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When fighters hit brick walls, sometimes they look to their past in order to start rebuilding. That seems to be what's on the mind of Cristian Mijares, as he told ESTO (link via BoxingScene.com) that he's currently mulling a rematch with Jorge Arce.
"Something we haven't ruled out is a possible rematch with Jorge Arce. I said to myself 'why not?' I'm only talking about this as possibility and not like something that has already been presented to us," Mijares told ESTO.
Mijares announced his retirement after his second loss and third in a row overall to Nehomar Cermeno earlier this month, but now says he acted without thinking about it and feels he's too young to retire. Mijares, 27, was on an incredible run that vaulted him into many pound-for-pound top ten lists before he was steamrolled by Vic Darchinyan in November 2008. Moving up to bantamweight, his back-to-back losses to Cermeno have shocked many, and left several to assume that he's at an early end.
Mijares (36-6-2, 15 KO) destroyed Arce (52-6-1, 40 KO) back in 2007, bloodying him badly and leaving no questions about the winner. Arce, 30, had a streak of wins after that, but he, too, was flattened by Darchinyan in February of this year, and is coming off of a clear loss to Simphiwe Nongqayi on September 15.
Arce hasn't said anything about this yet, but he did address the idea in an interview with East Side Boxing a week ago:
[H]e’s already lost his luster and is off the boxing radar. He hasn’t been the same fighter of late and he would have to up his stock once again.
Keep in mind, Arce said this before Nongqayi beat him. Now that both of them have lost their luster, he might reconsider, and the fight could still do pretty well in Mexico. No matter how many beatings he takes, Arce will always be a hero in Mexico, and Mijares is still well-known. Arce going for revenge, no matter how mediocre the fight might seem to fans in the States and elsewhere, could sell south of the border.
No matter if it happens or not, I'm glad to see Mijares isn't going to hang 'em up. His style seems like one that could lead to a bounce-back if he just hits a groove again, if he clicks in training, or whatever. As for Arce, I kind of figure he's toast, but I also don't expect him to stop going any time soon. He's a fighter.