OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

kenyan_cheena · 08-21-2015, 09:44 AM

ESPN

Boxing

Updated: January 24, 2009 11.45 PM ET

Arcari stops Perkins in 11th round,
claims 140-pound world championship

By Larry Holman
ESPN.com
Archive

The strange world that is boxing outside of the IBL has had little to become excited about during the last couple of years, but one bright spark has been the outstanding junior-welterweight rivalry between Mississippi's Eddie Perkins and the Italian Bruno Arcari. Back at the beginning of 2006, Perkins held the WBA belt while Arcari started the year by winning the IBF championship in January. Both men held onto their respective titles through until the end of the year, when Arcari's became defunct due to the ill-fated IBF/WBO merger. Rather than fighting for the inaugural IBO championship, Arcari instead took the more lucrative option of challenging long-time WBC titleholder Javier Gutierrez in February '07. Arcari stopped the Argentinian in the 9th round to claim both his title and status as the official world champion.

Perkins had agreed to take on the winner in a unification showdown, although he had to firstly get past New York's Leron Mathis in a March title defense, which he was successful in doing. It set the stage for Perkins vs Arcari in a September clash for both the WBA and WBC titles. After an outstanding 12-round stoush, the judges could not separate them and the bout was scored as a draw, meaning both men retained their championships. The rematch, held six months later in March '08, was just as competitive. Perkins started strongly, but had to withstand a late Arcari rally, which included being dropped by an uppercut in round nine. Once again, it seemed that a draw was a possibility, but Perkins took the decision by a slim split decision verdict to become the new world champion.

These two brave warriors clearly had unfinished business, though. A third meeting was scheduled for August, but when Perkins suffered a shoulder injury during his training camp, the fight was cancelled. Arcari considered finding an alternate opponent and going ahead and fighting on the planned date, but when the WBC announced that such a fight would be for their "interim" title, Arcari decided to wait for Perkins instead. Their third clash took place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas tonight, and it was Arcari who finally secured a victory for himself in the rivalry. It is hard to believe, but this slugfest was even more action-packed than the first two. The difference was that where the first two had been close affairs, Arcari clearly had Perkins's measure on this occasion.

Perkins started well enough, and held his own through the first three rounds, but when Arcari dominated the 4th, the tide turned his way, and stayed there for most of the remainder of the fight. Perkins rallied in round eight, but when Arcari floored him with an uppercut at the end of the 9th, the signals were clear. It was the same punch that did the damage in their second clash, and Perkins wore an almost resigned expression as he returned to his corner after receiving a standing eight count after the bell. They cruised through round ten, but Arcari came out all guns blazing in the 11th, intent on finishing it. He pummelled Perkins, leading referee Joe Cortez with no option but to jump in and wave it over at the 2:46 mark.

Arcari, who improved to 29-3-2(21) with the victory, outlanded Perkins 338-254. When the possibility of a fourth bout between the two men was mentioned, he was enthusiastic about it, saying it was pretty much a necessity with their rivalry now knotted at 1-1-1. Perkins fell to 37-3-1(26), and while the immediate sting and disappointment of defeat had him not quite as enthusiastic as Arcari, he confirmed that he'd gladly step back into the ring with the Italian again. It might not be as simple as that, though, as the WBC seems intent on ending the unified title status of the junior-welterweight division. They announced before tonight's fight that, regardless of the result, they would be expecting the winner to next defend the WBC belt against the man who claimed that bogus "interim" title back in August, Nashville's Frankie Randall.

It's simply another example of how far away the old alphabet sanctioning organisations currently are from competing with the IBL. If the WBA and WBC can't work together against their common enemy, and are actively seeking to harm each other, what chance do they have against the juggernaut that is the International Boxing League?

Larry Holman is ESPN.com's boxing writer.

08-21-2015, 09:44 AM	#2103
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	ESPN Boxing Updated: January 24, 2009 11.45 PM ET Arcari stops Perkins in 11th round, claims 140-pound world championship By Larry Holman ESPN.com Archive The strange world that is boxing outside of the IBL has had little to become excited about during the last couple of years, but one bright spark has been the outstanding junior-welterweight rivalry between Mississippi's Eddie Perkins and the Italian Bruno Arcari. Back at the beginning of 2006, Perkins held the WBA belt while Arcari started the year by winning the IBF championship in January. Both men held onto their respective titles through until the end of the year, when Arcari's became defunct due to the ill-fated IBF/WBO merger. Rather than fighting for the inaugural IBO championship, Arcari instead took the more lucrative option of challenging long-time WBC titleholder Javier Gutierrez in February '07. Arcari stopped the Argentinian in the 9th round to claim both his title and status as the official world champion. Perkins had agreed to take on the winner in a unification showdown, although he had to firstly get past New York's Leron Mathis in a March title defense, which he was successful in doing. It set the stage for Perkins vs Arcari in a September clash for both the WBA and WBC titles. After an outstanding 12-round stoush, the judges could not separate them and the bout was scored as a draw, meaning both men retained their championships. The rematch, held six months later in March '08, was just as competitive. Perkins started strongly, but had to withstand a late Arcari rally, which included being dropped by an uppercut in round nine. Once again, it seemed that a draw was a possibility, but Perkins took the decision by a slim split decision verdict to become the new world champion. These two brave warriors clearly had unfinished business, though. A third meeting was scheduled for August, but when Perkins suffered a shoulder injury during his training camp, the fight was cancelled. Arcari considered finding an alternate opponent and going ahead and fighting on the planned date, but when the WBC announced that such a fight would be for their "interim" title, Arcari decided to wait for Perkins instead. Their third clash took place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas tonight, and it was Arcari who finally secured a victory for himself in the rivalry. It is hard to believe, but this slugfest was even more action-packed than the first two. The difference was that where the first two had been close affairs, Arcari clearly had Perkins's measure on this occasion. Perkins started well enough, and held his own through the first three rounds, but when Arcari dominated the 4th, the tide turned his way, and stayed there for most of the remainder of the fight. Perkins rallied in round eight, but when Arcari floored him with an uppercut at the end of the 9th, the signals were clear. It was the same punch that did the damage in their second clash, and Perkins wore an almost resigned expression as he returned to his corner after receiving a standing eight count after the bell. They cruised through round ten, but Arcari came out all guns blazing in the 11th, intent on finishing it. He pummelled Perkins, leading referee Joe Cortez with no option but to jump in and wave it over at the 2:46 mark. Arcari, who improved to 29-3-2(21) with the victory, outlanded Perkins 338-254. When the possibility of a fourth bout between the two men was mentioned, he was enthusiastic about it, saying it was pretty much a necessity with their rivalry now knotted at 1-1-1. Perkins fell to 37-3-1(26), and while the immediate sting and disappointment of defeat had him not quite as enthusiastic as Arcari, he confirmed that he'd gladly step back into the ring with the Italian again. It might not be as simple as that, though, as the WBC seems intent on ending the unified title status of the junior-welterweight division. They announced before tonight's fight that, regardless of the result, they would be expecting the winner to next defend the WBC belt against the man who claimed that bogus "interim" title back in August, Nashville's Frankie Randall. It's simply another example of how far away the old alphabet sanctioning organisations currently are from competing with the IBL. If the WBA and WBC can't work together against their common enemy, and are actively seeking to harm each other, what chance do they have against the juggernaut that is the International Boxing League? Larry Holman is ESPN.com's boxing writer. Last edited by kenyan_cheena; 08-21-2015 at 09:50 AM.