Vitali Klitschko dominates Chris Arreola, fight stopped after 10 rounds
by SC on Sep 27, 2009 12:46 AM EDT
in Post-Fight Analysis
40 comments
Vitali Klitschko successfully defended his WBC heavyweight title with a one-sided domination of a game Chris Arreola in Los Angeles, stopping Arreola after ten rounds of action when referee Jon Schorle pulled the plug.
Klitschko (38-2, 37 KO) used his jab and superior technical skills to batter Arreola (27-1, 24 KO) for 10 rounds, swelling his face and busting his nose. It was lauded by the HBO team as one of Klitschko's best performances, which is arguable, but Arreola did get something out of Klitschko that isn't normal. Arreola made the older man move and work hard, but in return, Klitschko just threw a ton of punches and landed with great accuracy. He never appeared to have Arreola hurt at any point, but Arreola was barely in the fight if in it at all.
An emotional Arreola wept after the fight was stopped, and also appeared to hurt his left hand at some point during the fight. He shook it and pulled at it (it could also have been his shoulder), and clearly winced at one point after landing a shot.
By CompuBox numbers, you can see how one-sided the action was:
Total Punches
Klitschko: 301/802, 38%
Arreola: 86/331, 26%
Power Punches
Klitschko: 151/283, 53%
Arreola: 24/107, 22%
Arreola, to his credit, absolutely never stopped moving forward or trying to turn the tide. You can even argue with the referee's decision to stop it. Chances are that Klitschko won a wide decision, yes, but the heavyweight division has seen plenty of sudden knockouts at the end of what had been pretty clear fights up to that point. Jim Lampley pointed this out during the action, but Schorle had seen enough.
Klitschko has a mandatory with Oleg Maskaev that he might be forced to take care of next, but more interesting is Arreola's future. Even with the one-sided loss, he did make Klitschko work harder than usual for the win, and he also showed he's tough. He's been down before, but Klitschko never put him on the canvas. Without meaning to offend anyone in his corner, I'd seriously recommend that if Arreola is serious about becoming the man at heavyweight, he might need to go to a bigger, more respected trainer, someone that will really get on him in camp. He's got the talent and the size (though he looked much shorter than 6'4" in there with Vitali), and he's got the guts and the drive once he's in the ring. But as much as he jokes about it, conditioning will always be a problem unless something changes. It's been OK enough to get him past faded guys and mediocre opposition, but here he stepped in against one of the two best in the sport and was pretty well handled.
As Lampley said after the fight, anyone that wants to knock one of the Klitschkos off needs to realize that whether you like them or not, they're two guys to whom fighting is a year-round job. They don't slack off, they don't come in out of shape, and they're always working. They're not the prettiest fighters or even the most naturally skilled, they just work that much harder and have separated themselves from the pack in large part due to their dedication.
Chris Arreola is a fighter who will be back, and likely will someday win a title. He's a gritty, tough guy with a big punch and a lot of heart. There are things he needs to work on obviously, and hopefully he can learn from this fight. And you can't help but like the way he ended his post-fight interview: "F**k that, I'm coming back."
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I really enjoyed that fight
The fight was a little lopsided, but enjoyable to watch. Vitali is still one of the 2 best heavyweights even at 28, remarkable. Chris showed some major heart. I really hope he succeeds in the future, but Lampley’s right, the Klitschko’s cannot be beaten by anyone in the heavyweight division right now.
Arreola’s interview after wards was enjoyable.
by wennington4 on Sep 27, 2009 12:51 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Good Fight
Iv’e never seen Klitschko run like that he also felt Arreola’s puches, VK is a Great boxer and I take nothing away from him. SC i like you post on the fight!!!
by rgb on Sep 27, 2009 1:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It wasn’t a bad fight at all. It was very one-sided, but there was a lot of skill on display by Vitali. It felt like an old Holmes fight, in many ways.
I think Vitali let Chris off the hook a little in round 8, in a misguided attempt to win over his adopted hometown. Frankly, it was just as one-sided as Mayweather-Marquez. Chris was literally puking up red paint after the end of round 8, and it was really getting to the stage where he was going to be ruined as a fighter.
Chris is good, but he’s very green, and was incredibly green compared to a vet like Vitali. I thought the fight was a done deal by the fourth round, when it became clear that Chris wasn’t going to throw more then 30 punches a round. You could see he had a lot respect for Vitali after the first right cross landed, and that was the end of it.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
by jrok on Sep 27, 2009 1:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I enjoyed the fight, too. Arreola has huge balls and Klitschko looked as good as he has since his comeback.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 27, 2009 1:05 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Better?
It makes me wonder if he is getting better with age. He looked much more agile then he did against JC. Part of that could have been on account of Gomez’s left awkwardness, but not all… Vitali looked like his back was haunting him in that fight. Here, he had very good balance and flexibility. He is generally hard to hit, but here he looked almost impossible to hit. Chris is a very accurate puncher himself, but looked bewildered every time he tried to mount an offense.
Also, Vitali always punches a lot, but 800 punches in ten rounds is frankly a little absurd for a heavyweight. I hate to say it, but after awhile I wasn’t really watching Vitali fight Chris anymore (who was far too green, to small and basically overmatched in every department) but instead I was trying to imagine him in there against Holmes, Ali and Foreman. I used to do the same thing watching prime Lennox and prime Tyson sometimes, just try to replace the guy who had no business in a ring with them with someone who did.
Vitali is no monstrous puncher, but he hits hard and is hard to hit. He uses his size as well as Ali and Holmes did, but is much bigger than those guys. Ali was much faster but took way more punches, even from inferior opponents. Holmes had more boxing ability then just about every Heavyweight in history besides Gene Tunney, and in his prime he was much smoother and slicker than Vitali.
These are at least interesting matchups, anyway. Vitali-Kevin Johnson is not an interesting matchup, and neither is Vitali-Haye. It really does not appear that Vitali has an opponent here in 2009 that is remotely in his class. It happens sometimes. The 80’s are back, and Vitali is the new Larry Holmes.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
by jrok on Sep 27, 2009 2:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
So who is Wladimir? The other new Larry Holmes?
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 27, 2009 3:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It was as strong of a performance as Vitali has had in a long, long time
He showed me some things I didn’t expect he’d be able to do at his age, including moving backwards the whole time and throwing at such a high output.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Sep 28, 2009 9:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
He uses his size as well as Ali and Holmes did, but is much bigger than those guys.
True, but relative to their eras, when HWs were generally smaller, the difference is much less.
Ali was much faster but took way more punches
Post-boxing hiatus Ali, sure, but not early Ali.
Holmes had more boxing ability then just about every Heavyweight in history besides Gene Tunney, and in his prime he was much smoother and slicker than Vitali.
Definitely.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
by Matt Miller on Sep 28, 2009 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
True, but relative to their eras, when HWs were generally smaller, the difference is much less.
For Ali, somewhat, but not for Holmes!!! It seems like people see a few guarantuans like Vitali, Wlad and Valuev on the scene (as well as a few horrible no-hopers like Tye Fields) and suddenly think the human population has rocketed into the next tier of evolution. But in reality, Valuev has a disease, Vital and Wlad have the same parents and most Heavyweights over 6’3" are as stinky and uncoordinated as they have always been… like Primo Carnera and Jess Willard were in their eras. Every era has more terrible giants than it does world class ones
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
by jrok on Sep 30, 2009 8:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Post-boxing hiatus Ali, sure, but not early Ali
No, early Ali too…. which is what caused late Ali to sometimes look so helpless.
"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
by jrok on Sep 30, 2009 8:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes I had no problem with the stoppage
Vitali took his foot off the gas in the 5th and 8th to recover his wind… But the 10th was the most brutal round and Vit didn’t look the least bit tired at the end of it. I was feeling sorry for Chris at that point because I knew he wouldn’t quit but the KO was coming. He was getting hit cleanly with pretty much everything at that point and it was just a matter of long term damage being done sooner or later. He couldn’t even land his counters as when he’d throw them Vit would casually pick them off with his hands.
Anybody that had a problem with that stoppage should go back and watch Darchinyan vs Burgos and watch how the last few rounds of that fight played out vs the 10th round of this fight.
Gimme 1 round!
by ItBurnzWhenIP on Sep 27, 2009 1:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
agreed
Chris needs to get a new trainer. Or at least make sure his trainer doesn’t give up on him again in the middle of the fight.
"Those boos really motivate me to make something happen." - Bonds
by Persiflage on Sep 27, 2009 1:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
His trainer was in deep waters and didn't really know what to do.
I chalk it all up to inexperience for both Chris and his trainer. With that being sad, IMO, Chris gained a ton of fans after this one. The guy’s got heart and didn’t quit (see Peter, Sam).
Both guys are class acts and I couldn’t help but feel for Chris seeing him weep after. He cares about the fans and the sport but needs to really LIVE boxing if he wants to be one of the greats. I know he loves a good meal (especially mexican food) and his brief interview before the fight concerns me. He said something to the effect of ‘I work hard and play hard’. Hmmm, where have we seen playing hard in between fights? Oh, that’s right, Ricky Hatton.
I really hope Chris takes the next step and eats, sleeps, and shits boxing. It’s a year round sport and he has to realize it. He needs a trainer to put a foot in his a## and keep him on the straight and narrow.
The guy is fun to watch without a doubt!
by SmittytheCutman on Sep 27, 2009 1:48 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Trainer
Is there such thing as a premier trainer at the heavyweight level? I mean there are not that many heavyweights where I think to myself that ‘this guy is very technically proficient.’ I mean today Vitali’s footwork was just atrocious. He gets away with it because of the distance but he crossed his feet at least a couple times each round. The personal trainer is a good start for Arreola but he needs a top-notch trainer too, whatever that means in this division. Basically to beat the Klitchkos you need to have good footwork and be able to bob-and-weave to negate the jab. This means technical training!
by waldo47 on Sep 27, 2009 3:42 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Is there such thing as a premier trainer at the heavyweight level?
If you’re willing to pay for it, anyone out there might well take the job.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 27, 2009 3:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Here is why I am asking. To beat the two big Klits you need to neutralize the jab. And you are going to be the smaller guy because the K’s are freaks tall and know how to use it effectively. You are going to need to get to the inside and start banging while avoiding getting hit. Essentially be like Tyson, use boxing skills to get to the inside, then unleash the natural speed and power. Unfortunately I don’t see any of the top heavyweights using this style except for maybe Kevin Johnson, heard he had really good defense but haven’t seen it. Do you think anyone could do this, can anyone consistently beat the K-bros?
by waldo47 on Sep 27, 2009 5:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
No.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 27, 2009 5:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Kevin Johnson does not have the power to hurt the K's
once he gets inside. Arreola has the power but could get off inside
by SmittytheCutman on Sep 27, 2009 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Prospect Tor Hamer uses this style
I can’t remember the name of his trainer (looked it up – Bobbie Miles – Iran Barkley’s and Davey Moore’s trainer way back in the day), but he’s a Cus D’Amato protege, and he fights with that style. He’s a long ways off from being a contender still though.
I’d like to see Nazeem Richardson train a top-tier heavyweight. While he’s not really a ‘bob and weave’ trainer, he sure is someone who helps make a fighter more slippery.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Sep 28, 2009 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I hate to say it but…Freddie Roach?
by Drunken cutman on Sep 27, 2009 5:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Err...
that wasn’t meant to go there. I’m not saying Freddie could beat a Klit brother I’m trying to say he is a good trainer who could train a good heavyweight!
by Drunken cutman on Sep 27, 2009 5:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
See this is the thing, Freddie is really good at maximizing what skills you have, but not so good at teaching fighters new skills. Also not sure how good Roach is at teaching defense, pacman (no d) and amir khan (run away is not defense…) not really thought of defensive geniuses.
by waldo47 on Sep 27, 2009 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I agree about the lack of defence to a certain extent but it is unfair to say he can’t train fighters new things. Pacquiao was practically one dimensional when Roach got him (but still very good!). Roach has taught him to be brillaint by using many new skills.
by Drunken cutman on Sep 27, 2009 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
See this is the thing, Freddie is really good at maximizing what skills you have, but not so good at teaching fighters new skills.
Manny Pacquiao used to be a one-handed brawler.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 27, 2009 4:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Was more talking about new defensive skills not new offensive skills. Sorry if that was a bit ambiguous.
by waldo47 on Sep 27, 2009 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I dunno, Manny has gotten way better defensively too. But this is kind of not the point anyway, too — Manny Pacquiao isn’t exactly your average fighter. Still, Roach also has gotten Amir Khan to fight much, much smarter defensively, but then Khan is a far more talented fighter than most too, he just has a shit chin.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 27, 2009 5:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
He trained Khan to use his offense to provide defense
Roach is no Mayweather when it comes to defensive training. But offense is just different than defense in the ring. Offense can be learned pretty quickly, but defense takes years and years to ingrain into someone so they do it automatically.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Sep 28, 2009 9:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
A fairly predictable outcome
Fighters like Chris are taylor made for the Klitchkos. Poor footwork & average timing will not make for a competitive match against them. You have to wonder how someone can get a 27-0, 24KO record and get this outclassed. Was this Chris 1st real opponent?. Apparently so.
As for who can beat them. If I had to just guess from the current crop of available Heavyweights I would say none. It would take a Larry Holmes style heavyweight to beat them. I think that if Chad Dawson could move himself up slowly and get in around 215 he could likely grind out a decision against either. That would be the best idea at this point.
by SimplePsych on Sep 27, 2009 1:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
At six feet and one inch Chad Dawson would be way, way too small to touch either of the brothers.
by Drunken cutman on Sep 27, 2009 4:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The point Simple was making was that Chad has excellent speed and footwork, enough to negate the jab of the bros. Unlike others Dawson could have some power on the inside or try to simply out point the bros, essentially stick and move tactic. To give you an idea about how good his footwork is, Chad is FMM’s second favorite fighter!
by waldo47 on Sep 27, 2009 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Dawson’s not all that powerful at 175, I doubt he’s carrying up a punch to scare either Klitschko.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 27, 2009 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Maybe no Vitali but he could prolly rock Wlad. Wlad’s style and previous questions makes me think that almost anything could rock him silly. Maybe its just wishful thinking or the desire not to see entire fights made up of left jabs but I think a solid punch to his chin could make him woozy.
by waldo47 on Sep 27, 2009 5:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wlad’s an even better jab machine than Vitali. Dawson would never get close to him and Chad has been buzzed by both Adamek and Johnson. A Wladimir jab job is probably more than enough against Dawson.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 27, 2009 7:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
So in the entire heavyweight and cruiserweight division there is no one who can neutralize a jab?
by waldo47 on Sep 27, 2009 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
idk about cruiserweight, but most heavyweights are just slow, fat dudes who make a name knocking out other slow fat heavy dudes. eddie chambers is probably the best non-kitschko boxer in the heavyweight division, but he’s much too short/weak fisted to do any real damage to the brothers
The Dude Abides
by battle axe of doom on Sep 27, 2009 8:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
A jab? Sure. A powerful, expertly-utilized jab from a 6’6" or 6’7" machine of a boxer? It does not appear so, no.
Bad Left Hook
"Well Howie, I think I'm going to stay outside and outjab him." -- Tex Cobb telling Howard Cosell how he would approach Larry Holmes
by SC on Sep 27, 2009 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Vitali’s performance was almost Ali-esque in a way. The way he controlled distance, jabbed, and moved was picture perfect.
Twitter: @FlyByKnite
by FlyByKnight on Sep 28, 2009 2:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The only fighter in or around the division with the speed, power and movement to bother either brother is David Haye, and (even as a big Haye fan) I’d have him a massive underdog to both brothers (probably give him more chance against Wlad due to suspect chin).
If you’re of the view that one (or both) of the Klitschos need to be dethroned to pump life back into the division (I’m not – I actually enjoy watching them fight [I realise I’m in a minority here!]) then pray that Haye beats Valuev and beats him well (probable, but easy for it to go wrong (if he gases or tries to go for the KO).
I really, really didn’t rate Arreola before the fight, and I’ll tell you something, I rate him a lot more after being shut out by Vitali. Funny that, but it was that sort of performance.
Now let’s see him get fit and come back.
"Chris Eubank lost his recent comeback fight on points ... the main one being that he's a total git."
by bazzlad on Sep 28, 2009 9:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Here's a completely wild thought...
What about Guillermo Jones? He’d never win on points in a million years because his output is too low, but I bet he’d be able to reach them more than most opponents…
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Sep 28, 2009 10:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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