Robert Delgado – Los Angeles
Jorge Arce became the sixth Mexican to win world titles in three weight divisions as he struck a late technical knockout over a brave Wilfredo Vazquez Jr at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas on Saturday, May 7. Arce was dropped in the fourth but rallied well to break Vazquez Jr’s spirit and stun him with repeated lefts in the championship rounds to pick up the WBO World Super Bantamweight belt.
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Delgado’s scorecard
| Round |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
| Vazquez Jr |
9 |
9 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
9 |
8 |
| Arce |
10 |
10 |
10 |
8 |
9
|
10 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
Round By Round Summary
Round One: Vazquez Jr was the more sprightly on his feet, often dancing around Arce who enjoyed commanding the centre of the ring. Arce forced the fight in the final minute. He landed a heavy shot then used his swift hands to inflict more damage, however, during his combinations he was often caught with shots in return.
Round Two: Vazquez Jr began the second round in sterling fashion, perhaps as a show that he refused to be bullied like he had been in the first. Arce though always had something in return. Arce’s variety of shots looked great and in the final minute he began showboating… sticking his chin out and urging Vazquez Jr onto him. Vazquez Jr took two heavy shots flush on the chin.
Round Three: With Arce’s experience comes wear and tear and as soon as he was on his stool between the second and third round, the enswell was applied to multiple areas of his face in order to minimise swelling. Arce landed a solid left on Vazquez Jr. The heavier shots came from Arce, but due to his focus on attack and not defence, it was his own face whose was marking up due to Vazquez Jr’s countering and also flurrying.
Round Four: Vazquez Jr looked to fight for control over the centre of the ring in order to have space to move away from Arce’s onslaught. With every passing round though, Arce’s face continued to swell up. Vazquez Jr scored a stunning knockdown within seconds of the finish. Arce unleashed hooping shots and Vazquez Jr managed to land a countering left flush on Arce’s chin, forcing him to take the eight count from referee Joe Cortez.
Round Five: For the second time in the fight Vazquez Jr took a knee, but Cortez, like he had in the previous round, struck it off as a slip. Despite the knockdown in the fourth, Arce continued with the same tactic he’s enforced throughout his pro career – pressure, pressure and more pressure. Arce’s shots were plentiful, and his success ratio was strong, but he would oft walk into Vazquez Jr’s punches.
Round Six: Vazquez Jr dragged himself into Arce’s war-happy boxing style. Whenever Vazquez Jr would step into the inside, he wouldn’t let his shots go fast enough before Arce would spring into attack. Arce’s activity and ability to land in the sixth won him the ten score.
Round Seven: Both boxers engaged in an inside tussle, exchanging big shots… to the face, to the body, both men relentless in a brawling and closely-contested seventh. The dust-up sucked a lot of energy out of them and there were moments in the final minute where they appeared to be taking a short-lived breather. Tough round to score.
Round Eight: Arce may be 31-years-old but as a 64-fight professional – together with his fighting style – he’s an old 31 in boxing years. Despite that, the tempo that the bout with Vazquez Jr was all his own. Arce raised his fists aloft at the end of the eighth after enjoying a strong round.
Round Nine: Vazquez Jr was on the floor for the third time in the fight yet, again, it was not because of a knockdown, but an Arce push. When Vazquez Jr was back on his feet he didn’t complain. Arce didn’t lose the round, but didn’t do enough to win it… it seemed he was taking a breather to conserve energy for the championship rounds.
Round Ten: Arce’s eagerness to come forward worked against him in the first minute as he was walking into shots. Arce’s face continued to take damage and he was bleeding from his eye as well as his nose. Vazquez Jr slipped midway through the round. There was a good to and fro exchange in the closing stages.
Round Eleven: Vazquez Jr was momentarily stunned by a hard left shot and Arce’s activity inspired a strong reaction from the crowd who sensed a knockdown. Vazquez Jr, though, stayed on his legs. With 20 seconds left on the clock, Vazquez Jr was backed onto the ropes and Arce pummelled the Puerto Rican.
Round Twelve: Both boxers showed great sportsmanship by embracing each other prior to knocking the spit out of each other. Arce staggered Vazquez Jr again in the twelfth and kept throwing his fists, peppering Vazquez Jr with left hooks, rights… launching his hands with an unwavering might. Vazquez Jr stubbornly stayed on his feet, Cortez took a closer look at the action but Vazquez Jr’s corner threw in the towel, a water bottle, anything to get the referee’s attention to bring the fight to a thrilling end.
With the win, Arce moved up to 57-6-2 with 44 kayo wins while Vazquez Jr, who had not tasted defeat before, dropped to 20-1-0 with 17 knockout victories.
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Tags: Jorge Arce, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr
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