The Sweet Science 09.08.09: Notes From Arreola's Training Camp

Posted by Igor Frank on 09.08.2009

Preventing Chris Arreola from moving forward in a fight is a little bit like trying to stop a tidal wave, next to impossible. Will” Dr. Ironfist” Klitschko be able to keep Arreola at the end of his steel- hammer jab and occasional iron right hand?



That is the question many boxing insiders are pondering. The answer will come on September 26th at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles when number one contender, undefeated Mexican American Christobal Arreola challenges Vitali Klitschko for his WBC heavyweight championship of the world. Be there.

Despite the fact that Klitschko insists boxing is only a sport, when two big heavyweights are in the ring it is a very serious business, each landed blow has a potential to inflict significant damage. So when Arreola puts on a pink protector belt and Indian Willie wraps some gray electrical tape around his gloves, every one at the Joe Goossen's gym in the heart of San Fernando Valley gets quiet in anticipation of heated action. By the way, pink protector belt around Chris Arreola does absolutely nothing to take away his masculinity, he is all man. In the opposite corner, wearing all black is a mountain of a man, standing at six feet eight inches tall is a veteran Lance Whitaker. Wearing a skin tight black t-shirt, looking like his body was sculpted out of granite, Whitaker comes out firing a hard left jab, repeatedly, obviously imitating Klitschko. The jab is being followed up with a booming overhand right. Chris is moving his head and blocks most of what coming his way, but what really strikes me during this session is his agility. Arreola literally glides around the ring with ease and fluidity I have never seen before, he bounces up and down moves out of range of punches and then quickly and seamlessly moves in to unleash his inside combinations that include furious body blows. Despite disparity in size Arreola has no problems cutting off the ring and pinning the bigger man against the ropes and unloading his combinations downstairs and upstairs. After three very spirited frames Whitaker is completely out of breath and Arreola seems to be just getting warmed up.


Next to me observing the action in the squared circle is Arreola's latest addition to the team, the strength and conditioning coach, Darrell Hudson. Arreola has hired Darrell Hudson, who has helped a number of pugilists including Shane Mosley, at the end of May of 2009, before the fight with Klitschko was announced. It looks to be a very wise move from team Arreola. "We are not really worried about his weight," said Hudson;" We are concentrating on his agility, movement and stamina in the ring." Hudson looked pleased as he watched Chris cover a lot of ground with minimal effort.

Next up was another giant lacing up his gloves to give Arreola some work. Former San Diego State basketball starting power forward, six foot eight inches Tye Fields came out very aggressive, throwing a lot of punches and keeping Chris on the defensive for most of the round. Arreola moved his body and head and blocked punches, practicing his high guard and looked just as comfortable being a defender as he is being an aggressor. In the second frame Arreola went on the attack and had intermittent success, but when he got inside Fields promptly grabbed him and clinched, imitating what Klitschko would do in the real fight. Despite being frustrated at times Chris was still able to do some good work on the inside. "His main advantage has to be heavy body punches," said Tye Fields after Chris thanked him for a good work out.

Last year I covered Arreola's fight with Travis Walker. I was very impressed with dynamic heavyweight battle that took place in the ring that night and was equally impressed with Arreola's ability to function under heavy duress. But not every one was as impressed as me. Here is what one of my readers had to say about Chris Arreola:"Well it was a rather unskilled fight but it was entertaining. But the truth is Arreola would get destroyed by the Klitschkos, it wouldn't even be close. Arreola is entertaining but he isn't overly skilled, but I guess most HW's aren't these days. Give him someone like Peter first, if he somehow manages to beat him (I see Peter KO'ing him) then give him a Klitschko. He has a long way to go yet."

My reader is not alone thinking that way; Las Vegas bookmakers have Klitschko as a nine to one favorite to win the fight. Those are some very big odds.Twenty eight year old Arreola, who hopes to make history by becoming the first ever heavyweight champion of Mexican descent, is not worried about odds. He has a way of quiet confidence about himself coming into this bout. Arreola is an instinctive fighter. Even chief trainer Henry Ramirez does not give him a lot of instructions during sparring. Chris just seems to know exactly what he needs to do in the ring. When he got hurt in the Walker fight he had the presence of mind to take a knee and regroup and to let the cob webs out. Very few people could do that inside the squared circle, because one can not learn that in training. It has to be a part of your inner make up. Could Vitali Klitschko do it? Arreola hopes not.

Stay tuned as I cover Chris Arreola media work out on Wednesday and other events leading to September 26th showdown. Tickets are priced very reasonably and are selling out fast.