I have been watching some old Arce fights at Light-Flyweight recently, and he was really a tremendous fighter at that weight class. Before he moved up, he had 37 wins and only 3 losses (one was at 109lbs) and all 3 were against very solid world champions and all when Arce was just a teenager (He might have been 20 when he fought Carbajal). When he was just 19, Arce became a world champion by beating WBO champion Juan Domingo Cordoba in a clear-cut 12 round decision win. 2 fights later he boxed circles around the great Michael Carbajal, but got caught and stopped in the 11th round of a fight that he was dominating. I highly reccommend watching that fight if you haven't already. It shows the greatness of both fighters.
After a few more fights to get experience, Arce became a world champion again by knocking out then WBC and lineal 108lb champion Yo-Sam Choi in the 6th round of a fight held in South Korea. Choi was a very solid champion, who held two wins over longtime 108lb king Saman Sorjaturong, after the fight with Arce, he was never the same, and tragically died due to brain injuries in January 2008. At 108, Arce also held two wins over double world champion Melchor Cob Castro. And is the only man to stop the experienced Castro in a 87 fight career.
I think he was a really good fighter at Light-Flyweight and would have given just about any 108lb fighter from the 90's or 2000's a hell of a fight. It's a shame that he never tried to unify with Rosendo Alvarez or Beibis Mendoza. He knocked out Alvarez in 2006, but by then, Rosendo was a shadow of his former self. Having had tough fights with Chana Porpaoin, 2 wars with Lopez, 4 fights with Mendoza and a hard fought draw with Victor Burgos. He had almost nothing left by the time Arce fought him. If they had fought earlier, it would have been alot more competitive. But i'd probably still give the edge to Arce.
I even think that the Arce that fought Carbajal and Choi would have been able to take rounds from the great Lopez, although "Finito" would have capitalised on his mistakes such as his wide punches and inferior defence and beat him. Basically my question is how good do you think Arce could have been if he had been able to stay at 108 for his whole career? I personally think he could have had a really great career if he did. At 108, he boxed more because he was able to hurt guys with one punch. Where as at the higher weights he's more wreckless and aggressive because his punches aren't as powerful and he has to throw more. And this means he's more hittable. Abit of a shame he had to move up to 115 and beyond, because his effectiveness and overall skills have clearly diminished as a result. But he just couldn't keep making the weight, in the first Castro fight, he put on like 15lbs between the weigh in and fight.
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After a few more fights to get experience, Arce became a world champion again by knocking out then WBC and lineal 108lb champion Yo-Sam Choi in the 6th round of a fight held in South Korea. Choi was a very solid champion, who held two wins over longtime 108lb king Saman Sorjaturong, after the fight with Arce, he was never the same, and tragically died due to brain injuries in January 2008. At 108, Arce also held two wins over double world champion Melchor Cob Castro. And is the only man to stop the experienced Castro in a 87 fight career.
I think he was a really good fighter at Light-Flyweight and would have given just about any 108lb fighter from the 90's or 2000's a hell of a fight. It's a shame that he never tried to unify with Rosendo Alvarez or Beibis Mendoza. He knocked out Alvarez in 2006, but by then, Rosendo was a shadow of his former self. Having had tough fights with Chana Porpaoin, 2 wars with Lopez, 4 fights with Mendoza and a hard fought draw with Victor Burgos. He had almost nothing left by the time Arce fought him. If they had fought earlier, it would have been alot more competitive. But i'd probably still give the edge to Arce.
I even think that the Arce that fought Carbajal and Choi would have been able to take rounds from the great Lopez, although "Finito" would have capitalised on his mistakes such as his wide punches and inferior defence and beat him. Basically my question is how good do you think Arce could have been if he had been able to stay at 108 for his whole career? I personally think he could have had a really great career if he did. At 108, he boxed more because he was able to hurt guys with one punch. Where as at the higher weights he's more wreckless and aggressive because his punches aren't as powerful and he has to throw more. And this means he's more hittable. Abit of a shame he had to move up to 115 and beyond, because his effectiveness and overall skills have clearly diminished as a result. But he just couldn't keep making the weight, in the first Castro fight, he put on like 15lbs between the weigh in and fight.
Please vote in the poll.
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