hard for someone like Arce to handle for long.

Arce has thus far been stopped only twice in his career, once in the 1st round by Omar Nino Romero in June 1996, and another time by Michael Carbajal in an 11th round stoppage in July 1999. However, I see him getting stopped once again in his upcoming fight with Darchinyan.

This is the wrong kind of opponent for Arce, who fights like he’s in his mid-thirties rather his last 20s, and I don’t think Arce has the style or weapons to beat Darchinyan. Nonito Donaire did it, stopping Darchinyan with a left hook in a 5th round TKO victory in July 2007.

However, Donaire had a powerful left hook working him, including the incredible timing needed to nail Darchinyan just as he was coming in to land one of his big shots. Arce, unfortunately, doesn’t have a hook like that in his arsenal.

Sure, he can throw a mean hook when he’s in close, using it to pound away at the body of his opponents, but he doesn’t have a hook that he uses to nail opponents on the way in. Part of that is because Arce has been so accustomed to being the one that comes forward constantly, as he’s quite used to be the murderous puncher of his weight divisions.

He’s never had to learn how to fight going backwards or on the ropes, because he’s been the one that other fighters were afraid of. Now, Arce is going to be fighting a mirror image of himself, only much stronger and more acclimated to fighting at the super flyweight division.

Arce will have to fight in a whole different way that he’s always fought, focusing on survival and defense instead of trying to take the fight to Darchinyan. If Arce does make the mistake of trying to slug it out with Darchinyan, you can be assured that the fight won’t last but a few rounds before Darchinyan catches him with something and takes him out.

If Arce can somehow stay away from Darchinyan and landing short combinations and moving constantly, Arce might have a chance of pulling off the win. That’s provided that Arce’s ring scared facial skin can hold up under the pounding of Darchinyan’s big shots. I doubt it will. If Darchinyan doesn’t take him out with a big shot, he’ll probably get the same job done by cutting him to pieces with monstrous punches and leaving him a bloody mess.