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Born on this day: Jorge Arce

Tough as they come: Jorge Arce was one of Mexico's bravest
Fighters Network
27
Jul

Toughness is one of Mexican boxing’s trademarks, but there are levels to that.

Jorge Arce inhabits the highest level in that particular category.

The former four-division titlist turns 43 years old today, being born in the boxing hotbed of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico back on June 27, 1979.

Starting out at a young age as an amateur, Arce turned pro at age 16, and had an uneven career until he was finally able to secure a title shot against Argentina’s Juan Domingo Cordoba back in 1998, winning the WBO junior flyweight belt at the age of 19.



That win would kickstart a long and illustrious career in which Arce became only the second boxer from Mexico to win titles in four weight classes.

Aside from the WBO junior flyweight, Arce won the WBC and lineal light flyweight titles in 2002; the WBO junior bantamweight belt in 2010; the WBO junior featherweight belt in 2011; and the WBO bantamweight title in 2011.

In 2012, Arce challenged Nonito Donaire for the Ring and WBO championship belts, in his only Ring title fight in his career. He lost by knockout in the third round, and after unsuccessfully challenging Jhonny Gonzalez for the WBC featherweight title in his final fight in 2014 he proceeded to retire after an illustrious career that saw him win 64 fights and lose only eight, with 49 wins coming by way of knockout.

His trademark black cowboy hat, his lollipop, his dancing skills (which he showed off in several Mexican TV shows as well) and his legendary toughness (this writer once interviewed Arce while he was trying to stop the bleeding from a gruesome cut on his nose using nothing but a cocktail napkin, quitting only when a doctor arrived accompanied by a policeman to impress upon him the need to go to the nearest hospital to stitch the wound) live on in the memory of his many fans.

Diego M. Morilla writes for The Ring since 2013. He also wrote for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and other outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com. Follow him on Twitter @MorillaBoxing

 

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