by James Slater: Heavyweight contender Chris Arreola pounded out a clear, almost shut-out points win over a stubborn Manuel Quezada this past Friday; a performance for which he received at best mixed reviews. Despite throwing a near-record amount of punches (well over 800) on the way to his wide UD victory that also saw him put Quezada down three times, Arreola got stick from some fans for not looking in great shape and for not getting the KO.
However, these fans will surely have the urge to apologize to “The Nightmare” when they find out the following: Chris broke his left hand in the 2nd-round on Friday night, and he also severely damaged some tendons in his right hand during the action bout. Despite this, however, Arreola once again showed he has bite-down courage and massive heart. When he could even have opted to quit due to the intense pain only a pro fighter who has endured a busted hand can know, Arreola instead fought on without complaint – even coming close to getting Quezada out of there in the 9th-round.
His critics would have you believe he is but Arreola is in reality one helluva tough S.O.B; a heavyweight who has never once looked out of gas in a fight, a heavyweight who always wants to throw punches, and a fighter who always speaks of his desire to give the paying fans – even the ones who disrespect him – value for money. A number of world class fighter have quit over the years with a busted hand, yet Arreola carried on with TWO badly damaged fists. If that doesn’t deserve respect then what does?
Sure, there are a number of rival heavyweights out there who have more body-beautiful physiques than Chris, but can they fight as hard and for as long as he can? David Haye for example, as potentially great as he is and as magnificently chiseled as his body is, appears open-mouthed quite early in some of his fights. Yet Arreola, throws close to a hundred punches a round quite often in fights, and goes 12-fast-paced rounds with severe injury; only to get criticized. Strange indeed.
Unfortunately, as Dan Goossen this rough, tough warrior with a heart the size of a lion may now have to suffer a pretty long layoff so as to let his hands heal.
So, fans may have to miss out on seeing a heavyweight with a genuine desire to fight for some time. In the meantime, we will have to put up with slow and sparse-punching big men who fight in a cautious, none too thrilling manner. Still, at least the fans that moan about Arreola’s physical appearance can admire their muscles!
All joking aside, maybe, while he’s out of action, his critics will realize just how much fun Arreola is to watch. And how determined to win he really is.