Thursday, April 19th 2012
Jorge Arce Bio
“Travieso”
- World championship fights: 14-4, 9 KOs…
- WBO bantamweight world champion…
- Former WBO jr. featherweight world champion, one successful defense…
- Former WBO jr. bantamweight world champion…
- Former WBC light flyweight world champion, seven successful defenses…
- Former WBO light flyweight world champion, one successful defense…
- Former two-time super flyweight world title challenger…
- Interim world championship fights: 8-0, 7 KOs…
- Former WBC interim flyweight world champion, four successful defenses…
- Former WBA interim super flyweight world champion, one successful defense…
- Former WBC interim light flyweight world champion…
- Former WBC Youth light flyweight champion, two successful defenses…
- Former two-time NABO light flyweight champion…
At the age of 32, Jorge is a 16-year pro – he made his debut at 16 in Mexico. The WBO bantamweight world champion, he won the title on November 26.
Jorge is a true warrior, and has been one of Mexico’s most exciting and popular fighters for the last decade.
He is also experienced at the top levels of competition – he is a veteran of 18 world championship and eight interim world championship fights.
Jorge has held world titles from 108 pounds to 122 pounds, including the WBO junior featherweight, WBO junior bantamweight, WBC light flyweight, and WBO light flyweight world titles.
He is undefeated in nine fights – 8-0-1 – since his last loss in September, 2009.
Jorge is coming off a fifth-round knockout win in the rematch against former WBA flyweight world champion Lorenzo Parra in his last fight on February 18.
After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: Congratulations to Arce, one of boxing’s lovable action fighters, for reaching his milestone 60th professional victory, a number not too many fighters reach these days. Arce did it in good style as he dismantled former flyweight titlist Parra…. Arce and Parra were meeting in a rematch of their September 2010 first battle when they fought to a split draw in a junior featherweight title eliminator.
With this dominant performance, Arce has won five fights in a row since, including all three of his bouts in a big 2011 during which he won a junior featherweight title from Wilfredo Vazquez on a 12th-round knockout upset and a vacant bantamweight belt via lopsided decision against Angky Angota two fights later.
But Arce is going to vacate his bantamweight belt and took this fight with Parra at junior featherweight knowing that a victory would probably set him up for a challenge against junior featherweight titlistNonito Donaire, who won the belt Arce vacated earlier this month later in the year.
Arce had problems with Parra in their first fight, but not this time. He tore into him and rolled over him. Arce dropped him four times overall. He scored a knockdown in the third round when he landed a flush straight right hand that sent Parra bouncing off the ropes and down. In the fourth round, Arce scored two more knockdowns as he dug left hooks to the body. And in the fifth round, Arce continued to pound Parra’s body. He landed series of left hooks to his flanks to drop him again. Parra was done. He pulled out his mouthpiece and took the full count from referee Juan Jose Ramirez, who reached 10 at 1 minute, 2 seconds. [End Rafael item]
Outside of the ring, Jorge has a very engaging personality and charisma, confidence, and energy to spare.
He became a crossover star in Mexico a few years ago after appearing on the reality TV shows “Big Brother V.I.P.” and “Dancing for a Dream.” He also recently completed another reality TV show, “El Desafio.” [The Challenge]
He enters the ring wearing a black cowboy hat with a lollipop in his mouth. He said through an interpreter, “When I started boxing, I would always get real nervous before fights. They said the lollipop would help sooth my nerves. So, ever since I started, I always had the lollipop. I just started wearing the hat the last few years. The people where I’m from in Sinaloa, everybody wears those hats. It identifies me, where I come from. I also wear a rosary that I put on myself. It’s a gold one that my mother gave me.”
Jorge won the WBO light flyweight (108 pounds) world title at the age of 19 in December, 1998, and lost it in his second defense the following July. He won the WBC light flyweight world title at 23 in July, 2002, and made seven successful title defenses. He vacated the title to move up in weight and won the WBC interim flyweight (112) world title in July, 2005. He vacated that title after five successful defenses to move up in weight again.
Regarding his nickname, he said, “I was a very hyperactive kid. I was always getting in trouble somewhere here and there, you know, pulling girls’ hair, making everybody cry, hitting them. They were saying, ‘Man, this kid is a real menace.’ So, Travieso means ‘menace.'”
Key Fights – 2012 – in his last fight on 2-18-12 in Mexicali, MX, he knocked out former WBA flyweight world champion Lorenzo Parra (31-3-1): this rematch headlined at Palenque del FEX, and Jorge quickly overpowered him; he scored a knockdown with a right hand in the 3rd round, then scored two more knockdowns with left hooks to the body in the 4th; he score another knockdown with a series of left hooks to the body in the 5th round, and Parra was counted out at 1:02…
2011 – WON VACANT WBO B WORLD TITLE – on 11-26-11 in Mazatlan, MX, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Angky Angkota (25-5): this rematch headlined at Plaza de Toros Rea, and Jorge dominated; he was cut on the bridge of his nose in the 2nd round, but staggered Angkota with a series of punches in the 3rd; Angkota came back and gave a good effort, but Jorge consistently landed the harder punches, finished the fight strongly, and won by scores of 118-110, 118-110, 117-111…
1ST WBO JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 9-24-11 in Mexicali, MX, he TKO’d Simphiwe Nongqayi(16-1-1): this rematch headlined at Foro Promo Casa, and Jorge quickly overpowered him; Jorge scored a knockdown with a left hook in the 1st round; Jorge was cut over his right by a clash of heads in the 3rdround, and on his forehead by another clash of heads the 4th round, and Nongqayi was penalized one point for the repeated fouls – Jorge stepped up his pace moments later, staggered Nongqayi with a series of punches, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:01…
WON WBO JF WORLD TITLE – on 5-7-11 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKO’d previously undefeated defending champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (20-0-1): the fight was co-featured with the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley main event – it was fast-paced and exciting, and stole the show; Jorge started fast – he swept the 1st and 2nd rounds and won the 3rd round on two scorecards, although he was cut over his left eye by a clash of heads; Vazquez rallied and scored a knockdown with a left hook in the 4th, but Jorge won the 5thand 6th rounds on two scorecards; the momentum shifted back and forth in the second half of the fight – Vazquez won the 7th on two scorecards, Jorge swept the 8th round, then Vazquez won the 9th on two scorecards and swept the 10th round; but Jorge staggered Vazquez in the 11th and swept the round; he rocked Vazquez with a series of punches in the 12th round – Vazquez’ corner entered the ring to signal the end, and the referee stopped the fight at 0:55; after 11 rounds, the fight was scored 107-102 Arce, 104-104, 104-104…
2010 – on 12-18-10 in Campeche, MX, he TKO’d Adolfo Ramos (18-10-1): the fight headlined at Estadio 20 de Noviembre, and Jorge quickly overpowered him; he scored a knockdown with a right hand midway through the 1st round – Ramos got up, but Jorge rocked him with a series of punches and the referee stopped the fight at 2:06…
On 9-18-10 in Culiacan, MX, he had a 10 round draw against former WBA flyweight world championLorenzo Parra (31-2): the fight headlined at Estadio Banorte, and it was very close; Jorge pressed forward and landed the harder punches; Parra was penalized one point for holding and punching in the 7th round; scored 98-93 Arce, 97-94 Parra, 95-95…
On 7-31-10 in Tepic, MX, he knocked out former WBA super flyweight world champion Martin Castillo(35-3): the fight was co-featured at Palenque de la Feria, and Jorge’s and Castillo’s rivalry dated back to their amateur days – Castillo had beaten Jorge in the 1996 Mexican Olympic Trials; Jorge scored a knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 1st round, and Castillo was counted out on one knee at 2:56…
On 4-24-10 in Ciudad Obregon, MX, he knocked out Cecilio Santos (24-13-3): this nontitle fight headlined the card; Jorge was cut over his right eye; he scored a knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 7th round, and Santos was counted out at 0:58…
WON VACANT WBO JB WORLD TITLE – on 1-30-10 in Mexico City, MX, he won a technical decision against Angky Angkota (23-4): the bout headlined at Restaurante Arroyo, and Jorge said that he would retire if he lost; Angkota gave a good effort, but Jorge dominated the fight; he consistently outworked Angkota and landed the harder punches; Angkota was cut over his right eye by an accidental clash of heads in the 7th round – the fight was stopped on the cut and went to the scorecards; Jorge led by scores of 60-54, 60-54, 58-56; after the fight, Jorge said, “Now that I said I wanted to retire, I don’t want to do it anymore. This feeling is great. He was slowing down. I was hitting him with everything I had. I knew it was a matter of time before I would knock him down. If it went more rounds, I would’ve stopped him.”…
2009 – VACANT IBF JB WORLD TITLE CHALLENGE – on 9-15-09 in Cancun, MX, he lost a 12 round unanimous decision against Simphiwe Nongqayi (15-0): the fight headlined in an outdoor arena at the Plaza de Toros; it was raining – water leaked through the canopy over the ring and there were a few delays for it to be cleared out; Jorge was cut over his left eye by a clash of heads in the 1st round; he constantly pressed forward, but Nongqayi boxed and moved effectively, and kept a busier pace for much of the fight; Jorge had a few of rallies in the second half of the fight; he floored Nongqayi with a left hook in the 8th round – it was ruled a slip, but Jorge still won the round on two scorecards; Jorge staggered Nongqayi in the 10th round and swept the round on all three scorecards, but Nongqayi won by scores of 116-112, 117-111, 117-112…
WBC S-FL TITLE ELIMINATOR – on 6-27-09 in Atlantic City, NJ, he knocked out Fernando Lumacad(19-1-2): the fight was co-featured with the Juan Manuel Lopez-Olivier Lontchi main event, and it ended with a one-punch knockout; Jorge was cut over his left eye by a clash of heads in the 2nd round; but Jorge scored a knockdown with a right hand in the 3rd round, and Lumacad was counted out on one knee at 0:35; after the fight, Jorge said, “This was my first fight with Nacho Beristain. My game plan was to box, but when I saw the opening, I threw the right hand with everything I had. I feinted him, and then I hit him with the right. I normally knock them out with my left, but tonight it was the right.”…
WBC-WBA-IBF SF WORLD TITLE CHALLENGE – on 2-7-09 in Anaheim , CA, he was TKO’d against lefthanded defending champion Vic Darchinyan (31-1-1): Jorge gave a tremendous effort, but Darchinyan dominated most of the fight – he consistently outworked Jorge and landed the harder punches; both were cut in the 3rd round – Darchinyan over his left eye and Jorge under his right eye; Jorge was also cut over his right eye later in the fight; Darchinyan came on very strongly in the late rounds, Jorge’s cut worsened, and the ringside doctor stopped the fight after the 11th round; Darchinyan led by scores of 109-100 on all three scorecards; Jorge was upset that he wasn’t allowed to finish the fight, and said after the fight, “I came to fight. I wanted to continue to fight. I am a puncher and I had a puncher’s chance. There was only one round left and I was following him the whole fight. He’s a good fighter, but I think it was a competitive fight. I think I hurt him a couple of times with body punches. I gave the best of me. Of course, I would love a rematch. I don’t like to see a fight end like this.”…
2008 – 1ST WBA INTERIM S-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 11-1-08 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKO’d former WBO flyweight world champion Isidro Garcia (25-5-2): Garcia gave a good effort – he started fast, fought aggressively, and bloodied Jorge’s nose in the 2nd round; but Jorge rallied in the 3rd and scored a knockdown with two left hooks to the body in the 4th – Garcia got up, but Jorge rocked him again and the referee stopped the fight at 0:48; after three rounds, Jorge led by scores of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28…
WON WBA INTERIM S-FL WORLD TITLE – on 9-15-08 in Mexico City, MX, he TKO’d Rafael Concepcion (11-2-1): it was a fast-paced, exciting fight; Jorge pressed forward in the early rounds, Concepcion boxed and counterpunched effectively, and both rallied at times; Concepcion staggered Jorge badly with a left hook in the 4th round, but Jorge recovered, came back strongly later in the round, and dominated the rest of the fight; he steadily wore down Concepcion with combinations to the body and head, and Concepcion’s right eye swelled almost shut in the late rounds; Concepcion’s corner stopped the fight after the 9th round…
WBC S-FL ELIMINATOR – on 5-17-08 in Aguascalientes, MX, he won a 12 round majority decision against lefthander Devid Lookmahanak (18-1): it was a close, hard fight; Jorge pressed forward, outworked Lookmahanak in the early rounds, and appeared to build a lead on the scorecards; Jorge scored a knockdown with a left uppercut in the 7th round, but Lookmahanak rallied in the late rounds and finished the fight strongly; some observers thought the decision could go either way, but the judges scored 115-113, 115-114, 114-114…
2007 – WON WBC LATINO B TITLE – on 12-1-07 in Albuquerque, NM, he TKO’d former WBC flyweight world champion Medgoen Singsurat (53-4): Medgoen had impressive credentials – he knocked out Manny Pacquiao in the third round to win the WBC title in 1999 – but Jorge quickly overpowered him with a one-punch knockout; Jorge scored a knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 1st round – he tried to get up but tumbled over again and the referee stopped the fight at 0:47; after the fight, Jorge said, “I knew I could connect with the left. We worked on it in the gym and it was a perfect shot.”…
On 9-16-07 in Las Vegas he TKO’d lefthander Tomas Rojas (26-10): the bout headlined on Mexican Independence Day at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – it was a fast-paced, exciting fight and a come-from-behind knockout win; both fought aggressively, but Rojas, with a three-inch height advantage at five-foot nine, outworked Jorge, landed the sharper punches, and built a lead on the scorecards – after five rounds, Rojas led by scores of 50-45, 50-45, 48-47; but Jorge kept pressing forward and scored a devastating knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 6th round – Rojas got up, but Jorge rocked him with a series of punches and the referee stopped the fight at 1:00; after the fight, Jorge said, “I could tell he felt one of my body shots in the round before, and I knew I needed to do something and it worked. I told my promoter, Fernando Beltran, right after the fight in the ring that this is the last time I fight a southpaw. I will never fight a southpaw again.”…
WBC S-FL WORLD TITLE CHALLENGE – on 4-14-07 in San Antonio, TX, he lost a 12 round unanimous decision against leflthanded defending champion Cristian Mijares (30-3-2): the fight was co-featured with the Manny Pacquiao-Jorge Solis main event at the Alamodome, which drew an announced crowd of 14,793; Jorge gave a good effort and constantly pressed forward, but Mijares dominated most of the fight; he kept Jorge off-balance with movement, outworked him and consistently landed the sharper punches; Jorge was cut badly on the bridge of his nose in the 9th round; scored 119-109, 118-110, 117-111; after the fight, Jorge said, “I have no excuses. He was a better man.”…
WBC S-FL TITLE ELIMINATOR – on 1-27-07 in Anaheim, CA, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Julio Ler (23-1): the fight headlined at the Honda Center, drew an announced crowd of 7,091, and Jorge made his ring entrance on the back of a dancing horse; Jorge pressed forward and gave a good effort, but Ler fought very defensively, frustrated him with constant movement, and it was a dull fight; Ler had a few small rallies in the middle rounds, but Jorge dominated most of the rounds and won by scores of 117-109, 117-110, 117-110; after the fight, Jorge said, “What can I say? You all know what happened. I think the most interesting thing about the fight was the horse. The guy unfortunately didn’t come to fight, he came to survive. I guess he wanted to say he went twelve rounds with me.”…
2006 – WBC S-FL TITLE ELIMINATOR – on 9-23-06 in Hidalgo,TX, he TKO’d Masibulele Makepula (28-3): Makepula made his ring entrance singing a gospel song, Jorge made his riding on the back of a Harley-Davidson; Jorge gave an impressive performance – he boxed in the first two rounds, which were close, but stepped up his pace and attack in the 3rd; Jorge rocked Makepula with a series of punches mid-round, and finished the round strongly; he staggered Makepula with a left hook early in the 4th round and scored a knockdown with a series of punches moments later; Makepula got up but was unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:00; after the fight, Jorge said, “I predicted the fourth. Whatever I promise, I deliver. Darchinyan? Come on right now. All you got to do is tell me where, when, and with who, and we’ll go. United States, I love you. I am the best pound for pound. I am the best, and nobody beat me. I love you. God bless you, everybody, and greetings to Los Mochis, Sinaloa.”…
4TH WBC INTERIM FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 4-8-06 in Las Vegas he knocked out 35 year-old former WBA minimumweight and light flyweight world champion Rosendo Alvarez (37-2-2): the fight was on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Zab Judah main event, and there was some genuine bad blood between the two from their altercation three months earlier at Jorge’s fight in Mexico; Jorge was defending the interim world title, but Alvarez did not make weight and was not eligible to win the title, something he had done two times in the past [note: there were reports that this was a nontitle fight, but the WBC confirmed that the interim flyweight world title was at stake]; Alvarez cut Jorge over his right eye in the 1st round and had his moments, but Jorge consistently outworked him, landed the harder punches, and dominated most of the fight; Jorge scored a knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 6th round, and Alvarez was counted out on his knees at 1:54; after five rounds, Jorge led by scores of 50-45, 50-45, 49-46; after the fight, Jorge said, “I didn’t want to knock him out in the first round. I knew after that it was going to be an easy fight. I was hurting him, but I wanted to hurt him a lot and I did that for as long as I could. Everyone told me how tough he was. He landed some shots, but I didn’t even feel them at all. I’m ready for some bigger guys now. I just want to prove that I am a great champion and a great Mexican warrior.”…
3RD WBC INTERIM FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 1-28-06 in Cancun, MX, he TKO’d Adonis Rivas(21-8-2): this rematch headlined the fight card that was part of the WBC’s “Night of Champions” celebration, and drew a capacity crowd at the Plaza de Toros; Jorge was cut over his right eye in the 2ndround by a clash of heads, but outworked Rivas and wore him down; Rivas was cut over his right eye in the 6th, and did not continue after the round; Rivas is managed and promoted by Rosendo Alvarez, who was in his corner; after the fight, Alvarez and Jorge got into a shouting match and brief scuffle in the ring, during which Alvarez slapped Jorge in the face…
2005 – 2ND WBC INTERIM FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 12-16-05 in Monterrey, MX, he TKO’dAdonis Rivas (21-7-2): the fight headlined at Arena Monterrey and drew an announced crowd of 8,000; Rivas, with manager-promoter Rosendo Alvarez in his corner, gave a good effort and had his moments, but Jorge scored a knockdown in the 2nd round and dominated most of the fight; Rivas was cut and swollen over both eyes, and the referee stopped the fight on the injuries at 1:20 of the 10th round; after nine rounds, Jorge led by scores of 89-80, 88-82, 88-82…
1ST WBC INTERIM FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 10-8-05 in Las Vegas he TKO’d Hussein Hussein (28-2): this rematch was the co-featured bout with the Jose Luis Castillo-Diego Corrales rematch at the Thomas & Mack Arena, which drew an announced crowd of over 15,000; Jorge scored one knockdown in the 1st round and another in the 2nd – Hussein got up but was unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:50; after the fight, Jorge said, “I think he was still hurt from our fight in March. I could tell, because he couldn’t take any of my shots.”…
WON WBC INTERIM FL WORLD TITLE – on 7-30-05 in La Paz, MX, he TKO’d Angel Priola (30-2): the fight headlined the card at the Arturo C. Nahl baseball stadium, and reportedly drew over 10,000 fans; the first two rounds were close and Jorge was cut on the bridge of his nose; but he scored two knockdowns in the 3rd round, and Priola was counted out at 1:18; looking back, Jorge said, “The cut was in the same place, but it didn’t open up that bad. It was barely bleeding, it was more like a scratch. It was nothing like it was in the other fight.”…
WBC FL ELIMINATION BOUT – on 3-19-05 in Las Vegas he TKO’d Hussein Hussein (26-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Erik Morales-Manny Pacquiao main event at the MGM Grand, which drew a capacity crowd of 14,623; it was an exciting, fast paced battle that repeatedly brought the fans to their feet – Jorge staggered Hussein early in the 1st round, but Hussein came back strongly in the 2nd and several of the following rounds were close; Jorge was cut very badly on the bridge of his nose in the 5thround, and it bled heavily for the rest of the fight; but Jorge swept rounds six through nine on one scorecard, and rounds seven through nine on the other two, and Hussein was penalized one point in the 8th for repeatedly pushing down Jorge’s head; Jorge scored a knockdown in the 10th round, Hussein’s corner climbed onto the ring apron to signal the end, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:07; after nine rounds, Jorge led by scores of 88-82 on all three scorecards; after the fight, Jorge said, “I’m ready to fight again. Like always, the Mexicans fight hard and we never give up. When I was in the fight, the doctor came over and took a look at my cut, but I keep saying to the doctor, ‘Please don’t stop the fight, just one more round and I know that I will knock this guy out,’ and that is what I did. I knocked him out.”; Boxing News reported from ringside, “The barrel-chested Mexican was strong and remorseless, attacking ceaselessly with ferocity and passion from the opening bell… The crowd was thoroughly absorbed.”…
2004 – 7TH WBC L-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 12-18-04 in Culiacan, MX, he knocked out Juan Centeno (16-6): Jorge scored a knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 3rd round, and Centeno was counted out at 2:48…
6TH WBC L-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 9-4-04 in Tijuana, MX, he won a 12 round unanimous decision in the rematch against Juanito Rubillar (33-8-7): Rubillar was penalized one point in the 8thround for punching to the back of the head; scored 115-112, 115-112, 119-108; the result was originally announced as a split decision win for Jorge, but the WBC sent a press release three days later that said the ring announcer had made a mistake, and that is was a unanimous decision…
5TH WBC L-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 4-24-04 in Tuxtla Gutierrez, MX, he knocked out former two-time world champion Melchor Cob-Castro (68-10-4): it was the rematch of their fight a year earlier; Jorge rocked Cob-Castro in the 3rd round, and scored a knockdown late in the 4th; he scored another knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 5th round, and Cob-Castro was counted out at 1:57…
4TH WBC L-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 1-10-04 in Mexico City he knocked out Jomarie Gamboa(33-7-2): Jorge knocked down Gamboa in the 2nd round, and he was counted out at 1:38…
2003 – 3RD WBC L-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 5-3-03 in Las Vegas he won a technical unanimous decision against former WBC and WBO light flyweight world champion and No. 1-rankedMelchor Cob-Castro (67-8-4): Cob-Castro gave a good effort and scored a knockdown in the 3rd round when Jorge’s glove touched the canvas; Jorge outworked Cob-Castro in several rounds, but was cut two times by head clashes in the 4th round and the fight was stopped on the cuts after the 6th round; Jorge led by scores of 59-55, 59-55, 58-56; after the fight, Jorge said, “Cob had tremendous experience but he couldn’t handle my young power.”…
2ND WBC L-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 2-22-03 in Mexico City he knocked out Ernesto Castro(8-5-1): at 1:40 of the 1st round; it was one of three world championship fights on a card at Plaza de Toros titled ‘Fighting for Mexico;’ all of the fighters donated their purses to support ‘Vamos Mexico,’ a private organization for the education of poor children founded by Mrs. Martha Sahagun de Fox, the wife of Mexican President Vicente Fox and Mexico’s First Lady; the fight card was also part of the WBC’s 40thanniversary celebration…
2002 – 1st WBC L-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 11-16-02 in Las Vegas he TKO’d Agustin Luna(18-12): Jorge was cut over the left eye in the 1st round, but wore down Luna with a steady body attack; Jorge scored one knockdown in the 2nd round and another in the 3rd, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:13…
WON WBC L-FL WORLD TITLE – on 7-6-02 in Seoul, KOR, he TKO’d defending champion Yosam Choi(24-1): the fight was held in Choi’s hometown at Olympic Park, and Jorge dominated the fight; he scored a knockdown in the 1st round, and rocked Choi with hard punches to the body and head several times in the fight; he staggered Choi again in the 6th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:21…
2001 – WON WBC INTERIM L-FL WORLD TITLE – on 10-20-01 in Tijuana he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Juanito Rubillar (25-8-5): world champion Yosam Choi had been inactive with legal problems, and No. 1 ranked Jorge fought No. 2 ranked Rubillar for the interim title; it was an exciting, fast-paced fight – Jorge scored one knockdown in the 4th round and another one in the 12th, and won by scores of 117-109, 117-109, 119-107…
2000 – 2ND WBC YOUTH L-FL DEFENSE – on 12-8-00 in Los Mochis, MX, he knocked out former Philippines strawweight champion Carmelo Caceres (16-8-3) in the 2nd round…
1ST WBC YOUTH L-FL DEFENSE – on 10-21-00 in Mexico City he TKO’d Philippines light flyweight champion Jovan Presbitero (8-1) in the 2nd round…
WON WBC YOUTH L-FL TITLE -on 4-7-00 in Tijuana he won a 10 round decision against Javier Lagos(13-5-2)…
1999 – WON NABO L-FL TITLE – on 11-29-99 in Tijuana he won a 12 round decision against former world title challenger Ladislao “Speedy” Vazquez (30-14-1)…
LOST WBO L-FL WORLD TITLE – on 7-31-99 in Tijuana he was TKO’d against former three-time light flyweight world champion Michael Carbajal (45-1-1): Jorge, four days past his 20th birthday, dominated most of the fight – he consistently outworked Carbajal and built a lead on the scorecards; Carbajal scored a knockdown in the 6th round, but Jorge recovered and swept the next four rounds on all three judges’ scorecards; Carbajal rallied again in the 11th, staggered Jorge, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:53; after 10 rounds, Jorge led by scores of 98-91 on all three scorecards…
1ST WBO L-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 4-17-99 in Sassari, IT, he TKO’d local favorite Salvatore Fanni (32-7-2) at 1:17 of the 6th round; after five rounds, Jorge led by scores of 49-46, 49-46, 48-47…
1998 – WON WBO L-FL WORLD TITLE – on 12-5-98 in Tijuana he won a 12 round unanimous decision against defending champion Juan Domingo Cordoba (33-4-3) of Argentina: Jorge scored a knockdown in the 4th round and dominated most of the fight; scored 118-109, 119-110, 116-111…
He debuted at the age of 16 on 1-19-96…
AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Jorge said, “I was born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa. There’s four children in my family, all boys. Two are older than me, my younger brother is a professional boxer, too. His name is Francisco ‘Panchito” Arce. I bought a store for one of my older brothers where he sells candy. My brother, Milton, really loves baseball. He played a couple of years in the minor leagues.
“My father was a farm worker, he worked in the fields. He hardly works anymore. I bought him one of those buses that goes around the city, like a tour bus, and he makes money out of that.
“I started boxing because, I think, my father gave it to me. When he was growing up, he wanted to be a boxer and it didn’t happen for him. He came from a family of 20 – there were 20 total in his family. They were very poor, so they made him work and he never got a chance to become a boxer, which was his dream. He transmitted that to me, maybe not verbally, but by the way he behaved towards boxing. I think that’s where I picked it up from, I wanted to become a boxer for him.
“I started picking up boxing and I enjoyed boxing. One day, my dad was in a very bad accident where he worked, he almost got killed. That’s when I decided, ‘You know what? I’m going to do something special for him, I’m going to turn into a boxer.’ Right now, everything I do is for him, even the world championship is for him. Winning a championship was very important for me and for him.
“When I was about 10 years old, my mother was really worried about me. She thought something was wrong with me, I was so hyper all the time. I couldn’t stop, I wouldn’t slow down. So she talked to a doctor, a psychologist, and he said, ‘All you need to do is get him in a sport. Anything, karate, anything you can put him in.’ And I said, ‘I’ll go into boxing.’ I was there two years. The first week I was there, they put me in a tournament and I won it. I started liking it, but my father had the accident when I was 12, and that’s when I decided, ‘You know what? I’m going to do this for you.’ So, I started at 10 and at 12, I was really dedicated to it. I had about 45 amateur fights. I think I lost twice, one by disqualification.
“I won some national tournaments, some state tournaments. I was actually up for the 1996 Olympic team, I ended fighting Martin Castillo. [note: Castillo went on to win the WBA super flyweight world title] We fought in the semi-final fight and Castillo won. But everybody knows that Arce won that fight, it’s just that Castillo was already a member of the Olympic team and they didn’t want him losing to me.”…
STRENGTHS: Has an aggressive style, good skills and movement…has good punching power, a good body puncher…tough and durable, has tremendous heart and determination…is experienced against top opposition…
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 68 fights…393 total rounds…137 world championship rounds…52 interim world championship rounds…
AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 5.7 rounds…
KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 76 %…
DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds – 14 (11-3)…11 rounds – 2 (0-2)…10 rounds – 5 (4-0-1)…
