By Dave Lahr: Undefeated heavyweight contender Chris Arreola (27-0, 24 KOs) has been a disappointment to some people who were originally impressed upon seeing a relatively slim 239 pound Arreola stop contender Chazz Witherspoon in the 3rd round last year in June 2008.

There seems to have been a breakdown in Arreola’s discipline after that fight or else an easing off in training, because Arreola has been battling weight problems ever since that time, ballooning up in weight 20 pounds to fight Israel Garcia in his next bout in September 2008.

The extra weight didn’t prevent Arreola from stopping Garcia in the 3rd round, but it probably wouldn’t have mattered if Arreola weighed 350 pounds for that fight, because Garcia didn’t belong in the same ring with Arreola. However, the added weight that Arreola put on seems to have started a trend that has extended into his last two fights, making him less effective as a fighter.

When Arreola entered the ring weighing a bloated looking 254 pounds against Travis Walker in their November 2008 bout, I assumed that Arreola knew what he was doing and that he had purposely come in heavy because he didn’t see Walker as much of a threat to him.

Well, Arreola should have because Walker planted Arreola on the canvas in the 2nd round with a big right hand after hurting Arreola in the 1st round with big shots. Arreola came back to score a knockout in the 3rd round with some heavy hooks to the head that sent Walker down in the corner on the canvas.

I figured that after this close call with Walker that Arreola would definitely be coming in shape from here on out, knowing that if he were to continue to come into his fights overweight that he could risk being knocked out or beaten by a decision.

However, Arreola came into his most recent fight against Jameel McCline at a fat looking 255 pounds, showing almost no improvement on Arreola’s previous weights of 254 and 258. Again, Arreola was able to score a knockout by stopping McCline in the 4th round.

But, Arreola was staggered twice in the 3rd round by McCline and it Jameel had a little more power and if he had thrown a few more punches he would have had a good chance of knocking Arreola out. This fight was clearly one that Arreola had no business coming in at such a high weight, because McCline can be a dangerous fighter at times for his opponent, especially in the early rounds when he has a little power. Luckily for Arreola, McCline also came into the fight looking as if he were 25 to 30 pounds overweight.

Now, with Arreola possibly in the position where he may be challenging World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in the near future, it’s crucial for Arreola to take off at least 20 pounds of blubber from his frame.

I doubt that it will help Arreola enough to beat Klitschko, because the Ukrainian hits hard and has a great chin. But if Arreola doesn’t take off the weight he basically then has no chance against Vitali, who will wear down the shorter, fatter Arreola with his jabs and left hooks to the head.

Arreola will need to be light so that he can move around the ring and prevent Vitali from nailing him with his big shots. Arreola’s chin doesn’t appear to be all that study, so he’s going to need to stay on the move for 12 rounds if he wants to beat Klitschko.

Arreola’s only chance is to beat Vitali by decision, because I can’t see Arreola being able to hurt Klitschko with any of his power shots. I think Arreola may actually come into this fight at a decent weight, because he knows what will happen if he comes in heavy like he’s been doing as of late. I just don’t know whether Arreola has the movement needed to beat a quality fighter like Vitali.