“El Travieso” Comes To So. Cal
January Top Rank Card In Anaheim Chock Full

By “Hail” Cesar Garcia
Photos: Chris Farina – Top Rank
 

If one was to compare a boxer to a car, you could say that Jorge Arce would be compact car, small but strong and quick enough to act like a muscle machine, just more reliable. So perhaps it is appropriate enough that on January 27th, “El Travieso” (45-3-1, 35 KO’s) will make his Southern California debut at the Honda Center in Anaheim against little known Argentinean Julio Roque Ler (23-1, 14 KO’s). Arce, who is the #1 rated flyweight by the WBC and claims to be the best fighter pound for pound, will be defending his WBC Interim Super flyweight title for the fifth time. And if that happens, it would be Arce’s 26 consecutive victory and his 9th consecutive by KO or TKO. What is odd is that Arce, in his 49 bouts, has fought in places such as Sassari, Italy and Seoul, S. Korea has never fought in the boxing rich area.

“Fighting here in Southern California is a dream come true,” says Arce in his native Spanish. “With all the ‘paisas’ (short for paisanos) in the area, it wont even feel like I’m fighting in America.”

So now So. Cal fight fans that have not been able to travel to watch the fighter that Arum coined as “the best pound for pound entertainer in boxing,” will be able to cheer him on in their own back yard.

“What’s funny,” says Arce who seems to already be connecting to the throngs of Mexican immigrants in So. Cal, “is that before [his fighting career] they wouldn’t even let me cross the border, and now they want me to be a resident.”

“El Travieso”, in an attempt to show his Mexican fans in So. Cal that he too is just like them went on to tell about his recent experience in Mexico of trying to obtain a work visa to come to the U.S.

“They said I could have issues because in the past I had been caught trying to cross the border illegally 15 times, but I told them they were wrong,” says the aptly nicknamed Arce (El Travieso means “mischievous one” in English), “it had been about 30 times!”

And while Arce should be problem free on his work visit to the Golden State it is Roque Ler who will have the biggest problem, trying to contend with the punishing Arce.

“He [Roque Ler, WBA #3] has a good chance of getting knocked out.”

The Arce who has fought in So. Cal several times, Francisco, better known as “El Traviesos” younger brother, will also be on the card along with So. Cal natives Vanes Martyrosian (11-0, 7 KO’s) and John John Molina (5-0, 4KO’s).

What will probably be the fight of the night however will be the one between undefeated middleweight prospect Kelly Pavlik (29-0, 26)of Youngstown, Ohio and the always exciting Jose Luis Zertuche (19-3-2, 14) of Guanajuato, Mexico.

Despite being the obvious underdog Zertuche shouldn’t be counted out. Among his knockout victories have been Carlos Bojorquez and ‘The Contender II” champion Grady Brewer, will be looking to add Pavlik to his KO list. “ Like the pizza man,” says a confident Zertuche, “I will deliver.”