Chris Arreola: The Aftermath (Insider Scoop)
By Brent Matteo Alderson

Chris Arreola put forth an impressive effort this past Saturday against Vitali Klitscko. He came forward the entire fight, punched when he could on the inside, and made up his mind that he wouldn’t be hurt by the massive Ukrainian. That being said he was outclassed by Klitschko, who even though physically past his peak, displayed a level of awareness and comfort ability in the ring that only comes with experience.
The way Klitschko fought with his hands down, tied Arreola up on the inside and diversified his punches as he utilized just enough lateral movement to avoid Arreola’s rushes, denoted the developed state of his boxing IQ.
Chris’s trainer Henry Ramirez noted, “You can’t knock the guy for fighting the way he did, you have to fight the fight that will put you in the best position to win and he did.”
George Foreman who was devastating in his prime in the seventies commented that even though physically he wasn’t at his best, that during his second career he was able to relax and use his experience to win fights, which enabled him to contend with the world’s best heavyweights almost until the age of fifty. The same goes for Klitschko who looked like the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a white Muhammad Ali on Saturday night.
There is no question that Arreola trained hard for the bout and commented that he was in the best shape of his career, “I haven’t been in this good of shape since I played basketball and football in high school,” noted Arreola just before the bout.
Still people forget that he took the bout on short notice. David Haye was supposed to fight Vitali Klitschko and pulled out which prompted Klitschko’s team to reach out to Arreola’s people, who had already had been in preliminary talks for a possible fight last May that never took place.
Because the bout was a late replacement for Klitschko-Haye, Arreola only had seven weeks to train and entered camp weighing close to 300 pounds.
Now he’s a world-class athlete and should train consistently throughout the year and live a healthier lifestyle that is more conducive to being an athlete so Arreola’s lack of conditioning going into camp was nobody’s fault but his own even though it would have been nice to have at least a few months notice before fighting for a major world championship.
“Chris came into camp at 294, his heaviest ever and I told him he needs to stay in better shape in between fights. We were behind the eight-ball in the whole time in training and he worked his ass off, but it was hard getting him in shape after coming in so heavy. I told Chris he needs to maintain his weight and conditioning better in between fights and maintain around 270 or 272 so we can get him down to 240.”
In ascertaining the Klitschko brothers’ strengths and weaknesses I always felt that Wladimir Klitschko was a better fight for Chris. Even though he’s displayed improved stamina and a better chin during the course of the past five years, Wladimir has had well documented stamina problems . It was the cause of his losses Ross Puritty in 1998 and to Lamon Brewster in 2004.
And Wladimir’s chin has always been suspect. He was rocked by Davarryl Williamson and knocked out by Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster. In comparison Vitali has never been dropped in his career and has never had a problem with stamina.
I’ve been one of the few scribes steadfast in the belief that Vitali ‘s position as the world’s best heavyweight is just as credible as Wladimir’s and lambasted Ring Magazine’s proclamation of Wladimir as the World Heavyweight champion because Vitali had been so impressive in his performances against Samuel Peter and Juan Carlos Gomez that he also staked a legitimate claim to the heavyweight championship.
Contarily Ramirez always thought that Wladimir was the better fighter of the two and disagreed with the article I wrote for Boxingscene.com criticizing Ring Magazine’s coronation of Wladimir, but after the fight Saturday, Ramirez agrees with the assessment, “I think he’s the best heavyweight in the world. I didn’t before, but now I do. He’s really hard to beat. He sticks with his game plan and does what he has to do to win. I don’t know how someone would beat him.”
Despite the one-sidedness of the fight it shouldn’t be too damaging to Arreola’s career because he endured himself to the fans. He fought with the heart of a champion and his post fight interview was Rockyesque. Some people criticize men for crying, but I thought the post-fight interview was touching and totally humanized the situation and was a revealing look at Chris’s passion for the sport.
“Chris was crushed. Nobody gave us a chance at winning the fight except for people close to us, but it’s still devastating. In my six years or seven years as a trainer I’ve been fortunate and I’ve had a lot of success; my guys have probably won 90% of the time. None the less it’s a devastating defeat, but we have to move forward. You have to take the good with the bad. You have to smile and be a good guy when you win and when you lose, “commented Ramirez.
With his passionate demeanor, aggressive style, and his knockout power Arreola is must-see TV and will definitely be back on HBO in the near future and if he trains diligently, he will be a fixture in the heavyweight division for years to come and will undoubtedly have another opportunity to win a heavyweight title.
Despite the disappointment Team Arreola is looking towards the future and Chris already wants to get back on the saddle, “He probably wants to fight in November or December, but January or February is probably more realistic. Chris was crushed after the fight, but he put it together and held his head up during the post fight press conference. Right now I just need some time off. I don’t want to go to the gym for at least week. “
Unfortunately for Ramirez one of his fighters, Johnatan Arrellano, an undefeated bantamweight prospect has a fight coming up October 9 on the Thompson boxing card at the Double Tree Hotel.

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Brent Matteo Alderson, a graduate of UCLA, has been part of the staff at BoxingScene.com since 2004 and now works as the head writer for FighFanNation.com. His published work has appeared in publications such as Ring Magazine, KO, World Boxing, Boxing 2008, and Latin Boxing Magazine. Alderson has also been featured on the ESPN Classic television program “Who’s Number One?”