LAS VEGAS - Jorge Arce barely needed to break a sweat
in his rematch with Hussein Hussein.
Unlike their first meeting in March, Arce needed just two rounds
to record a TKO and retain his interim WBC flyweight title
Saturday at the Thomas Mack Center.
Fighting on the undercard of the Diego Corrales-Jose Luis
Castillo bout, Arce (41-3-1, 31 KOs) scored a knockdown in both
rounds, the second of which caused Hussein's corner to quickly
throw in the towel, much to Hussein's chagrin.
Both knockdowns were quick and Hussein (28-3) was able to get to
his feet right away, but Arce controlled from the outset. His
right hand floored Hussein in the first and it was a left hook
that scored the decisive blow in the second.
Arce needed 10 rounds to score a TKO over Hussein seven months
ago in a slugfest that demanded a rematch.
Arce's quick work Saturday made the wait for Corrales-Castillo a
shorter one. It is a fight that has lost some luster after a
fiasco at Friday's weigh-in when Castillo failed to make weight
on three occassions and saw his doctor suspended for tampering
with the scale.
A final weigh-in took place Saturday afternoon when Castillo
weighed in at the new limit of 147 pounds.
Castillo first weighed in Friday at 137 pounds, two over the
limit. He was given two hours to drop the necessary weight, but
came back with an extra 1.2 pounds to put him at 138.2.
To make matters worse, Dr. Armando Barac, Castillo's physician,
was caught attempting to tamper with the scale by placing his
foot under it. The incident led to Barac's suspension for
Saturday's fight.
Castillo, who weighed in one last time at 138.5, has been fined
10 percent of the $1.2 million purse. Half of it will go to
Corrales while the other $60,000 will be given to the Nevada
State Athletic Commission.
The two fighterss will forever be linked in boxing lore after a
monumental clash here in May that resulted on one of the most
shocking endings in recent history, capping a brutal slugfest.
After going toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring for nine active
rounds, the two staged a back-and-forth struggle in the 10th
that cemented the fight as a historic one and Corrales as a
worthy champion.
Castillo knocked down Corrales twice in the 10th and had the
challenger struggling to see out of one eye. Following the
second knockdown, Corrales bought some time by spitting out his
mouthpiece, a tactic that cost him a point but delayed the
action long enough for him to reload.
Within seconds of rising to his feet, the 28-year-old Corrales
unloaded a heavy barrage that sent Castillo to the ropes,
dropped his arms to his side and left the champ virtually out on
his feet. Referee Tony Weeks, who received criticism for
allowing Corrales to buy extra time, stepped in to stop the
onslaught before Castillo was seriously hurt.
The crowd was shocked, as was Castillo and his camp, and all who
were on hand knew they had witnessed the sport at its best,
making a rematch a near-necessity.
"I am here to finish a war, this is a war of attrition,"
Corrales said. "This is the final battle - I'm here and I will
die in that ring before I give up what I've tasted."
That line offered an odd choice of words, considering Weeks was
the referee when Jesus Chavez delivered a brutal beating to
Leavander Johnson on September 17, a dose that put Johnson in a
coma and led to his death five days later.
However, in a sport known for its machismo and amid a rivalry
that has most of the sport tuning in, a rash of confidence in
necessary. The soft-spoken Castillo is on the same page.
"I may have lost the first battle, but this is a war, and I will
win this next battle and the war," said Castillo, who had held
his WBC crown off and on from June 2000 until Corrales came
along.
With the win, Corrales became a two-time champion and delighted
fans in his adopted hometown. The Sacramento, California native
owned the IBF super featherweight title from 1999-2000.
With his share of detractors after taking so much punishment in
May, Corrales has found a desire to finish the job.
"I'm picking it up where I stopped in May," he said.