Sharkie's Machine September 23, 2006
“Jorge Arce TKO’s Makepula in Four”
By Frank Gonzalez Jr.

September 24, 2006 - On his way to partake in a WBC Super Flyweight Eliminator bout, Masibulele “Hawk” Makepula looked in a trance. He sang a religious song as he marched very slowly to the ring. It felt like 20 minutes. That’s a great strategy if you aim to put the crowd to sleep. I also notice that often times when guys sing spiritual hymns en route to the ring, they get knocked out.

Rising Mexican Star and aspiring Super Flyweight Champion Jorge Arce said before the fight that he’d move around a bit in the first couple of rounds before knocking Makepula out in the fourth. Arce backed up his words and improved his record to 45-3-1-35 KO’s after losing the first two rounds to Makepula (28-4-0-18 KO’s), then coming on strong in the third and fulfilling his pledge to win by TKO in the fourth round.

Makepula showed some nice boxing skills in the first two rounds, countering nicely and landing decent shots with both hands. Arce may not be the prettiest boxer but he has other qualities, like his ferocious attack with no regard for what may come back. His own blood only gets him more riled up.

In the third round, the ref warned Arce for a low blow. There were a lot of exciting exchanges. Arce’s aggression turned the boxing match into a brawl. Arce cracked Makepula with a good left that snapped his head back and saw the momentum shift in his favor.

In the fourth round, Arce landed a left hook that rocked Makepula. Hawk’s boxing skills were insufficient to contain the increasingly aggressive Arce. Makepula opted to go pure defense. Arce took his powerful charisma, balled it into his fists and started to whack Makepula with a slew of punches, landing one for every five thrown.

Makepula, in a defensive posture, leaned on the ropes for support. Arce kept attacking and soon landed a clean right hand that staggered Makepula. Arce smelled blood and went after Hawk with continuous punches, landing just often enough to knock Makepula down. The punch that floored Makepula looked like a combination of Hawk being off balance and a ‘pushing punch’ from Arce.

Makepula went down clumsily but did get up to beat the count. As the ref approached him, Hawk looked into the face of Draculich, mouthing what looked like the words, “I’m ok.” But Draculich waved his arms over Makepula, rendering Arce the winner by TKO 4. Makepula, eyes clear, looked over his shoulder and then the camera’s made him disappear.

Jorge Arce predicted a KO in four. He got it. Maybe he got an assist from the referee, who was quick to call it off. Makepula did look capable of  continuing. There would be no post fight interview for Makepula, only for Arce. I don’t know how fair that is but hey, you get what you accept.
Jorge Arce wears a big Cowboy hat and smiles with infectious jubilation. Fans love him and he loves them back. He puts on a hell of a show in  entertaining fights. He brings it on ala, “old school” Mexican fighters—only with a little extra pizzazz.

During the post fight interview, it was suggested that Arce move up in weight—if he wants to make more money. The Makepula fight was officially at 115-pounds but both guys entered the ring weighing over 125-pounds actual. Considering that, I can’t see Arce staying at 115 for long, especially if he wins his next fight.

For all his appeal, Arce has some deficiencies on defense that could be exploited by a skillful boxer with a good chin and some pop in his punch. Nobody knows what would happen against another very aggressive brawler of equal stature. That would boil down to who lands the biggest shots first or, ‘quien es mas macho?’

Before he moves up, I’d like to see him fight premium Flyweight, Vic Darchinyan (26-0, 21 KO’s) at a catch weight, or really make his bones by fighting Fernando Montiel (32-2-1, 24 KO’s) at Super Fly next. Montiel is a superb technical fighter at Super Fly and Darchinyan is about as exciting as Arce at Flyweight. Arce has offered himself up to HBO, willing to fight whoever they want him to fight. There are lots of good fighters at those smaller weight classes but I hope Darchinyan and Montiel are on the agenda.

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