INQUIRER Sports

MEXICAN hero Jorge ?Travieso? Arce proved too much for young Filipino Fernando Lumacad, stopping the latter in the third round with a big overhand right to the chin in their scheduled 12-rounder yesterday at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Lumacad looked competitive in the first two rounds, jabbing and moving to keep Arce from a safe distance, but the Mexican star unloaded with a big right hand early in the third that sent Lumacad down for the count.

Referee Wayne Hedgepeth of New Jersey waved off the fight after Lumacad failed to beat the count.

The Filipino fighter, fighting out of the ABA Gym in Digos City, didn't look battered after the knockdown, prompting fans to call him a "bum" after what they saw as Lumacad "quitting" from the fight.

Internet message boards were swamped with comments describing Lumacad's loss as something that destroyed the reputation of what Manny Pacquiao had done to Philippine boxing. /Correspondent Salven Lagumbay