By William Trillo
The last time I recall Chris Arreola tipping the scale at the 229 mark was back in 2006 when he faced his crosstown rival Damian “Bolo” Wills. This was a long-awaited matchup of the two hottest prospects to come out of Southern California. It was a toss up who was going to win the fight in the eyes of many, but I always held firm that Arreola was going to bludgeon Wills. History will tell you I hit the proverbial nail on the head. Arreola beat Wills to a pulp and the fight came to an end after seven brutal rounds.
The world was seemingly Arreola’s oyster at that point and anything short of becoming the next heavyweight champ of the world would be a huge, if not surprising disappointment. Arreola was a beast. There didn’t seem to be anyone that would get in his way.
As it turned out someone did get in his way, it was Arreola himself.
It’s all been well chronicled by now. Lets call it the Three B’s;
Burrito’s, Beer and Bad Training habits derailed a very promising career. To put it simply, it’s a very sad story.
Now…It’s no secret that I have been as hard on Chris as anyone, just ask any of my three readers, they will confirm that fact. It never sat well with me that Arreola became his own “Nightmare”.
That being said, I have a newsflash for you. I believe Arreola is going to KO Andy Ruiz tonight in Carson tonight. I will take it further than that by saying I truly hope he does and will be pulling for him to do what most say he cannot.
In his last bout, which he lost by the way, Arreola actually looked better than he had in years. I was hopeful Joe Goossen would get another fight or two as Arreola’s trainer to sharpen his skills and get him one more crack at a title. He now has Chris in the best shape he has been in since 2006. I believe the fact that Chris knows that a loss here effectively ends his career will motivate him to be the best he can. If my hunch is correct, Ruiz ends up on his back when the fight is over.
Yes, I know Ruiz has got himself in pretty good shape as well and looked decent as he hit the scales at 256 on Friday. Do with this information as you will, but Wills also weighed 256 pounds when Arreola dismantled him on that Las Vegas night oh so long ago.
Go get ‘em Chris. I will be rooting for you tonight!
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