Klitschko Vs. Arreola Preview

Posted on | September 24, 2009 | No Comments

By: Patrick McElligott

Saturday, September 26 – Los Angeles, California (HBO) – heavyweights: Vitali Klitschko (37-2, 36 KOs) vs. Chris Arreola (27-0, 24 KOs)

In the past few years, boxing fans have been treated to a number of weight classes being truly competitive. Due to a number of factors, many of the top fighters in most divisions have been willing to face top opposition. As a result, the sport of boxing is having a resurgence of great fights. Unfortunately, the heavyweight division has been lacking.

This weekend, there is a fight that could change that. Tough Chris Arreola is challenging Vitali Klitschko for his WBC title. While his brother Wladimir holds the real heavyweight title (and Nicolay Valuev has another of the paper titles), Vitali is considered by many to be the better of the Klitschko brothers in several key areas. He is bigger, stronger, has a better chin, and has a superior overall record.

Going into the fight, Vitali will be favored over his younger challenger, and a strong case can be made that he will win. A number of my friends have said that even if he does win, at least it should be an exciting fight – something that has been sorely lacking in the division for years. If it is a good fight, then the sport benefits. However, if it’s a good fight and Arreola pulls off an upset, the results will be much better for American boxing fans.

While both Klitschko brothers are large, athletic, and dominant fighters, they do not generate excitement, either inside or outside of the ring. Chris Arreola, on the other hand, gets people’s attention wherever he is. Not only are his fights fun to watch, but Chris combines a quick wit with equal parts of charm and snarl in his interviews with the media. But that type of charisma is nothing that Klitschko can learn, nor is it going to make a difference inside the ring this weekend.

Vitali presents an imposing challenge for Arreola. He is bigger, more experienced, very strong, intelligent, and patient. He intimidates most opponents, and he has the ability to exploit any weakness or mistake made by the man in front of him. There is no better example than his recent win over Samuel Peter: Sam was not in good shape, entered the ring scared, and stood right in front of Vitali. The result was that Sam quit after eight rounds, though the case could easily be made that he had given up hope in the gym weeks before.

In order to win, Chris has to enter the ring both mentally and physically prepared for the toughest fight of his career. That means recognizing exactly how good Klitschko really is. And the truth is that yes, he is physically gifted, talented, and efficient in the ring. But he is not a great fighter. In fact, he has only fought two A-grade opponents, and by no coincidence, he was TKOed in both of those fights. Vitali has also beat a number of B- and C-grade fighters, but he hasn’t beaten anyone that Arreola wouldn’t be favored to knock out.

Klitschko is also getting old. He did not look particularly inspirational in his last fight, when he knocked out Juan Carlos Gomez. He has had some difficulties hitting moving targets. Thus, unlike a stationary Sam Peter, Chris Arreola needs to be a moving target. He needs to bob and weave. Peter bobbed, but has never mastered the skill of weaving. The weaving allows a fighter the ability to move side-to-side, in the manner that a young Joe Frazier did so well. It’s that stepping to the side that presents the angles that Chris will need to hit and not get hit. It will allow him to deliver his punches, but not allow Vitali to get measure him with his jab, and get set to land his harder punches.

A fighter has to be in very good condition to bob and weave for six or eight rounds. That does not mean that they must be sculpted, with a six-pack. Smokin’ Joe was not built like Ken Norton. Critics used to say that he carried too much weight in his thighs and back side, when he was a contender. But he was always prepared to go to war in that ring, for however many rounds an opponent could last.

Some good boxing writers have pointed out that not only does Vitali have a good chin, but Chris is not a one-punch KO artist. This is, of course, absolutely true. However, Chris can hurt anyone he hits, and if he hits any heavyweight today for long, they will not last. One of the laws of boxing is that if a fighter quits once in his career, he will be prone to quitting again, when hurt and pressured. In April of 2000, Vitali Klitschko quit after nine rounds against Chris Byrd, who he out-weighed by 35 pounds.

If Chris Arreola enters the ring in the best shape – mentally and physically – that he’s ever been in, he is going to leave the ring with the WBC heavyweight title. It will be the first time that a Mexican-American has captured that crown. It will not only be the best thing to happen in that division in many years, it will be great for the sport.