By Jake Donovan
Prior to his ring return last December, the last time Chris Arreola stepped into the ring was in July ’16 when he was stopped in the 8th round of a Fox-televised heavyweight title fight versus defending champ Deontay Wilder.
The event played to a live crowd of 11,974 in attendance, while airing to a Fox audience which peaked at more than 2.54 million viewers.
More than two years later, Arreola’s first fight back statistically played to a crowd of more than 17,000 at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. Most were on hand for Wilder’s eventual 12-round draw with Tyson Fury, which topped a Showtime Pay-Per-View telecast but was followed by two more fights including his 6th round knockout of Maurenzo Smith.
Not even the thought of an emptied-out arena dulled his desire to attempt one last run in a suddenly revived heavyweight division.
“I was the main event that night,” jokes Arreola, making light of the first fight of his comeback serving as the night’s walkout bout. “I was literally the last fight of the night while people were putting up the chairs and such.”
“But even being (in the locker room), I missed all that. I miss the camaraderie. I didn’t feel ring rust. The one thing I did feel was the excitement, the emotion. I was more than ready to do what I had to do in the fight that day.”
A much bigger crowd figures to be in place for his next appearance. His bout with unbeaten Jean Pierre Augustin will serve as part of the Fox Pay-Per-View undercard to Errol Spence’s welterweight title fight versus fellow unbeaten pound-for-pound entrant Mikey Garcia this weekend at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The progression in viewership is appropriate, considering the aforementioned win in December was Arreola’s first since a March ’15 split decision win over Curtis Harper which aired on a Spike TV (now Paramount Network) undercard.
From there came a CBS-televised draw with Fred Kassi, followed a win-turned-No-Contest versus Travis Kauffman after having tested positive for marijuana and the aforementioned loss to Wilder. The latter marked his third career title fight, all of which have ended in stoppage losses.
Arreola (37-5-1, 32KOs) saw his unbeaten record disappear following a brave but one-sided stoppage at the hands of then-heavyweight titlist Vitali Klitschko in Sept. ’09. He overcame a shocking—and disappointing—points loss to Tomasz Adamek two fights later to embark on a seven-fight win streak to position himself for a second title fight.
His dream of becoming the first-ever boxer of Mexican descent to capture a heavyweight title was put on hold following a points loss to Bermane Stiverne in their April ’13 title eliminator. A subsequent knockout win over Seth Mitchell put him directly in line for a May ’14 vacant title fight rematch with Stiverne, whom starched Arreola in six rounds.
The loss to Wilder was thought to be the end of his career, or at the very least the last of his days as a heavyweight contender. Both served true for nearly 2½ years before returning last December.
With three failed title defenses, a career plagued by underachieving and having just turned 38, the California-based heavyweight is smart enough to know he’s on borrowed time.
“This is my last title run, it’s absolutely my last title run,” Arreola acknowledges. “I’m in this boxing game to leave a legacy behind. I don’t want to go out the way I did against Wilder. I’ll fight anybody; I’m not looking for one name in particular. When they talk about names like (Dominic) Breazeale, (Adam) Kownanci… I want my name mentioned as well.
“All these fighters are making these names for themselves, ever since (Wladimir) Klitschko has been out of the picture. It’s a beautiful time for the heavyweight divison. I’m here to throw a wrench into (everyone’s plans).”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
