Darchinyan Stops Arce in 11

Super flyweight superfights are few and far between. If the long-awaited unification bout between Vic Darchinyan and Jorge Arce wasn't quite a superfight it was definitely in the neighborhood. Both men have big egos, big punches and big holes in their defenses.

Right from the start it was clear that neither fighter had any intention of winning on points. Darchinyan took control in rounds one and two, only to have Arce bounce back with a big round three. What seemed the beginning of a back-and-forth war was instead Arce's only good round of the fight. Darchinyan was simply too strong for Arce, who absorbed tremendous punishment but never went down and never stopped trying to turn the tide of the fight. After the eleventh round, in which Darchinyan opened a bad cut over Arce’s right eye, the doctor advised the referee to stop the fight. Arce wanted to continue but it appeared to be a good stoppage. All three judges scored the fight 109-100.

Next for Darchinyan could be a rematch with IBF flyweight champ Nonito Donaire, who stopped Darchinyan in five rounds in 2007. Another option would be to jump up two weight classes for a bout with either Israel Vazquez or Rafael Marquez.