Team Arreola Speaks!

Heavyweight fights THIS Friday

“What does Chris weigh?” I wonder how many times Team Nightmare gets asked that question. Probably enough times by now for it to get old real fast.

But when those in boxing circles talk about Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (28-2, 25 KOs) that weighty issue of poundage usually pops up first, with the topic of his training discipline a close second. Not too far behind would be the whispers questioning Arreola’s choice of trainers in regards to his coach–and amigo–Henry Ramirez.

Team Arreola isn’t stupid. They are well aware of the trash talking, put downs, smackdowns and more that people say behind their back.

At a recent fight, I had a chance to catch up with the heavyweight and his camp after they were in the corner with up-and-comer Jonathan Arellano at the Thompson Boxing card in Ontario. After Arellanos’ victory, I spoke to both Chris and Henry about their upcoming bout this Friday versus Manuel Quezada (29-5, 18 KOs).

This card, promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions, will air on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights.” Held at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Arreola will fight at the very same venue where his last bout (and defeat) against Tomasz Adamek in April took place.

Chatting with his trainer, I ask Henry for a prediction. “A knockout,” he quickly replies. “What round?” I counter. He thinks for a couple of seconds, answering, “In four–or five!”

Ramirez has always been a stand-up guy.

If you ask him a question, you’re gonna get a straight answer–whether you like it or not. So when I was talking to Henry, I brought up the subject of how some people think he’s too much of a friend to Chris and not a strict disciplinarian-type coach that some think is needed. Henry says he’s heard this and offers his own quick rebuttal. He drops a couple of F-bombs (that Arreola is also infamously known for) as he addresses certain ignorant comments he’s read and heard. “The people that write that stuff, they’re ‘nobodies’!” Henry says, shaking his head. For now, we’ll keep the focus on this Friday, but I promise you will hear more–a LOT more–in a future column when Ramirez expounds on all the haters. Trust me, you will want to hear his unbridled thoughts in regards to his harshest critics.

And by now Henry’s heard it all too. The trainer refuses to let the negativity get to him; his young and talented stable of fighters speaks for itself.

Besides Arreola and Arellano, Ramirez’s charges also include Hector “Teco” Serrano and Jose Lopez (26-3, 15 KOs), who will be squaring off against Martin Cordova Jr. on the undercard of this Friday’s fight.

In Friday’s main event, Arreola, a popular Mexican-American boxer from Southern California, is returning to the venue located in his beloved backyard of nearby Riverside. But will this Friday the 13th be a lucky one for the 6′ 4″ slugger? Fighting for the vacant WBC FECOMBOX title, Cristobal knows he has a lot to prove.

And he wants to prove the naysayers wrong.

If he gets past this foe, there is already talk of a possible Adamek rematch in the fall. The Polish puncher will be facing Michael Grant on August 21 and if both Chris and Tomasz are victorious, it wouldn’t be surprising if a second bout between the two was made.

So will Chris Arreola, noted beer lover and Oreo cookie monster, rise to the challenge and once again try to prove everyone wrong?

Chris seems more than serious about this upcoming fight; he does look slimmer and trimmer than he had appeared before. And in these photos, the big guy is even wearing horizontal strips…which we women know is a big no-no if you want to appear thinner! But there was some added weight I noticed on the heavyweight. Hanging down from his neck was one sharp and shiny accessory–a pendant of gold and diamonds. I didn’t ask him if it was real but somehow I don’t think Arreola would wear Cubic Zirconias. And he reportedly did get a nice paycheck from his Vitali Klitschko outing.

Anyway, his newest “CA” bling seemed like the only thing weighing him down these days. During last Friday’s ESPN segment, the fighter was seen in a TV interview admitting that “he didn’t train hard” for the Adamek bout, also adding that he’s “fully prepared” for this Friday night. And the twice-beaten boxer also knows he’s lost some fans along the way. Acknowledging the loss of support after his last fight, Chris commented that he knows some people “fell off the ship…I gotta get them back on the boat!”

Team Arreola plans to get the fans back on the boat–while ignoring those “bandwagon” fans that quickly jumped on board when Chris was undefeated–and then just as quickly swam to shore when the boxer was defeated in his two noteworthy losses to Klitschko and Adamek.

His corner says things are on the upswing and don’t count Arreola out just yet! The tide can turn again.

“He knows his back is against the wall,” his cutman “Indian” Willie Schunke tells me. “He needs to win this one if wants to stay on top of his game.”

Training out of Riverside, the cornerman agrees that Chris is rededicated to the sport. “Chris is training harder for this fight than he did for Klitschko,” confides Schunke. Sparring went well with chief sparring partner Andy Ruiz, Jason Gavern, Javier Mora, Rafael Lopez, Oscar Torres, and other Wild Card fighters. Henry echoes that this crop of sparring partners were great with excellent work put in.

Addressing the topic of how trainer Ramirez is often blamed for Chris’ discipline–or lack of it–“Indian” Willie makes this clear, “Chris only blames himself–not his trainer! In fact, we had an ESPN reporter here last Wednesday and he told them the same thing…that it’s not Henry, he blames himself.”

We will all know soon if Chris Arreola’s renewed dedication and newfound discipline pays off when he, Ramirez, Schunke and the whole Team Nightmare get their game faces on for the Ontario showdown against Manuel Quezada.

For tickets: www.CBBankArena.com

Photos by Michele Chong