VIC DARCHINYAN UNLEASHES A TIDAL WAVE OF TRASH TALK
Tim Starks
The Queensberry Rules, MA
Jan 3 2009
At least 50% of the awesomeness of this Saturday’s bout pitting Vic
Darchinyan against Jorge Arce has been the pre-fight trash talk. And
while it’s not that Arce hasn’t had plenty interesting to say —
"When I am cut, I am content. My blood pleases me" — Darchinyan has
spit out so many nasty things toward Arce that it’s been a rather
one-sided affair. The above video is but one example. He’s insulted
Arce’s trademark lollipop; he’s had about a billion quips involving
Arce’s name, some obvious and some not ("Chicken a la Arce"); and
he’s threatened to knock out members of Arce’s management team. All
while saying Arce has "a big mouth." And we still have a little less
than a week to go.
So before we hit the official preview later in the week for this
junior bantamweight (115 lbs.) showdown, I figured we’d hit the high
points of the Darchinyan smack, which is too voluminous to compile
in toto without the aid of an encyclopedia manufacturer.
One note — several of Darchinyan’s quotes come via news release, and
there’s a strong chance Vic got a little, shall we say, assistance
massaging the language of his attack. Most likely from Gary Shaw
Productions PR man Fred Sternburg, a punsmith if there ever was
one. Whatever. It’s all entertaining, and Vic’s name is on all
of it. Therefore, here we go: in no particular order, the best of
Darchinyan verbal assaults over the last couple months.
Concise: "I am going to demolish him, destroy him and knock him out.
He is going to remember me all his life." (news conference transcript)
Extracurricular: "I am upset with Beltran – the manager of
Arce… He should keep his mouth shut and let Arce and myself do
the talking. After I knockout Arce I will go to his corner and
thank him for fighting me but then I might knock out Fernando
Beltran." (FightNews)
When Arce missed a mandatory weigh-in, Darchinyan dropped a
reference to a serial weigh-in offender: "Do you know the weigh
to San Jorge? Maybe he should switch to sugar-free lollipops to
facilitate his weight loss? I just hope Jose Luis Castillo isn’t
his nutritionist!" (news release)
If Arce is from Mexico, then there’s an opportunity for Vic to raise
comparisons… and Toy Story references?: "I can’t get enough of
Mexican fighters. They bounce real good off the canvas when I hit
them. Let’s see, I’ve stopped Cristian Mijares, Victor Burgos and
Luis Maldonado over the past two years. Unlike Jorge Arce, those
three fighters were very tough hombres. Defeating Arce won’t take much
training. It won’t even be a fight for me — more like pest control.
I’m going to swat that Spanish Fly. How do you take a guy like
Arce seriously? He sucks on lollipops and wears a cowboy hat from
a toy store. He looks like ‘Woody’ from the movie ‘Toy Story.’ I
can picture him running around his house on a broom pretending he’s
riding a horse. He’s a regular Schlepalong Cassidy. When I finally
meet him at the press conference do I say ‘Hola Jorge’ or ‘Howdy,
Doody?’" (news release)
"The Raging Bull" throws some more Mexican-oriented quips in there:
"If Arce thinks he has a snowball’s chance in hell of beating me
than he’s a bigger sucker than those lollipops he chews on. Arce
shouldn’t be worrying about me running for the hills. He should be
worrying about me running him out of boxing! The last real ring test
he had was against Cristian Mijares in 2007 and we all know how that
ended. It was a murderous unanimous decision victory for Mijares,
scored 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111. And everyone saw what I did to
Mijares on November 1. Arce is going to be my human piata. It will be
like a Chihuahua going against a bull…a raging bull!" (news release)
A lengthy screed following welterweight (147 lbs.) Shane Mosley’s
defeat of Antonio Margarito: "If Arce watched the fight, then he
knows his future, which will come to pass when we meet on February
7. If I were Arce’s team, I’d MapQuest the quickest routes from
the Honda Center to John Wayne Airport so he can get out of town
fast. Unlike Mosley I am not waiting until the ninth round for the
knockout. I am going to stop Farce quickly so he can take his black
eyes on the red-eye out that same night. Whether Mexico allows him
back in, well that is another issue. I was looking forward to facing
him last Saturday at our press conference in Los Angeles, but he
did not show. As my promoter Gary Shaw said, they decided to serve
‘Chicken a la Arce’ two weeks early. What a shock. Mexicans are great
fighters. Arce is a disgrace to all of them. He is a clown. He should
change his ring name from ‘Travieso’ to ‘Travesty’ because that’s
what he is. I promise that I will demolish him just like I demolished
Mijares. I will let him be a coward for the first two rounds where he
can run around the ring. He can even wear his stupid cowboy hat. But
after that, I am going to be on him like a mongoose on a cobra. He
does not stand a chance. Interim champion is the perfect description
of his so-called title reign." (news release)
He’d earlier bragged about this being the "year of the bull," but
why not switch it up and send it the other way and then keep mocking
the "interim" titlist designation?: "It’s the Year of the Ox, how
appropriate that I’m fighting Jorge ‘Travieso’ Arce, who is as dumb
as one. I’m going to blow him away like a Santa Ana wind.
On February 7, I’m going to teach Arce just how interim his title
really is. What’s black and blue and red all over? Jorge Arce by
round three — assuming he lasts that long." (news release)
Darchinyan really wants you to know that he thinks Arce has a low
IQ: "He’s been hit in the head so much. He is not very smart for a
boxer. He is dumb." (news conference)
You can practically hear the Armenian accent: "Arce is a good puncher;
he’s had good knockouts. But I am going to play him like baby." (news
conference)
A lot is going to happen afterward, first to Arce: "He’s just going
for a big punch. He’s not a big puncher. I’m going to punish him. I
want to thank his management because they don’t want him anymore. They
just want to write him off after this loss." (news conference)
Then to the entire division: "After this fight, I don’t think anyone
(in the super flyweights) is going to fight me because they are going
to see what I am going to do with Arce," he said. "I’m not going to
wait for them. I’m going to move up to bantamweight. If they can move
up to bantamweight [118] and win any title, the door is open for them
any time." (The Age)
Since Arce is the one with a "big mouth," I suppose I’ll throw Arce’s
best attacks line in there, from a news conference: "He has said things
I don’t appreciate and it makes me work a little harder, but when we
get in the ring I am going to hurt him. I hope he stands there and
fights for a while so I can really hurt him. I hope he doesn’t fall
early because I want to give him a lot of punches. I know he can take
a lot of punches, so I hope he is ready for them… I’ve been watching
his videos. He’s just a one-handed fighter. All he has is the left
hand. He’s fast and he’s strong, but once you take the left hand away
he’s done. Nonito Donaire proved that. He can also be knocked out in
one punch. But not me. I’m not moving up in weight. I’m moving down."
And lastly, an exchange… Arce: "He thinks he is an intimidator. He
always tells people what he will do and they get intimidated. But, I’m
not that type of guy. His words won’t affect me. He can say and talk
about what he is going to do to me in the ring, but I’m not going to
fold. I’m a bigger guy than him. He won’t intimidate me." Darchinyan,
asked about Arce’s claim that he wouldn’t be intimidated: "I don’t
care. I’m going to knock him out." (news conference)