By James Blears
When we think of a Mexican boxing power plants, which can stalk and then scythe down opponents like weeds, to earn their corn, the occurring image is more to do with straw weight than heavyweight.
There’s been mighty fruitful crops of Mexican Champions at light fly, Bantam and featherweight, but it tends to thin out above the super lightweight canopy. And there’s yet to be a World heavyweight champion who has Mexican roots.
Meet Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola. Born in Los Angeles of Mexican parents, he dreamed of becoming world middleweight champion. But he grew from a sapling into an oak tree, standing six feet four inches tall, and weighing in a trifle over two hundred and thirty pounds, when he’s in fighting trim…which is most of the time nowadays. After his sixteenth fight he slimmed down from two hundred and fifty pounds, to better match speed with power.
So far undefeated Chris has chopped down twenty of his twenty two opponents. Nine of those have been felled in the first round. He’s the World Boxing Council’s Continental Champion of the Americas, and is ranked number seven.
Chris’ Promoter Dan Goossen who brought him to Mexico City to meet fans and the WBC, is delighted with his progress to date. Opponent Dominic Jenkins had previously beaten three undefeated fighters. Chris TKO’d him in five. Fellow Californian , and undefeated Damien Wills was dispatched in seven, as was the durable Sedrick Fields.
Dan explained: “Even though he hasn’t fought the top names out there, he’s certainly fought imposing fighters so if he wasn’t the real deal he’d have been exposed. Chris has reached exactly where we thought he would be going in his career.
“He reminds me of a six feet four, two hundred and thirty eight pounds Julio Cesar Chavez, because he loves to go to the body, with a tremendous left hook, and to the head with uppercuts.”
Chris isn’t sitting on his laurels. His next opponent on November 16th, is undefeated Nigerian Teke Oruh who represented his country as an amateur in the World Championships.
The location is hardly a chilly or gritty traditional stamping ground for boxing, but rather the lush Caribbean island of Saint lucia, and the bout will be featured on Showtime.
Known as the honeymoon capitol of the world, Saint Lucia is embarking on six major golf course/hotel real estate developments, which will employ the talents of all time greats: Ernie Els, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer and Christy O’Connor. Casino gambling is also being legalized. Cue the fight industry!
Allen Chastanet who’s Saint Lucia’s Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, has signed a three year deal with Goossen Tutor to give boxing a November schedule on the island paradise. He’s organizing a special flight for this fight night and says that the ultimate aim is to build up to a championship fight.
He explained: “The destination itself is really changing, and we felt that boxing would be a great entre into this new adventure island that we’re going to create. Saint Lucia is really starting to take off in a very big way.”
Chris is determined to impress in Saint Lucia, and he’s also looking out on to an even wider horizon, which encapsulates the World Championship. He said: “The main thing is being ready and staying ready, because if you stay ready, you don’t have to get prepared. I take one fight at a time, and in every fight I want to develop a new skill like more head movement, and more power.
“I’m always in great shape. If you see one of my fights, I throw up to one hundred and fifty punches in a round. It’s my work ethic.”
Chris’ shares a nickname with WBC Interim Champion Samuel Peter and is quite prepared to contest the name game, given the opportunity. He grinned: “God willing if I fight Sam one day, it’ll be in the contract. Namely, whoever wins keeps the Nightmare name. Whoever looses can’t have it any more.”