Heavyweight veteran Chris Arreola has been out of the ring since last June, when he was stopped by WBC world champion Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs).
With three world champions at the weight - WBA/IBO/IBF champion Anthony Joshua, WBO champion Joseph Parker and Wilder - you have three fighters claiming to be the best at the weight.
One of the biggest fights in boxing, at the moment, is a unification between Wilder and Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs) and both fighters hope to get it done next year.
In the opinion of Arreola, the best heavyweight in the world is Wilder.
"I gotta give it up to Wilder, because he’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing. He’s knocking out people he’s supposed to be knocking out, and these guys he’s been fighting are not slouches. The only fighter [fellow undefeated world champion Anthony] Joshua has faced who has impressed me is obviously [Wladimir] Klitschko. That was a great fight," Arreola told Premier Boxing Champions.
And Arreola confidently picks Wilder to beat Joshua.
"I’d give it to Wilder. He’s become a smart, athletic fighter. And when he lets his hands go, it’s a thing of a beauty," Arreola said.
Arreola has been around for a very long time. He's the only fighter to have faced both Wilder and heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in world title fights - for the same WBC belt.
He face Vitali for the WBC belt in 2009 and suffered a stoppage loss.
How does Arreola rate the power of Vitali to the power of Wilder?
"They’re both very different hard punchers. Wilder’s is like a whipping punch—it’s like the punch you don’t see coming, but it’s strong. But Klitschko, you could feel his power. When he hit you, it was like a thud. It felt like he wanted to punch through your face. I don’t mean that in a bad way, like he wants to kill you; it’s just what he knows to do," Arreola said.
"They’re both great movers, but the difference is Wilder is more of an athletic kind of mover, while Klitschko was more of a smart, methodical mover—like he’d take two steps and then he was out of the way."