ESPN Boxing

Rafael's remark: Time and again before this fight, Darchinyan had promised to demolish Arce. He had promised to smash him. To crush him. To do all sorts of bad things to him. But he also promised that he wouldn't make it a quick destruction. Instead, Darchinyan, who obviously has a nasty streak in him, promised he would take his time to deliver the abuse. He didn't want a first-round knockout. He wanted to pound Arce over time, grind him down and then stop him. Well whaddya know about that? Darchinyan can apparently predict the future, because he called it exactly how it turned out. Now, maybe he can help some of us out with the lottery numbers.

In any case, Darchinyan, Australia's "Raging Bull," followed his punishing upset of Cristian Mijares in November with this utter smashing of Arce, who was game to the end and showed huge heart but simply could not hang with the champ.

Darchinyan, 33, clearly the best 115-pounder in the world, dominated the entertaining slugfest, winning every round but one on all three scorecards (two judges gave Arce the third and one the fourth) before the fight was stopped at the end of the 11th round because Arce had taken tremendous punishment and was bleeding from cuts around both eyes.

Darchinyan said afterward that he wanted to knock Arce cold, and Arce was upset that he wasn't allowed to come out for the 12th round to try for a miracle knockout. You have to love the intensity of both guys. Of course, in Arce's case, it would have helped him if he had a clue about fighting a southpaw. It looked like he didn't even know Darchinyan was left-handed. What did Arce, 29, of Mexico, do for all those weeks in training camp? It's been a long, grueling career for Arce, who is going to have a tough time coming back strong from this beating. Darchinyan, on the other hand, has big goals, including moving up to bantamweight and winning a title. Ideally, we'd get to see him against titlist Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko, who is strong and tough and also makes terrific fights. Darchinyan also is interested in a move all the way up to junior featherweight, where he'd like to fight either champion Israel Vazquez or former champ Rafael Marquez. Any of those potential matches would be quite fan-friendly.

Rafael's remark: Mexico's DeMarco took a huge step up in competition, and guess what? He's arrived. DeMarco, 23, had made some entertaining fights on "ShoBox" as a prospect, and his handlers took a gamble against the seasoned Raiymkulov. But DeMarco came through in fine form. It was a competitive, hard-hitting fight -- DeMarco was ahead 88-83 on two scorecards and behind 86-85 on the third -- but DeMarco bit down and took it to Raiymkulov, who elected to quit after the ninth round, in which he took tremendous punishment. The lightweight division has some depth right now, and DeMarco is now another young and interesting fighter clearly in the mix for some notable fights.

Rafael's remark: Martirosyan, a 2004 U.S. Olympian, continued his steady progress with a tough points win against Lyell, 24. Although the scores were lopsided, Martirosyan, 22, had to work for the victory. It didn't help Martirosyan that he badly hurt his hand in the first round.

Rafael's remark: Can we just all forget about the heavyweight division? That this was a so-called heavyweight title fight is sad. Chagaev, 30, of Uzbekistan, hadn't fought since making his first defense 13 months ago because of various injuries and illness. Finally back in the ring, he faced Costa Rica's Drummond, 33, who had a great record but had never beaten an opponent of note. Yet, the WBA, in its typical hideous fashion, approved the fight. But it's complicated because Chagaev was demoted to something called a "champion in recess" while he was injured, paving the way for Nikolai Valuev, who had lost the title to Chagaev, to regain the vacant belt. You know what, it's complicated, and who really cares, anyway? Suffice to say, Chagaev now has to face Valuev after winning this tedious fight, which mercifully ended after six rounds. The reason: An accidental head butt tore open a bad cut over Chagaev's left eye, and he could not continue. The less said about this painful fight, and the pathetic WBA heavyweight mess, the better.

Rafael's remark: In an excellent fight that featured a terrific 12th round, Ukraine's Kotelnik won the hard-fought split decision against Argentina's Maidana, the mandatory challenger, in his second defense. Maidana started fast and was winging hard punches and doing very well through the first three rounds until Kotelnik found his rhythm and put his boxing skills to work. Maidana looked like he was growing frustrated as the fight went on because even when he landed his hard shots, Kotelnik was able to take them. Kotelnik never seemed to get hit flush, moving out of range just enough to avoid the full impact of Maidana's power. Even in the loss, the crowd-pleasing Maidana, 25, showed that he's a player in the deep junior welterweight division. For Kotelnik, 31, it was a very solid victory for a fighter we'd like to see more of.

Rafael's remark: Boytsov, 22, of Russia, is one of the many German-based heavyweight prospects moving along. He's been feasting on experienced but outgunned opponents as Universum brings him along slowly. After racking up decision victories in his last three bouts against Vinny Maddalone, Fernely Feliz and Robert Hawkins -- all reasonable stepping-stone opponents for a young guy like Boytsov -- he got another of that ilk of opponent in Garcia and wiped the floor with him. Boytsov simply destroyed Garcia, whom he dropped in the second round and finished during the follow-up attack. Garcia, 38, was coming off a third-round knockout loss to touted contender Cris Arreola, so credit Boytsov for handling his business a round sooner.

Rafael's remark: Since winning his belt in 2002, Narvaez has been one of the steadiest titleholders in boxing, racking up defense after defense. But this one was special for him and his fans because, fighting in his hometown, Narvaez, 33, recorded his 15th defense. In Argentina, that's a big deal because it surpassed the 14 middleweight defenses of his country's greatest fighter, Carlos Monzon. Sure, when Monzon was champion, he was the king of his division, while Narvaez is one of various titleholders, but you have to respect his longevity and the accomplishment. He didn't get No. 15 against a weak opponent, either. Whitfield, 27, of Augusta, Ga., is a legitimate contender who earned his shot. That said, the stoppage was a bit premature. Narvaez had landed a flurry of about seven punches, but Whitfield, who did stagger, did not appear all that hurt when the referee jumped in to call it off, setting off a wild celebration in the crowd.

Rafael's remark: It's been a slow and steady rise for Ward, who turns 25 on Feb. 23, the only U.S. Olympic boxing gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Games. He's been sidelined here and there by injuries, but 2009 is supposed to be, at last, his breakout year. But although he thoroughly dominated Buchanan, 30, winning every single round on all three scorecards, it was a terribly boring fight. Ward seemed to content just to win and go home without making a statement that fighters with aspirations of being a star need to make. It was a solid win but must have put thousands to sleep given the lack of action and the late hour on "ShoBox." At this point, Ward and promoter Dan Goossen need to step up Ward's competition. They've talked about facing opponents such as Glen Johnson, Jermain Taylor, Sakio Bika and Edison Miranda. It's time to stop the talk and do it. There are plenty of solid contenders to go after in a deep division.

Rafael's remark: Molina, 26, took care of business in easy fashion against Ghana's Allotey. The prospect unleashed about two dozen unanswered blows in the second round and flattened him in the third. First there was a body shot that knocked him down for a couple of minutes that was ruled a low blow, even though it looked legit. Then, Molina knocked him out later in the round with another body shot.

Rafael's remark: In a mild upset, Mack got the deserved split decision in a tough, physical fight with Henry in the "Friday Night Fights" main event. Henry, 27, had emerged as a serious contender when he faced Adrian Diaconu for an interim title in April 2008 and lost a debatable decision in Diaconu's native Romania. Since the defeat, Henry had won two in a row and moved into the top 10 as he looked to vault higher with a victory against Mack, 29, a longtime fringe contender. Mack got out to a quicker start that Henry and looked pretty good during some fierce exchanges. By the time Henry started to come on later in the fight, Mack, who seemed to have more pop on his punches, had done enough to take control. It's a very solid victory for Mack, who has won four in a row since moving up to light heavyweight after a seventh-round TKO loss to Librado Andrade in October 2007.

Rafael's remark: Guerrero, 22, has been extremely busy, getting in 13 fights since turning pro in December 2007 after an excellent amateur career. And he's definitely a prospect to watch. He's exciting, has charisma and draws a huge crowd in his adopted hometown of Salisbury, Md., where they love him. If he keeps developing, he'll be an important fighter because of his ability to sell tickets and the exciting nature of his fights. This brawl with Rosado, a 23-year-old who has spent time in Bernard Hopkins' training camp and has Nazim Richardson in his corner, was a fun fight to watch. Guerrero sure must have come out of it learning something after suffering a flash knockdown in the third round. Ultimately, Guerrero won the clear but competitive decision against the best opponent of his career. Guerrero needs to work on avoiding right hands a little bit more, but he's a work in progress and one that's going to be a joy to watch. Hopefully, we'll all get to see more of him on "Friday Night Fights."

Rafael's remark: Like Fernando Guerrero, who also fought on the card, Porter is an excellent prospect with a deep amateur background. Just 21, Porter is certainly a prospect to keep tabs on. He's pleasing to watch and has a dynamic style and speed. Perhaps he is a little undersized to compete at middleweight, but so far, so good. He floored Jones twice in the opening round but dominated in going the distance for the first time in his brief pro career.

Rafael's remark: In the first event of Top Rank's new series with Mexico's TV Azteca (and Azteca America in the United States), Soto Karass, 26, of Mexico, took an exciting decision from Jones, 22. Soto Karass fought without his trainer, Javier Capetillo, in the corner because Capetillo is under suspension while the California State Athletic Commission completes its investigation in the Antonio Margarito hand-wrap flap. (Capetillo also trains Margarito.) Soto Karass did just fine without Capetillo, scoring a pair of third-round knockdowns on body blows, although he also lost a point for hitting behind the head. Although Jones would rally, it simply wasn't enough.

Rafael's remark: Chavez, 19, is one of the sons of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. That's the only reason he gets the sort of attention he has, sort of like his older brother, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. He had to eke out a majority decision in a competitive fight against a hand-picked opponent. That should tell you all you need to know.