By James Slater: Last night in his native Mexico, all-action warrior Jorge Arce turned in a brilliant, dominant performance as he halted South Africa’s Simphiwe Nongqayi in the 4th-round of a short and sweet slugfest (albeit a one-sided one).
Arce, defending his World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-bantamweight belt, was looking to avenge a 2009 points loss to “The Golden Master,” and did he ever! Way too strong for his challenger from the very start, the 32-year-old fan favourite forced Nongqayi to the ropes in the 4th and then pounded away, hurting his man sufficiently for the ref to stop the bout. The time was 2-mins and 1 second of the round. Arce is now 58-6-1(44). Nongqayi, who had beaten Arce down at super-flyweight, is now 16-2-1(6).
Arce scored a knockdown in the very first round and he was intent on destroying his former conqueror. Picking up two bad cuts above his right eye that were caused by butts, “Travieso” saw his challenger deducted a point in the 4th. Then, pumped up and angered due to his injury, the defending champ stepped up his attack. The finish Arce was looking for duly came, as Nongqayi slumped over, taking the head punches without firing back.
Arce, on a real roll right now, has not lost since his September 2009 upset to the man he annihilated last night, and he has the possibility of getting himself some more big fights before his exciting career winds down. Back in May, in another thriller, Arce stopped the much younger Wilfredo Vazquez Junior – a return has been talked about ever since and this could be next on the cards.
Arce, who has won “world” titles at four different weights (his reign as World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight king being of the interim variety only; the reason his countryman Erik Morales recently captured the distinction of becoming the first Mexican boxer to win titles at four different weights), must one day get the call from Canastota. I feel this often underappreciated warrior has already done more than enough to warrant a place in The Hall of Fame, and his rollercoaster ride of a pro career is far from over yet!
Arce picked up added satisfaction from last night’s win due to the fact that he also avenged a loss his brother suffered at the hands of Nongqayi. A great night all round for “The Lollipop Man.”