Fury to come: Arce and Morel are friends for now

SAN ANTONIO – Whoever turns out to be the better prizefighter on June 26, one thing is already certain. Puerto Rican Eric Morel is a much better pool hustler than Mexican Jorge Arce.

That much was established on Tuesday afternoon at Dave & Buster’s restaurant where participants in Top Rank’s “La Furia de México 15” gathered for a rescheduled press conference in the northern part of the city. Morel and Arce posed for pictures, answered questions and expressed lots of mutual fondness both before and after their impromptu pool match, as part of the promotion for their co-main-event fight at the Alamodome in June.

The two rivals confessed to being good friends outside the ring and admiring one another’s accomplishments. Both assured local fans and members of the press, however, they would not fight that way when facing one another for the WBO’s interim bantamweight title.

“Very hittable,” is how Morel described Arce’s appearance in recent fights. He also called Arce a “great fighter who’s very, very tough.”

For his part, Arce emphasized Morel’s background as a Puerto Rican, saying, “All know that when a Mexican and a Puerto Rican fight, it is always a battle.”

Arce, who goes by the nickname “El Travieso” (Naughty One) also spoke of the recent birth of his son, Nazareth. Asked about the name, Arce explained, “It was a promise I made to God that if he gave me a son, I would name him after the birthplace of His son.”

More interesting still was Arce’s explanation for his poor showing against Vic Darchinyan last year in Anaheim, Calif. Arce held up the back of his right hand, which sports a noticeable bump at the attachment of his thumb, and explained, “I have to have my hand wrapped extra tight, with extra wraps of tape, or it hurts when I punch. The week before (the fight with Darchinyan), all those things happened in California with (Antonio) Margarito and the wrapping of his hands. So, before my fight, they’re all standing over me, as a Mexican fighter, and saying ‘no, no, no’ about the extra tape. . . . It hurt every time I hit Darchinyan.”

Whatever happens against Morel next month, Arce, one of prizefighting’s most colorful personalities, is certain to have a colorful explanation.

RAUL MARTINEZ & GABRIEL ELIZONDO
Also taking the stage at Tuesday’s press conference were local bantamweight standouts Raul Martinez and Gabriel Elizondo. Much like Arce and Morel before them, Martinez and Elizondo spoke of their close friendship, with Elizondo saying, “(Martinez) is a good friend of mine. We have been friends for a very long time.”

Martinez took the podium and agreed. He then thanked his team and assured the gathering he would be ready for a “very difficult fight.”

He had better be. Very often when two longtime friends make a match together, the fighting is clean but savage, with the lesser man giving more than expected and the better man having to transcend previous performances.

LATIN FURY 15
The Top Rank pay-per-view event will feature Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. John Duddy as its headline fight and is expected to be the most successful event of the “Latin Fury” brand. The card takes place at Alamodome on June 26.