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LOS ANGELES -- Hulking Vitali Klitschko walked up behind a seated and unsuspecting Chris Arreola on the dais at a news conference Thursday at Staples Center and … warmly rubbed his shoulders.
Yes, the promotion for their Sept. 26 heavyweight title fight is going to friendly. Mutual respect, no trash talking. They seemed tickled just to be there.
For Arreola, this is his reward for six years of hard work for limited compensation. For Klitschko, this is a return to an arena that is close to his heart and located in a town he calls home much of the year.
And only a few weeks ago all this seemed impossible because Klitschko had a deal in place to fight David Haye in Germany. However, Haye bolted at the last minute and the door suddenly was open for Arreola.
The undefeated brawler from nearby Riverside insists he’s approaching this as “just another fight” but clearly he’s thrilled to be in a position to make big money and fight for his first major title.
“I didn’t think the fight was going to happen,” he said. “… Once I heard I was fighting Vitali, I’m more than happy. This is what I worked my whole career for. I fought for 600 bucks in my first fight with 200 people in the stands. I grind, man. I worked hard for this.
“It’s an honor. I’m happy.”
Arreola, a heavy underdog, knows what he’s up against.
Klitschko (37-2, 36 knockouts) is 6-7½, almost four inches taller than Arreola. He is believed to have the best knockout-to-victory ratio of any heavyweight in history. He apparently has never been behind on the scorecards in any fight.
And he dominated Sam Peter (to regain the WBC title) and Juan Carlos Gomez after returning from a four-year hiatus.
However, Arreola (27-0, 24 KOs) believes in himself even if many don’t.
“I’m here to make history,” Arreola said, “to make him (the answer to) a pop culture question: Who did Chris Arreola beat to become the first Mexican-American heavyweight champion?
He went on: “Any man’s beatable. It doesn’t matter who it is. If you’re fighting somebody, it doesn’t matter who it is. If you have two hands, you can beat him. Fear no man. Who cares? Yeah, he’s big. I respect him. Yeah, he’s a boxer, of course, he’s a great fighter. But he has two hands, I have two hands. He has a chin, so do I. All it takes is one punch. That’s all it is. We’re in the heavyweight division. Like I said before, we’re in the hurt game.
“One of us is going to get hurt; hopefully it’s not me.”
Klitschko was less brash, perhaps in an attempt to help sell the fight to those fans who don’t think the relatively inexperienced Arreola has little chance to win.
He pointed to the remarkable combined knockout ratio of the two fighters – 60 KOs in 64 victories, a great selling point – and suggested that anyone could win. And neither he nor Arreola expects the fight to go the scheduled 12 rounds.
“If you ask me who will be the winner of the fight … I don’t know,” Klitschko said. “I trust myself. I give my best to be the winner but I don’t know. … He’s Mexican, the first time I fight a Mexican. I know every Mexican boxer have big heart. Chris Arreola have not just big heart but a big, big punch. Great knockout record.
“… I’m more than sure it will be a real battle.”
Mexican-American angle: One intriguing aspect of the fight is Arreola’s opportunity to become the first heavyweight of Mexican descent to become a titleholder, which he embraces as “a chance to make history.”
The best was probably Manuel Ramos (25-29-3, 19 KOs) of Hermosilla, Mexico, who was also 6-4. He lost many times in his career, which spanned the 1960s and ‘70s, but beat some contenders (Eddie Machen, Ernie Terrell) and gave tough fights to others.
Thirty-plus years later, Arreola has emerged as a legitimate contender.
“I don’t think (Mexicans) know exactly what it means yet,” said Jaime Motta of ESPN Deportes, who has covered boxing for years. “I think most of them know he’s around but he hasn’t had much exposure, he hasn’t had that big fight yet.
“I think right before the (Klitschko) fight, though, he’ll have a following.”
Can Motta see Arreola becoming a star?
“He’s got the charisma, that’s for sure,” he said. “I think he would stand out in that way regardless of whether he was heavyweight or not but even more so as a heavyweight.”
Mexican nationals typically don’t embrace their American-born brethren. However, Motta thinks this might be a different situation. He said Mexicans embraced Fernando Vargas “because of the way he fought and his attitude” and they might do the same with Arreola.
“I think he’s the type of guy who goes in looking for a war,” he said. “That’s what Mexicans like; they like fighters who go in and fight. They don’t care where he comes from as long as he lays it all on the line.
“That’s what they want to see. And that’s what Chris brings.”
Speaking of Haye: Klitschko and Arreola, as well as Klitschko’s handlers, had nothing but kind words for each other but weren’t so nice to Haye.
The cruiserweight-turned-heavyweight from the UK pulled out of a fight with Wladimir Klitschko because of what he said was a back injury and then decided to fight 7-foot Nikolai Valuev instead of Vitali Klitschko even though a deal was in place because, he said, he didn’t like the terms.
He also angered the Klitschkos by showing up at a news conference wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a drawing of him holding the severed heads of the brothers.
“I don’t believe he had an injury for the fight against Wladimir,” his brother said. “It was an excuse. … And I don’t think he understands the contract we make with him [to fight Vitali]. It was exactly the same he signed with Wladimir.
“… In my personal opinion, he’s not serious. He’s an unpredictable fighter. He’s not good for boxing.”
Bernd Boente, the Klitschkos’ manager, was asked whether either brother would one day meet Haye in the ring.
“In this business, you can go with James Bond and say never say never,” he said. “Right now, David Haye is out.” Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions, the Klitschkos’ promotional firm, said Haye would have to beat Valuev to be considered.
“Even then I wouldn’t count on it,” Boente said. “The winner (of Haye-Valuev) has to fight John Ruiz. And David Haye, as I said before, is a cruiserweight whose biggest win was an old Monte Barrett. And he’s not as (popular) as he’s always telling you. There was maybe 5,000 in the whole arena (for Barrett in London).
“He has problems selling tickets in his own country. He’s just a braggart and that’s it.”
Arreola was asked whether he was surprised when he received word that Haye pulled out and he would be fighting Klitschko.
Part of his response: “I always knew David was a vagina.”
Funny man: Klitschko’s English is far from perfect but he’s able to work the crowd once in a while.
He drew chuckles when, in a self-deprecating moment, he said to Arreola: “You have respect for all people. Please don’t hit me so hard. I’m 10 years older than you.”
And he had everyone laughing when he made it clear whose side the fans at Staples Center would be on come fight time.
“I know so many Mexican fans who support me in all my fights,” he said. “And right now they’re calling me to tell me, ‘My friend, we are so sorry. We like you so much but this is Chris Arreola.’ I said, ‘I know. This is sport. I understand that.’”
More laughs: One obvious reason no Mexican or Mexican-American has held a heavyweight title is that Mexicans generally aren’t big people.
Arreola was asked to explain how he ended up 6-4.
“Oh man, ask my mom,” he said. “My mom is 5-5 and so is my dad. Go figure.” Some suggested he must have a big uncle in the family. “We had a tall mailman,” he said. -
Klitschko's reign of boredom will continue, Arreola will fade and get his fat ass KOd.Comment
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lol Arreola called David Haye a vagina and Vitali telling Arreola " Please don't hit me so hard. I am 10 years older than you" lmaoLast edited by Animalistic 3.0; 08-14-2009, 03:55 PM.Comment
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Ha David's a vagina. Man some fightin words.Comment
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Bump!!!!!!!Comment
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