Before a jam-packed gathering, which included 12 television and internet cameras but not Jorge Arce, Vic Darchinyan had center stage to himself as he spoke with the national boxing media Saturday morning at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in Los Angeles.

Arce, who had agreed to attend the press conference, spent Saturday instead in the mountains of Mexico, where he trains. His unexpected absence only helped fuel the fire to an intense, heated rivalry that goes back several years. More...