04.06.09 – by James Slater – When the unexpected news broke of heavyweight title challenger David Haye pulling out of his June 20th date with IBF and WBO king Wladimir Klitschko, a number of top names from the division leapt forward and made it clear they are ready to step in at short notice as a replacement. This excitement has got the fans talking, and many of these fans have asked why Chris Arreola doesn’t take the shot.
Speaking to me over the phone earlier today, the unbeaten “Nightmare’s” trainer, Henry Ramirez, told me why his fighter will not be taking this short notice bout..
Here are Henry’s answers to my questions:
James Slater: It’s great to speak with you, Henry, as always. Firstly, to clarify and make it 100-percent official – is there any chance of Chris taking the Wladimir Klitschko fight now that David Haye has pulled out?
Henry Ramirez: No. Absolutely not. We’ve actually been travelling. We went to the Andre Ward fight and Chris has only been back in the gym for the past week-and-a-half. It would be no way near enough time for Chris to take this fight. He only fought back in April, and as I say, we’ve taken some trips since then. Now he’s back working, with his new conditioner, Darrell Hudson.
J.S: That clarifies it – straight from the horse’s mouth, as it were. I only asked because there’s a lot of chatter from the fans on the web sites, and some are asking why doesn’t Chris take this fight.
H.R: No, our plan all along was to fight again in either August or September. We’re not going to deviate from that. Who we will fight then, I don’t know. We are waiting to see what happens with the Vitali Klistchko-Oleg Maskaev hearing, to see what happens there. But hopefully, Chris will get his chance at the title soon.
J.S: Of the two Klitschko brothers, who would Chris prefer to face if given the choice?
H.R: Either one. It doesn’t matter. Either fight would be a big fight and one that Klitschko would really get motivated for.
J.S: There are a lot of guys calling out Wladimir Klitschko right now, yet I read that Wladimir has actually called out Chris!
H.R: Yeah, there are a lot of guys putting their names out for an opponent for Wladimir, and you can’t blame them. It’s a big opportunity for them. As for Wladmir calling out Chris, before we boxed Jameel McCline there was a chance we might get the fight with him [Klitschko]. But it was on and off, and in the end we said we had to move on and just fight.
J.S: Talking about the McCline win in April, were you happy with Chris’ performance?
H.R: I was, yes. It was a measured performance, and Chris was never winded at all. You know, people say he’s out of shape, but you try boxing round after round without breathing hard if you’re not in shape.
J.S: Just talking about the hiring of new conditioner Darrell Hudson; has Darrell worked with many boxers before?
H.R: Yes, he’s worked with Shane Mosley, Winky Wright, Chad Dawson. He comes very highly recommended. Darrell’s great at what he does, I’ve seen his work.
J.S: Chris already has good stamina, what area will Hudson be focusing on with him?
H.R: Well, the toning up of his body. Also, working with Darrell will lose around 15 to 20 pounds of weight for Chris.
J.S: Talking about how everyone is calling out Klitschko right now, everyone seems to be calling out Chris also! I spoke with Oliver McCall recently and he called out Chris. Would that fight interest you? Some of the fans seem to think it would make a pretty good fight.
H.R: (laughing) No. We have no interest in that fight. If Chris fought Oliver McCall, the same people who gave him no credit for beating Jameel McCline – actually, he got a bit more credit for that fight – would say the same thing if he beat McCall. They’d say he was too old and all that stuff. Chris will never get the credit as long as people say he’s 15 or so pounds overweight. But then, these same people say Klitschko is in great shape yet he gives them boring fights (laughs). You can never please everyone.
J.S: It’s been great talking with you, Henry. One more question please. A lot of fans have talked about a Chris Arreola-Kevin Johnson fight. I know the two are friends, but is there any chance of that fight one day?
H.R: It’s funny, we’ve talked about that fight before. Both Kevin and Chris agreed that they’d fight for a world title. If one of them wins a world title, then they’d fight. But before then, there are so many other names they can fight. As Kevin says – and he and Chris swap messages quite a lot – there are too many of these old guys to get rid of first. But if it was for a world title, they’d fight.
J.S: Thanks for your time. We look forward to Chris’ next fight. He’s an exciting fighter and we can’t wait to see him back!
H.R: Well, we’re looking at August or September. Speak to you then.