War of Words at the Darchinyan-Arce Press Conference

Orange, CA -- The final press conference in advance of Saturday's World Championship Title bout between unified Super Flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan and former two-time world champion Jorge Arce was held yesterday afternoon, and the two fighters wasted no time in proclaiming themselves ready for battle. Among the many in attendance were Top Rank head honcho and promoter Bob Arum, and his co-promoter Gary Shaw.

After making a few opening remarks in which he thanked the venue, the sponsors, the Showtime network, the fighters, and his co-promoter Gary Shaw, Arum invited his fighter Arce to kick off the proceedings and say a few words.

Arce confidently took to the podium and boldly assured all that he "was 100% ready for Saturday." He then reminded all of his Mexican supporters that he would "never surrender," punctuating this last point by forcefully slamming his hand down on the dais.

Co-promoter Gary Shaw playfully ribbed Arce for his colorful ring entrances, including one in which he rode a horse to the ring. Shaw then introduced his fighter, Darchinyan.

The charismatic and loquacious Armenian "Raging Bull," confidently strode to the podium, and immediately provided the press corps with a few rather provocative sound bites.

Darchinyan assured the gathered masses that on Saturday they would see "punishment." He also stated, "The second he sees my punches [Arce] will be running scared. I am very happy that he's [Arce]100% ready and has no excuses."

Afterwards, both fighters were gracious enough to field questions and speak in greater detail about their preparation, abilities, and thoughts on their opposition. Here's is a small sampling of what was said:

Vic Darchinyan

1. On whether or not a perceived lack of respect is motivation for this fight . . .

"I want to prove to everyone that I am the best in my weight division, or any weight division. Respect is not the point for me, I love myself, my friends love myself, that's what is important for me -- my family, good friends."


2. On the prospect of a largely pro-Arce Mexican crowd . . .

"Of course [Arce] is [a] Mexican fighter, Mexicans have to love him. But Armenians love me."


3. On the normally loquacious Arce being more subdued in the build-up thus far, Gary Shaw jumped in . . .

"I'll answer that, its because he watched the [Christian Mijares]tape over and over again."

Darchinyan comically added, "I will answer too. Let me think (placing index finger to temple). It's because he's scared."


4. On if he actually believes his opponent feared him . . .

"Of course he's scared. You will see. You will see in the first Round on Saturday."

"When I demolish him, and knock him out, I don't want any excuses. He's not the same level as me. I don't respect him. On Saturday, you're gonna see what I mean."


5. On whether his win over Christian Mijares gave him a clear advantage over Arce, wholost to Mijares . . .

"No, no, no, its not in my mind. Because he beat him, its gonna be [an] easy fight for me, no. I'm looking at each opponent like, he's the best [that] we have in my weight division."

"I'm gonna show very good speed, very good tactics, and it will be a very good fight."


6. On whether he has any other Mexican fighters in his sights . . .

"I would love to be, like put my name 'Mexican Executor.' I would love to 'Filipino Killer' too. Gary knows, he doesn't want to talk about it. I would love to fight Nonito Donaire because I became undisputed world champion because of him. If I didn't lose to him, I would never be undisputed world champion. Donaire don't want to fight me. Now that I'm undisputed world champion, now I can prove it. I would beat him [with] one hand."


7. On the prospect of a rematch chance to avenge his only career defeat to Filipino Nonito Donaire . . .

"Ah, you know mentally, I know in my mind I lost to Nonito Donaire not because he's better. Inside the ring I can see inside his eyes how much he's scared of me. When every punch I'm throwing, he's just scared. He just throwing his punches. He doesn't even know where he wanna throw his punches.


8. On how his friendship with Hussein Hussein (who had two fights with Arce) has helped him in preparation for this fight . . .

"Hussein Hussein is a good friend of mine, and also my main sparring partner. When I sparred with Hussein I sparred with him using 14-16 ounce gloves, and when I fight with Arce, its gonna be 8 ounce gloves, and its gonna be a big difference when I hit [Arce]."


9. When asked for his thoughts on the Arce's camp claim that Darchinyan was basically a one-handed fighter . . .

"If you see my last fight with Mijares before I start punching with left, I also hurt him with right. My right [is] also very good."

Jorge Arce

1. When asked what aspect of his style would be prove to be problematic for Darchinyan . . .

"I think that I am a more aggressive fighter than Mijares, and I know I hit harder than Mijares."


2. When asked about Darchinyan's vow to knock him out . . .

"I don't believe that. I don't think that his punch is strong enough to knock me out. Once we get in the ring and exchange punches, he will know that I am not a guy that is just going to go away."


3. Arce was also asked if he thought that this fight was important in cementing his legacy as a great Mexican fighter . . .

"To me, its more a question about my place in the sport, and being important at this point in time, right now. A lot of people don't believe in me like they did before, and I think this fight can take me right back where I was before. I don't care what I do, I am going to win this fight. Some way or another, I'm winning this fight."



The two fighters in the co-featured main event, lightweights Kid Diamond and Antonio DeMarco, were also in attendance, and each made modest comments regarding their opposition and title aspirations.

Arum also made sure to invite his top junior middleweight prospect, Glendale's Vanes Martirosyan to the dais. Martirosyan, a surging local contender looking for a title shot in the 154-pound division, promised that fans would entertained by a very "exciting" night of fights Saturday.

By Kweku Turkson
Staff Reporter for TheDailySportsHerald.com

Photographs by Tri Le
Staff Photographer for TheDailySportsHerald.com