Cristobal Arreola likely to face either Derric Rossy or Brian Minto

BoxingScene.com reports that there are four names being talked about as opponents for Cristobal Arreola on December 5, but two men are leading the race.

While Malik Scott (32-0, 11 KO, very empty record) and 37-year old Michael Grant (45-3, 33 KO) have been mentioned, it appears that Brian Minto and Derric Rossy are the most likely to face Arreola, as "The Nightmare" comes back from his first professional loss.

Rossy (22-2, 12 KO) is a 29-year old out of Medford, New York whose most famous fight was a win over Ray Mercer in China back in 2008. He was knocked out by Eddie Chambers in 2007 and by Alexander Dimitrenko in 2008, and the same fate surely would await him against Arreola. He's not that big of a puncher and doesn't have Arreola's boxing skills, either. He's also notable for playing college football at Boston College (1998-2001). He started three games in his senior season.

We discussed Minto (34-2, 21 KO) yesterday. He's a tough guy, but he's also 34 years old and really undersized (5'11", 72" reach). Arreola would likely take his head off, and even with Minto's reputation of making it a tough night for anyone, Arreola's size, youth and power spell doom for Minto, and I don't think that one goes too far into the night.

Neither Rossy nor Minto are exactly big steps up from the guys Arreola's already been beating, for instance Travis Walker or Chazz Witherspoon. But at the end of the day, it is just a bounce-back fight; HBO and Goossen Tutor will try to rebuild Arreola. Neither of the Klitschkos are likely to be in the sport for a whole lot longer, and at that point the heavyweight division will be in need of a new king. Arreola's as good a candidate as anyone, and with his style, the fact that he's Mexican-American, and his great personality, he's worth the bet.