Arreola KOs Hayes

Future heavyweight star Chris Arreola (22-0, 20 KOs) KO’d an over-matched Thomas Hayes (26-2, 18 KOs) on Friday night, blasting him to the canvas in the 3rd round of a scheduled 10-round bout at the Doubletree Hotel, in Ontario, California. The victory, the 22nd in a row, gives the 26-year old Arreola the vacant WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title and continues his forward progress towards a future heavyweight title shot. Arreola, ranked #12 in the WBC, flattened Hayes with a left uppercut-right cross combination in the 3rd round. The referee immediately stepped in and halted the bout as Hayes was unable to continue fighting.

Arreola was very impressive in the first round, landing powerful right hands to the head, backing him up to the ropes where Arreola unloaded with numerous combinations. Hayes bravely fought back and was able to land a significant amount of return shots. However, Arreola’s power and size was simply too much for Hayes, as he was taking a horrendous beating during the first two rounds of the fight. In the 2nd, Hayes landed some good shots at the beginning of the round, pounding Arreola downstairs and trying to take the air out of him.

In the 3rd round, both fighters traded shots at the start of the round as they stood at close quarters. However, Arreola landed a tremendous left hand, and then straight right that dropped Hayes to the canvas. He was in no condition to get up, and the referee moved in and put a stop to the bout at 1:45 of the round.