Jorge Arce
Jorge Armando Arce Armenta, best known as Jorge Arce, is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2014. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the second boxer from Mexico to win world titles in four weight divisions. In a storied career, Arce held the WBO light flyweight title from 1998 to 1999; the WBC and lineal light flyweight titles from 2002 to 2004; the WBO super flyweight title in 2010; the WBO junior featherweight title in 2011; and the WBO bantamweight title from 2011 to 2012. Additionally he held the WBC interim flyweight title from 2005 to 2006, the WBA interim super flyweight title from 2008 to 2009, and challenged once for the WBC featherweight title in his final fight in 2014.
Arce remains a favorite fighter among boxing fans and is also the older brother of title contender Francisco Arce Armenta. Arce's trademark ring entrance featured him wearing a black cowboy hat and sucking a cherry lollipop.
Professional career
Early years at light flyweight
Arce turned pro at the age of 16, winning his first four fights. He lost to future champion Omar Romero and drew with Gabriel Munoz in back-to-back fights in the summer of 1996, but then won 10 straight bouts and a pair of regional belts before losing on points to veteran Jose Victor Burgos on December 12, 1997.He recovered from that setback with four straight wins, earning his first world title shot on December 4, 1998 against Juan Domingo Córdoba for the WBO Light Flyweight title. Arce won the fight and became a world champion at the age of 19.
After making one successful defense of his title, Arce drew a big-money fight in Tijuana against three-time former champion Michael Carbajal on July 31, 1999. Arce was ahead on all three judges' scorecards after 10 rounds, but in the 11th, the veteran Carbajal connected with a stunning right hand and captured the crown via a technical knockout, as Arce was unable to continue.
After a four-month layoff, Arce returned to the ring and won a WBO regional belt as he scored 7 consecutive wins while working his way back up the rankings for another title shot. That came on October 20, 2001, when he defeated Juanito Rubillar for the Interim WBC version of the Light Flyweight title. Nine months later, he beat Yo-Sam Choi, the reigning Lineal and WBC light flyweight champion who had been out with an injury, to take full distinction. He held the title until the summer of 2005 before relinquishing it to move up in weight. In his first defense, he defeated Augustin Lara. In 2003, he successfully defended his title three times against Ernesto Castro, Lee Marvin Sandoval, and Melchor Cob Castro.
Towards the end of 2003, he participated in the Televisa version of Big Brother, the Big Brother V.I.P. show that put celebrities together. He arrived in third place, then went training for his next defense, against former world champion Joma Gamboa on January 10 of the following year. Arce invited his Big Brother celebrity friends to the fight with Gamboa, his first fight of 2004, which he won by a second-round knockout. But during and after the fight, chaos ensued. One of his friends, actress Arleth Gonzalez, was kicked off her chair by another person. And Verónica Castro was pursued by the press when she was trying to leave the fight site, taking her more than two hours to get to the site's parking lot.
On April 24, 2004, Arce successfully defended his title in a rematch against former champ Melchor Cob Castro in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas. Arce had beaten Castro in May 2003, but the fight was called off after six rounds due to a clash of heads which injured Arce. The fight went to the scorecards and Arce won a narrow, but controversial, decision. He left no doubt in the rematch, knocking Castro out in the fifth round.
On September 4 of that same year, he retained the title with a twelve-round decision in a rematch with Rubillar. The fight caused some controversy afterwards, when Rubillar's manager accused the fight's judges of robbing his fighter, going on to offer Arce 100,000 US$ for a rematch, which would be held in the Philippines.
Arce moved on to defend his title for a seventh time on December 18, defeating Juan Centeno by a third-round TKO. He then decided to try his luck in the flyweight weight division.
Flyweight
On March 19, 2005, Arce stopped Hussein Hussein in the 10th round of a fight for the right to challenge Pongsaklek Wonjongkam for his WBC Flyweight title. He later relinquished his light flyweight crown and was matched by the WBC with Angel Priolo on July 30 for their interim title after Wonjongkam suffered an injury. Arce scored a third-round TKO win in the fight, held in La Paz, Mexico.While waiting to fight Wongjongkam, Arce stayed busy by rematching Hussein on October 8 in Las Vegas. He retained his Interim WBC title with a second-round knockout.
On December 16, 2005, Arce defeated former two-time champion Adonis Rivas by 10th round tko. In his next bout, Arce defeated Rivas in a rematch.
On April 8, 2006, Arce took on the well regarded, former WBA Minimumweight and Light Flyweight Champion Rosendo Alvarez of Nicaragua, knocking Alvarez out in the sixth round. It was the 4th successful defense of his Interim Flyweight title.
Super flyweight
On September 23, 2006, he moved up to the super flyweight division where he defeated former Light Flyweight Champion Masibulele "Hawk" Makepula by fourth-round knockout. On January 27, 2007, he defeated Argentinian Julio Ler in a 12-round decision, thus earning the WBC #1 super-flyweight ranking.On April 14, 2007, he lost a 12-round unanimous decision to WBC Super Flyweight Champion Cristian Mijares in San Antonio, Texas. Mijares won the fight by a wide margin, with the official judges scoring the match 119–109, 118–110, 117–111, all in favor of Mijares.
Arce rebounded from the loss by defeating future champion Tomás Rojas by 6th-round technical knockout. On December 1, 2007, Arce defeated former Flyweight Champion Medgoen Singsurat by technical knockout in the first round.
On May 17, 2008, in a very close fight, Arce edged Devid Lookmahanak of Thailand with a majority decision in the main event at the Plaza Monumental Aguascalientes in Aguascalientes, Mexico. With a sold-out crowd of 18,000 fans cheering him on, Arce had to dig deep and work hard to pull past the once-beaten Lookmahanak, who turned out to be a very game southpaw and rarely took a step back. The difference in the fight, which also gave Arce the win, was a knockdown in the seventh round. The scores were 115–113, 115–114 and 114–114. Without the extra point for the knockdown, the fight would have been scored a draw. The bout was an eliminator for a shot at the WBC Super Flyweight title. Arce moves on to a rematch with Cristian Mijares, who earlier captured the WBA's version of the title with a points win over Alexander Muñoz.
On September 15, 2008, Arce won the Interim WBA Super Flyweight title from holder Rafael Concepción.
Arce blasted former champion Isidro García, on November 1, 2008, via 4th round technical knockout for a super flyweight belt. He improved to 51–4–1, with 38 wins inside the distance, while Garcia, who has lost 3 of his last 4 fights, was down to 25–6–2.
On February 7, 2009, Arce was defeated by Undisputed Super Flyweight Champion Vic Darchinyan.
Arce fought Simphiwe Nongqayi on September 15, 2009 for the IBF Super Flyweight title which was recently vacated by Darchinyan. However, he ended losing by unanimous decision.
Arce defeated Indonesian Angky Angkota on January 30, 2010, winning the vacant WBO Super Flyweight title. Prior to the bout, Arce stated that he would retire from boxing if he would have lost.
Bantamweight
On April 24, 2010, Arce jumped to the bantamweight division to fight fellow Mexican Cecilio Santos at the Centro de Usos Multiples in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico. Arce defeated his opponent by KO in the 7th round, improving his record to 54–6–1. This was not his first fight as a bantamweight: he already fought once in the weight class in 2007.Arce was scheduled to fight Eric Morel of Puerto Rico on June 26, 2010 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, United States with the Interim WBO Bantamweight title at stake. The Los Mochis native withdrew from the fight a few weeks in advance due to a cut he received while in training.
In his next fight, on July 31, 2010, Arce took on fellow Mexican and former champion Martín "El Gallo" Castillo at the Palenque de la Feria in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico. The Los Mochis native won the bout by KO in the first round.
Super bantamweight
On May 7, 2011 He beat a then undefeated WBO Super Bantamweight Champion, Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr. of Puerto Rico by twelfth-round technical knockout.Arce vs. Donaire
On December 15, 2012, Arce fought Nonito Donaire. Arce suffered a defeat on the third round via knockout. After losing to Donaire, Arce announced his retirement.Life outside of boxing
Arce has gained some popularity outside the ring as well, acting in various Televisa comedy sketches, and participating in Adal Ramones's show's dancing contest, "Bailando por un Sueño", where he and a fellow contestant arrived in eighth place out of nine couples. He has also done boxing commentary for TV Azteca.Professional boxing record
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 75 | Loss | 64–8–2 |  Jhonny González | TKO | 11, 2:43 | Oct 4, 2014 | Gimnasio Polifuncional, Los Mochis, Mexico | For WBC featherweight title |
| 74 | Win | 64–7–2 | Jorge Lacierva | TKO | 8 | Jun 14, 2014 | Arena Metropolitana Jorge Cuesy Serrano, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico | |
| 73 | Win | 63–7–2 |  Aldimar Silva | TKO | 5, 0:41 | Mar 8, 2014 | Domo de la Macroplaza, Nogales, Mexico | |
| 72 | Win | 62–7–2 |  Jose Carmona | KO | 8 | Nov 16, 2013 | El Domo, San Luis Potosí City, Mexico | |
| 71 | Loss | 61–7–2 |  Nonito Donaire | TKO | 3, 2:59 | Dec 15, 2012 |  Toyota Center, Houston, Texas, U.S. | For WBO and The Ring super bantamweight titles |
| 70 | Win | 61–6–2 |  Mauricio Martinez | UD | 10 | Sep 22, 2012 | Gimnasio Polifuncional, Los Mochis, Mexico | |
| 69 | 60–6–2 |  Jesus Rojas | NC | 2 0:09 | Jun 9, 2012 | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | NC after Arce could not continue from an accidental foul | |
| 68 | Win | 60–6–2 |  Lorenzo Parra | KO | 5 1:50 | Feb 18, 2012 | Feria Nacional, Durango City, Mexico | |
| 67 | Win | 59–6–2 |  Angky Angkotta | UD | 12 | Nov 26, 2011 | Plaza de Toros Rea, Mazatlán, Mexico | Won vacant WBO bantamweight title |
| 66 | Win | 58–6–2 |  Simphiwe Nongqayi | TKO | 4, 2:01 | Sep 24, 2011 | Foro PromoCasa, Mexicali, Mexico | Retained WBO super bantamweight title |
| 65 | Win | 57–6–2 | Wilfredo Vázquez Jr. | TKO | 12, 0:55 | May 7, 2011 | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | Won WBO super bantamweight title |
| 64 | Win | 56–6–2 | Adolfo Ramos | TKO | 1, 2:06 | Dec 18, 2010 | Estadio de Sóftbol "20 de Noviembre", Campeche City, Mexico | |
| 63 | Draw | 55–6–2 | Lorenzo Parra | 10 | Sep 18, 2010 | Estadio Banorte, Culiacán, Mexico | ||
| 62 | Win | 55–6–1 | Martín Castillo | KO | 1, 2:56 | Jul 31, 2010 | Palenque de la Feria, Tepic, Mexico | |
| 61 | Win | 54–6–1 | Cecilio Santos | KO | 7, 0:58 | Apr 24, 2010 | Centro de Usos Múltiples, Ciudad Obregón, Mexico | |
| 60 | Win | 53–6–1 | Angky Angkotta | TD | 7, 1:34 | Jan 30, 2010 | Restaurante Arroyo, Mexico City, Mexico | Won vacant WBO super flyweight title; Unanimous TD after Angkotta was cut from an accidental head clash |
| 59 | Loss | 52–6–1 | Simphiwe Nongqayi | UD | 12 | Sep 15, 2009 | Plaza de Toros, Cancún, Mexico | For vacant IBF super flyweight title |
| 58 | Win | 52–5–1 | Fernando Lumacad | KO | 3, 0:35 | Jun 27, 2009 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | Won vacant IBF International super flyweight title |
| 57 | Loss | 51–5–1 |  Vic Darchinyan | RTD | 11, 3:00 | Feb 7, 2009 | Honda Center, Anaheim, California, U.S. | For WBA, WBC, and IBF super flyweight titles |
| 56 | Win | 51–4–1 | Isidro García | TKO | 4, 0:48 | Nov 1, 2008 | Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | Retained WBA interim super flyweight title |
| 55 | Win | 50–4–1 | Rafael Concepción | RTD | 9, 3:00 | Sep 15, 2008 | Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico | Won WBA interim super flyweight title |
| 54 | Win | 49–4–1 |  Devid Lookmahanak | MD | 12 | May 7, 2008 | Plaza de Toros Monumental, Aguascalientes, Mexico | |
| 53 | Win | 48–4–1 | Medgoen Singsurat | TKO | 1, 0:47 | Dec 1, 2007 | Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. | Retained WBC Latino bantamweight title |
| 52 | Win | 47–4–1 | Tomás Rojas | TKO | 6, 1:00 | Sep 16, 2007 | The Joint, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | Won vacant WBC Latino bantamweight title |
| 51 | Loss | 46–4–1 | Cristian Mijares | UD | 12 | Apr 14, 2007 | Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | For WBC super flyweight title |
| 50 | Win | 46–3–1 |  Julio David Roque Ler | UD | 12 | Jan 27, 2007 | Honda Center, Anaheim, California, U.S. | |
| 49 | Win | 45–3–1 | Masibulele Makepula | TKO | 4, 1:00 | Sep 23, 2006 | Dodge Arena, Hidalgo, Texas, U.S. | |
| 48 | Win | 44–3–1 |  Rosendo Álvarez | TKO | 6, 1:54 | Apr 8, 2006 | Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | Retained WBC interim flyweight title |
| 47 | Win | 43–3–1 | Adonis Rivas | 6, 3:00 | Jan 28, 2006 | Plaza de Toros, Cancún, Mexico | Retained WBC interim flyweight title | |
| 46 | Win | 42–3–1 | Adonis Rivas | TKO | 10, 1:20 | Dec 16, 2005 | Arena Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico | Retained WBC interim flyweight title |
| 45 | Win | 41–3–1 |  Hussein Hussein | TKO | 2, 2:50 | Oct 8, 2005 | Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | Retained WBC interim flyweight title |
| 44 | Win | 40–3–1 | Angel Antonio Priolo | TKO | 3, 2:45 | Jul 30, 2005 | Estadio Arturo C. Nahl, La Paz, Mexico | Won vacant WBC interim flyweight title |
| 43 | Win | 39–3–1 | Hussein Hussein | TKO | 10, 2:07 | Mar 19, 2005 | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 42 | Win | 38–3–1 | Juan Francisco Centeno | TKO | 3, 2:48 | Dec 18, 2004 | Autonomous University of Sinaloa, Culiacán, Mexico | Retained WBC light flyweight title |
| 41 | Win | 37–3–1 | Juanito Rubillar | UD | 12 | Sep 4, 2004 | Plaza de Toros, Tijuana, Mexico | Retained WBC light flyweight title |
| 40 | Win | 36–3–1 | Melchor Cob Castro | KO | 5, 1:57 | Apr 24, 2004 | Palenque de Gallos, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico | Retained WBC light flyweight title |
| 39 | Win | 35–3–1 | Joma Gamboa | KO | 2, 1:38 | Jan 10, 2004 | Centro Banamex, Mexico City, Mexico | Retained WBC light flyweight title |
| 38 | Win | 34–3–1 | Melchor Cob Castro | TD | 6, 3:00 | May 3, 2003 | Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | Retained WBC light flyweight title; Unanimous TD after Arce was cut from an accidental head clash |
| 37 | Win | 33–3–1 | Lee Marvin Sandoval | TKO | 2, 2:43 | Mar 21, 2003 | Desert Diamond Casino, Tucson, Arizona, U.S. | |
| 36 | Win | 32–3–1 | Ernesto Castro | KO | 1, 1:40 | Feb 22, 2003 | Plaza de Toros, Mexico City, Mexico | Retained WBC light flyweight title |
| 35 | Win | 31–3–1 | Agustin Luna | TKO | 3, 2:13 | Nov 16, 2002 | Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | Retained WBC light flyweight title |
| 34 | Win | 30–3–1 |  Choi Yo-sam | TKO | 6, 1:21 | Jul 6, 2002 | Olympic Fencing Gymnasium, Seoul, South Korea | Won WBC light flyweight title |
| 33 | Win | 29–3–1 | Ramon Jose Hurtado | KO | 2, 1:00 | Jun 7, 2002 | Eldorado Resort Casino, Reno, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 32 | Win | 28–3–1 | Juanito Rubillar | UD | 12 | Oct 20, 2001 | Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Mexico | Won vacant WBC interim light flyweight title |
| 31 | Win | 27–3–1 | Juan Jose Beltran | TKO | 3, 0:57 | Feb 2, 2001 | Jai Alai Fronton, Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 30 | Win | 26–3–1 | Carmelo Caceres | KO | 2 | Dec 8, 2000 | Los Mochis, Mexico | Retained WBC Youth light flyweight title |
| 29 | Win | 25–3–1 | Jovan Presbitero | TKO | 3 | Oct 21, 2000 | Salón 21, Mexico City, Mexico | Retained WBC Youth light flyweight title |
| 28 | Win | 24–3–1 | Alfredo Virgen | TKO | 5, 0:36 | Oct 1, 2000 | Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | |
| 27 | Win | 23–3–1 | Emilio Palacios | KO | 1 | Jul 7, 2000 | Palenque de Gallos, Villahermosa, Mexico | |
| 26 | Win | 22–3–1 | Juan Javier Lagos | UD | 10 | Apr 7, 2000 | Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Mexico | Won vacant WBC Youth light flyweight title |
| 25 | Win | 21–3–1 | Ladislao Vazquez | 12 | Nov 29, 1999 | Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Mexico | Retained WBO–NABO light flyweight title | |
| 24 | Loss | 20–3–1 | Michael Carbajal | TKO | 11, 1:53 | Jul 31, 1999 | Bullring by the Sea, Tijuana, Mexico | Lost WBO light flyweight title |
| 23 | Win | 20–2–1 |  Salvatore Fanni | TKO | 6, 1:17 | Apr 17, 1999 | Palasport Roberta Serradimigni, Sassari, Italy | Retained WBO light flyweight title |
| 22 | Win | 19–2–1 | Juan Domingo Córdoba | UD | 12 | Dec 5, 1998 | Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Mexico | Won WBO light flyweight title |
| 21 | Win | 18–2–1 | Jose de Jesus Gomez | KO | 1 | Oct 10, 1998 | Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 20 | Win | 17–2–1 | Ruben Contreras | KO | 7, 0:40 | Jun 5, 1998 | Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 19 | Win | 16–2–1 | Miguel Martinez | KO | 2 | Apr 3, 1998 | Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 18 | Win | 15–2–1 | Miguel Martinez | UD | 12 | Feb 6, 1998 | Tijuana, Mexico | Won vacant WBO–NABO light flyweight title |
| 17 | Loss | 14–2–1 | Víctor Burgos | PTS | 12 | Dec 12, 1997 | Auditorio Municipal, Tijuana, Mexico | Lost WBA Fedecentro light flyweight title |
| 16 | Win | 14–1–1 | Leonardo Gutierrez | PTS | 12 | Nov 12, 1997 | Tijuana, Mexico | Won vacant WBA Fedecentro light flyweight title |
| 15 | Win | 13–1–1 | Lorenzo Trejo | 12 | Jul 21, 1997 | Grand Hotel, Tijuana, Mexico | Won vacant Mexican Pacific Coast light flyweight title | |
| 14 | Win | 12–1–1 | Pablo Tiznado | 10 | May 26, 1997 | Tijuana, Mexico | ||
| 13 | Win | 11–1–1 | Ruben Arteaga | TKO | 2 | Apr 21, 1997 | Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 12 | Win | 10–1–1 | Indalecio Valenzuela | TKO | 2 | Feb 21, 1997 | Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 11 | Win | 9–1–1 | Narciso Perez | KO | 1 | Feb 3, 1997 | Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 10 | Win | 8–1–1 | Ruben Romero | KO | 2 | Dec 20, 1996 | Ensenada, Mexico | |
| 9 | Win | 7–1–1 | Marcos Hiedra | KO | 1 | Dec 9, 1996 | Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 8 | Win | 6–1–1 | Armando Correa | TKO | 2 | Nov 29, 1996 | Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 7 | Win | 5–1–1 | Mauricio Morales | TKO | 3 | Nov 4, 1996 | Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 6 | Draw | 4–1–1 | Gabriel Munoz | 4 | Sep 9, 1996 | Tijuana, Mexico | ||
| 5 | Loss | 4–1 | Omar Niño Romero | TKO | 1 | Jun 21, 1996 | Guadalajara, Mexico | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Mario Enriquez | TKO | 1 | May 19, 1996 | Tijuana, Mexico | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Dano Diaz | KO | 1 | Apr 26, 1996 | El Estadio de Béisbol del Ferrocarril, Mexicali, Mexico | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Jose Santos | 1 | Mar 18, 1996 | Tijuana, Mexico | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Adan Aldama | 1 | Jan 19, 1996 | Tijuana, Mexico |