For those who might still not believe it, Chris Arreola really did weigh in at 234 pounds yesterday for his Saturday night fight against Nagy Aguilera. The Ring has video:
As mentioned earlier, this is Arreola's lowest weight since July 2007, when he weighed 233 pounds:
Since that night against Berry almost four years ago, here are Arreola's weights, in order: 245, 244, 239, 258½, 254, 255, 251, 263, 250½, 256, and 249¾. The last fight came in January, when Arreola knocked out Joey Abell in 2:18. The rededicated Arreola, if he holds up on this path, could be a serious force in the heavyweight division
This is also the first time since his rough loss to Vitali Klitschko in 2009 that Arreola has weighed less than his opponent. Klitschko weighed 252 for that one, with Arreola at 251, but I think we all know that Vitali, a chiseled 6'7", carried 252 slightly differently than the listed 6'4" Arreola carried 251.
I also suspect people are still going to say that he looks soft, and I guess they're right. He does still look a little soft, but I doubt that ever changes. He always did look a little soft. The difference used to be that he was a high-energy guy who could box a little and had knockout power. As he put on weight, even though he remained entertaining for a heavyweight, he clearly lost a step. At 30, chances weren't going to keep coming to Arreola, and this weight drop is showing he's serious about being a contender.