By Eric Thomas: Chris Arreola (27-0, 24 KO’s) has an uphill battle to try and beat WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko on September 26th. Arreola’s weight issues are only one small part of the problem that he is facing against the big 6’7” Klitschko. However, while we’re on the subject of weight, judging by recent photos of Arreola taken at the Joe Goosen gym, I’d say that Arreola looks to be in the mid 250 pound range.
Granted, Arreola looks more solid than before the last time I saw him, but still appears to be about 20 pounds away from his optimal weight. The chances of Arreola getting much slimmer than he is now probably aren’t very good at this point, because there’s not enough time to take off the kind of weight that Arreola needs to.
Coming in heavier than usual might be a strategy for Arreola, because he’ll be facing a huge 250 pound Klitschko, and it might not make much sense if Arreola where to whittle off too much weight and come in at 235 and end up being outweighed by 15 pounds by Klitschko. The weight isn’t all that important, however.
Its speed and being able to move around well. As long as Arreola is light enough to move quickly without tiring out, he’ll have a decent chance against Vitali. This is going to be a bruising battle and one where it’s almost guaranteed to end with one of them lying on the canvas.
You can’t count Arreola, 28, out because he’s so much younger than the 38-year-old Klitschko, and probably is his equal in the power department. But for Arreola, he has to find a way to land his shots on a consistent enough basis to get the win, because Klitschko isn’t easy to hit all that often. He also isn’t the kind of fighter that is bowled over by one big shot like his younger brother, IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.
That’s not to say that Arreola could knock Wladimir out, because he might prove to be an even tougher opponent than Vitali due to Wladimir’s movement and much better hand speed and jab. It would be very tough for Arreola to get anywhere near Wladimir without walking through a hail of powerful jabs, left hooks and right hands. Vitali is much slower and predictable in what he does.
The problem is that it’s hard to stop his shots even when a fighter knows what’s coming. Arreola will have to somehow defend against Klitschko’s jab and then watch out for either his right hand or left hook. Either one of those punches are capable of knocking someone out.
What often happens is that Vitali knocks his opposition off balance with one of his shots and then while they’re still off balance, he comes in with a really hard shot that further destabilizes them. With Arreola coming into the fight possibly a little heavy, Vitali could end up steering him around the ring like a little bull and basically punishing him for 12 rounds with jabs and right hands.
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