By Jake Donovan

Chris Arreola’s ringwalk to “Run This Town” proved a fitting choice among the raucous crowd on hand, Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

However, the action provided between the ropes suggested the tune as a better theme song for the Klitschko brothers, who clearly run their division by a wider margin than any other champion in the sport today.

Vitali Klitschko was virtually flawless over the course of his heavyweight title defense against Arreola, setting a career high for landed punches before forcing a mercy stoppage after ten rounds in their HBO-televised main event.

Arreola (251 lb, Riverside, CA) came forward from the opening bell, but with minimal success as Klitschko’s massive height and reach advantages were made evident with his ability to control the action on the strength of his jab, also mixing in right uppercuts for good measure.

So effective was Klitschko with his attack that he landed more punches in the opening round (34, out of 88 attempts) than were attempted by Arreola, who only managed a paltry 7 connects out of 32 thrown, far fewer than the 70-80 punches per round he normally releases.

Skill once again prevailed over will by a wide margin in the second. Klitschko (252, Los Angeles, CA, by way of Kiev, Ukraine), worked only as hard as he had to, while Arreola was reckless in his pursuit, desperate to work his way inside and kick start his offense.

The third round came as close to a posing contest as such a matchup could possibly become. Arreola continued to dance forward, creeping closer but still ineffective with his attack, or lack thereof. Meanwhile, Klitschko’s jab was still controlling the pace, though the hulking Ukrainian appeared to be slowing down, if ever so slightly.

Arreola finally woke up in the fourth, walking through a peppering of Klitschko jabs in landing a pair of overhand rights, drawing a rise out of the heavily pro-Mexican crowd on hand. He even played a little bit of defense, sliding back just enough to minimize the impact of Klitschko’s jab, occasionally coming underneath to land to the body.

Klitschko went back to basics in the fifth, connecting early with a jab and right hand before employing lateral movement in order to get out of harm’s way. Arreola caught up midway through the round, smothering his opponents and ripping right hands to the body. Klitschko spent the final minute of the round jabbing from the outside, but showing visible signs of fatigue with his arms down by his waist and his mouth wide open.

A double jab by Arreola early in the sixth spoke volumes of his grit and determination, considering how far behind he already was in the fight to this point. Klitschko spent much of the round fighting in reverse, weary of the incoming though still effective in shooting his jab and right uppercut from the outside. So effective, that he landed nearly 200 punches through the first six rounds, nearly quadruple the amount of times Arreola was able to connect.

The number of Klitschko supporters on hand paled in comparison to those who came in support of Arreola, but slowly began to take over vocally as the second half began. It had everything to do with their having far more for which to cheer, with Klitschko putting on a boxing clinic, while Arreola kept chugging forward but with little to show for his efforts.

Boos began to rain down during portions of the eighth round by the crowd, who came to see a fight but instead watched a boxing match break out. Arreola tried his damnest to please the paying customers, landing a right hand midway through the round that drew a roar from the crowd and look of surprise of Klitschko.

Another right hand connected late in the round, though one in which Arreola was now bleeding from both the nose and mouth. His corner feverishly worked on controlling the plasma, while lead trainer Henry Ramirez demanded more head movement and pressure. He listened to a degree, doing a little bit of both, but never simultaneously, playing defense when Klitschko’s jab and right hand was too much to get around, charging forward only when the three-time heavyweight titlist stopped punching.

More boos echoed throughout the Staples Center in the 10th round, though it hardly disrupted what Klitschko sought to achieve. Having never went the distance in any title fight, Klitschko was perfectly content to box his way down the stretch.

It was all he needed, as Arreola landed nothing of substance in the round, while absorbing a tremendous amount of incoming. So much, that it was decided by Arreola’s corner that there was no more reason to continue, giving referee Jon Schorle something to do for the first time in the fight as the bout was called.

The official time was 3:00 of round ten.

Klitschko improves to 38-2 (37KO) with his sixth straight win, including his second victory in the Staples Center, with his only loss in the arena his injury-forced sixth round stoppage at the hands of then-heavyweight king Lennox Lewis six years ago.

It was the last time he failed to have his hand raised in victory. Included in his current win streak is two separate tours as a heavyweight titlist, with Saturday’s win marking the second defense of the belt he violently snatched from Samuel Peter less than a year ago.

It’s tempting to call it this fight most complete performance of his career, though similar reviews have come of each of his three comeback fights since returning to the ring last year following a four-year layoff.

Defying logic as a 38-year old that seems virtually indestructible in what should be the twilight of his career, Klitschko made it look effortless against a formidable top-10 contender. Ever the sportsman, he refused to admit that anything but hard work was the cause for the landslide.

“It’s never easy. You have to give your best. Arreola did his best. He has a great chance. When I land my right hook, many of my opponents go to the floor, but he stayed.”

Klitschko stays close to the top of the heavyweight division, with only his younger brother and lineal champion Wladimir in his way. It’s obvious that the two will never face one another, but not quite as clear is the direction in which older brother plans to head.

The only thing he would offer is that, despite his long time dominance that includes the highest knockout to win ratio among all heavyweight titlists, he doesn’t plan to stick around long enough to grow old in the ring.

“I’m 38 now… I don’t want to break the record of George Foreman (the oldest heavyweight champion in boxing history.”

Arreola was looking to make history of his own kind, seeking to become the first-ever heavyweight titlist of Mexican descent. It was a feat he wanted so bad that the evening’s performance reduced him to tears as he struggled to come to grips with the first loss of his career, falling to 27-1 (24KO).

If there’s a moral victory to be taken from the evening, it’s that he extended the elder Klitschko deeper than he’s been in any fight over the past seven years.

There’s also his challenging former lightweight titlist David Diaz for the number of F-bombs dropped during a post-fight interview.

“F***,” exclaimed a weepy Arreola, refusing to accept a Purple Heart in his failed title bid. “I worked my ass off for this fight. Vitali’s a strong mother ****er, he hits hard. I never wanted to quit, it’s never in me.

“I wanted to go the full 12 rounds. It’s ****ing me up right now. I’m sorry.”

Much like last week’s PPV headliner between Floyd Mayweather and Juan Manuel Marquez, the difference in size, ring smarts and skill was way too much for the losing fighter to overcome.

“I could never get to him. He was fighting the fight he was supposed to; he ran when he was supposed to. He’s just a smarter fighter in there. Whatever I did, he found a way to counteract that.

“He found a way to win, and I found a way to lose.”

Though failing to make boxing history, Arreola can take comfort in joining a long list of heavyweights who have tried and failed to find a way to win against Vitali Klitschko.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at

JakeNDaBox@gmail.com

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