Jorge “Travieso” Arce: Longtime Mexican boxing icon On Pacquiao Undercard

By: Sergio Martinez

With all of the hype centered on Manny Pacquiao’s clash with Timothy Bradley this coming Saturday night, little-to-no attention has been placed on the combatants of the under card bouts. The fight card, which will take place at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, will host the usual array of young prospects and recent former blue-chippers-turned-contenders looking to move up in the boxing world. Longtime Mexican boxing icon Jorge “Travieso” Arce is among the pugilists scheduled to fight that night. For anyone who has had the privilege of seeing Arce, it should be a real treat for as long as it lasts.

Jorge ‘Travieso’ Arce,Los Mochis Mexico and Jesus Rojas,Caguas,Puerto Rico Photo: Chris Farina/ Top Rank

“Travieso,” widely known for his wild man persona both in and out of the ring, will lace up the leather for the sixty-ninth time in his career. The rugged Mexican veteran will rekindle the Mexico v. Puerto Rico rivalry when he takes on Jose M. Rojas: a young, Boricua banger with a current professional record of 18-1-1 with 13 wins coming by way of knockout. Little is known about Rojas as a professional fighter but if he stays true to his Puerto Rican boxing bloodline, the match should be a hard-hitting affair with complete disregard of personal health and well-being.

Arce comes into the bout seeking the sixty-first win of his career and hoping to secure a big unification bout at the 122 pound division. The super bantamweight division is stout with possible match ups that would interest the boxing world. He is unbeaten in his last nine contests spanning over two and a half years, posting a record of 8-0-1 with 6 knockouts. He has captured two titles during this current win streak as he vanquished Wilfredo Vasquez, Jr. via 12 round technical knockout to win the World Boxing Organization Super Bantamweight title in May 2011. Two fights later, in November 2011, Arce defeated Angky Angkota via 12 round unanimous decision to win the vacant World Boxing Organization Bantamweight title. With these two recent championships, Arce has won titles in five different weight classes from 108 to 122 pounds. This is a feat rarely achieved in boxing.

Arce’s fighting style can only be described as ferocious. He is a face-first brawler who possesses real boxing ability but usually suspends skill in favor of attrition; he barrels into his opponents, firing hellacious bombs to both the head and body. Few fighters are able to withstand the brutal Mexican’s relentless attacks and often yield to this one-man demon horde.

“Travieso’s” career has been one of complete excitement as the lollipop-eating, cowboy hat-wearing, little giant has faced every significant lower-weight fighter from his era. His resume is a “who’s who” of fighters which includes: Michael Carbajal, Melchor Cob Castro (twice), Hussein Hussein (twice), Rosendo Alvarez, Cristian Mijares, Vic Darchiniyan, Martin Castillo and Lorenzo Parra (twice). These fighters were highly-regarded, former champions when they met Arce in the ring. Arce holds a 7-3-1 record against these elite pugs, ending five combats by way of knockout.

With these types of credentials and his immense popularity among Mexican and Mexican-American fight fans, it is easy to see why “Travieso”, weighing all of 122 pounds, commands a serious fight purse of $300,000. Add in the fact that he is sure to entertain the crowd with his ring walk and will be all action once the bell rings, and it is simple to see why the promoters chose to add the Mexican boxing legend to the televised portion of the under card. He is guaranteed to bring in the Latin boxing contingent both to the actual fight and in the form of pay-per-view buys which makes him a must-have and must-see.

Contact Sergio Martinez at srg_mrtnz@yahoo.com