Mexico’s Jorge “Travieso” Arce (left) avenged a 2009 loss by stopping South African Simphiwe Nongqayi in the fourth round in Mexicali, Baja California on Saturday night in a bout televised by Fox Deportes. Arce overwhelmed the 38-year-old in his first defense of the WBO super bantamweight belt he earned by shocking Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. in May. Travieso’s constant pressure and heavy hands forced Nongqayi to slump in the corner and capitulate with a minute left in the fourth.
Arce looked determined to brawl from the opening bell and scored a knockdown in the first, doubtless motivated by his shocking loss to Nongqayi three years for the IBF super flyweight title. The South African represented himself well, particularly when fighting on the inside, but lacked the vitality and power of the younger man. Instead he resorted to roughhouse tactics including headbutts, which drew complaints from Arce after he was cut twice.
The second cut cost Nongqayi a point and only enraged Arce, who upped his pressure after the fight resumed. Nongqayi withstood the barrage for as long as he could but it was clear there would be no repeat of his previous upset. Arce’s career renaissance has been a great story and in a shallow division he would pose a challenge to any of the top fighters at 122 lbs. Personally we’d like to see him in the ring with American prospect Rico Ramos, already ranked second at the weight by Ring Magazine.
On the televised co-feature Guadalajara’s Victor Terrazas (31–2–1, 18 KOs) dispatched Eduardo Becerril (12–10–1, 4 KOs) in the fourth round of a super bantamweight co-feature scheduled for ten. A straight right to the jaw started the trouble for Becerril and a right uppercut from Terrazas that landed flush convinced the referee to call the action to a halt at 2:12 of the fourth round. Terrazas has been tabbed for contention by his home audience but it as friend of the site Alex McClintock notes he seems a bit slow for world-class opposition.
Welterweights Francisco Kikin Rios and Abraham AlvarezOzuna fought to a spirited four-round draw in the swing bout, with the more experienced AlvarezOzuna outboxing the newcomer in our view.
