AS I had hoped, Jorge Arce?s chin survived the bombardment, although barely. Unfortunately, having a granite chin isn?t enough especially when you show up for a fight without a game plan.
Darchinyan started finding a home for his deadly left hand in the first two rounds, but Arce inexplicably made very few adjustments.
Worse, as aptly pointed out by Nonito Donaire, father of world champ Nonito Jr., Arce was moving the wrong way?to his right and into Vic?s power punch, the deadly left straight.
Still, despite his lack of technical proficiency, Arce never stopped trying and he also had his moments. Darchinyan was nailed by a couple of left hooks and looked affected by a body shot that landed every now and then. The difference was the speed and the precision punching displayed by the ?Raging Bull.?
It was an action-packed bout between two bangers and every round was a thrill to watch.
PUNCH QUALITY. Note the difference in the quality of their punches. Arce?s blows were more of the clubbing, thudding type. Heavy-handed no doubt and with a lot of power behind them, but not explosive.
Contrast that to Darchinyan?s sharp, sizzling, piercing incisions. Vic?s left hand has got to be one of the best left hands in the business, comparable to Joe Calzaghe?s and Manny Pacquiao?s.
REMATCH. After the fight, Nonito Donaire, texted this Last Rounder saying that his Jr. definitely can still beat Darchinyan.
Well, of course, sir. As impressive as he was against Arce, I think the ?Raging Bull? is still a sucker for that left hook.
Arce landed a few of them, despite the fact that he telegraphed his blows by flopping and lunging in awkwardly, all the while leading with his chin. Vic was able to anticipate those bombs and defend quite well.
Bad news for Vic. Nonito Jr. doesn?t hook like that. He hooks perfectly with crisp certainty and deadly impact.
Watch again their fight. After Vic dropped his right hand (as he often does) to set up that left straight, Nonito countered beautifully and unleashed the hook. The result merited a Knockout of the Year award.
From where I sit, I say Jr. knocks him out again in a rematch.
LOYALTY? After the fight, Darchinyan reportedly reiterated his desire for a rematch with the ?Filipino Flash? but added that ?if he doesn?t want me to fight Donaire, then I respect his decision.?
He was referring to promoter Gary Shaw, who reportedly wasn?t so keen on the rematch because Nonito was ?disloyal.? Awww, c?mon Gary. Don?t be a sourpuss. Give us boxing fans what we want.
While it?s understandable for you to feel a bit miffed that Donaire left you for Bob Arum, it?s a phenomenon that repeats itself on a regular basis in the boxing world.
After all, promoters shaft boxers. And boxers leave promoters. That?s that.
Loyalty? That?s for pets. Not fighters.
FEEDBACK. Reacting to my piece on who is the UFC pound-for-pound king, Last Rounder Gerald Manigos e-mailed all the way from Dubai to voice his opinion that Anderson Silva is the rightful pound-for-pound king.
Amen to that Gerald. Last time I checked, Silva won his last bout. It may not have been impressive, but he won, nonetheless. I would like to believe that a win still counts for something, doesn?t it?
While Georges St. Pierre looked impressive against BJ Penn, he beat a smaller guy who was coming up in weight. That?s not enough to dislodge Silva.
LAST ROUND. It?s on my kumare, Valerie Macapagal who celebrates her birthday this week and on Tyrone Alaan, Nelly Basco and Mariano Lumbres of MTCC Branch 2, Surigao City. Cheers!
