by James Slater – Once again, Henry Ramirez, trainer of heavyweight contender and crowd-pleaser Chris Arreola, was at the airport when I called him for an interview today (I always seem to call at the most inappropriate times!) but he was still kind enough to give me the latest on what his charge will do next.
“The Nightmare,” who lost a close decision to Tomasz Adamek in April, is back in training and will likely fight again in August on ESPN – as Henry told me, amongst other things, today.
Here is what the trainer had to say:
James Slater: Thanks so much for your time once again, Henry. We hear Chris will be back in August, on ESPN?
Henry Ramirez: How are you, James? Yes, it appears so – sometime in August. That’s what we’re looking for, then to get Chris back on HBO in the fall..
J.S: And is there a name set for August? We hear it could maybe be Friday Ahunanya?
H.R: Well, it could be names like that, yeah, but so far there’s nothing concrete.
J.S: Chris is coming off that points loss to Adamek, of course – was Chris down after that loss?
H.R: Absolutely not, absolutely not. It was just one of those things; Adamek was able to box and he did his thing. But there was so much beyond what just happened in the ring. People can criticise Chris all they want, and it’s true, he has to put the sport first. Once he does that, he can go on to achieve what he is capable of.
J.S: So you’re saying you were unhappy with Chris’ pre-fight efforts going into the Adamek fight?
H.R: Absolutely, James. It was one of the worst camps I’ve ever been at! And I’m not the only one who said that – Dan [Goossen] said it, Al said it and I said it. Chris never gave himself the best chance of winning that fight, and as I say, he has to learn to put the sport first. I knew the Adamek fight would be a tough fight, I never assumed it would be in any way an easy fight for us, but Chris never helped himself in camp, at all.
J.S: Headbutts were something of a factor in the fight, even though Chris never debated the verdict…
H.R: No, no, I can’t take anything away from Adamek. It is what it is and now we have to get back in there. Maybe we can get a rematch somewhere down the road, and hopefully we’ll see the real Chris this time; not just a fraction.
J.S: Were you shocked when Adamek beat Chris?
H.R: Not at all. I don’t know why some people were saying it was an easy fight for Chris. I never felt that at all.
J.S: Is Chris back in training now, Henry?
H.R: Yes, he got back in about a week-and-a-half ago. He had to wait for his hands, which swelled up, to be given the okay, but he’s back now. Now we’re just waiting to see who it will be in August, it will probably be August anyway.
J.S: Well, one of the things the fans like about Chris, is the way he gets right back in the ring after suffering a loss. Is the plan to keep Chris busy for a couple of fights and then go for a big name to get him back into contention?
H.R: He has to put the sport first! We don’t really know yet what will happen after August, we’ll see after that fight. But that could be the way to go, maybe two more this year. I know a lot of your readers on your website will have a dandy time being negative about Chris (laughs). But if he does learn to put the sport first, there is no reason at all he cannot go on to achieve all the things he’s set out to achieve.
J.S: Thanks for your time, Henry. We look forward to watching Chris’ next fight on ESPN.
H.R: Okay, thanks, James.