Vitali Klitschko vs. Chris Arreola Boxing Pick

Dr. Iron Fist battles The Nightmare

9/26/09

Good one Apollo and you might be right; this one could be monstrous as (WBC) heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko defends his title on September 26th against undefeated challenger Chris Arreola at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Klitschko is the prohibitive favorite of over 6-1 at 5dimes.com and SBG Global.

Klitschko sports an impressive record of 37 wins and only 2 losses. He stands 6’7 in his stocking feet and weighs in at around 245 pounds. He’s always in shape with nary an ounce of flab on his athletic body. Klitschko can be awkward and throw punches from all angles, but he’s blessed with a strong jab and a real good right hand. He fights in a more European style, but he’s hardly prissy. The guy comes to fight and will happily stand in the middle of the ring and swap haymakers. This will be his third fight since coming out of retirement in 2004. He’s prone to injuries and cuts rather easily. One of his loses (he was comfortably ahead on all the judges scorecards) was in 2000 when he couldn’t continue due to shoulder discomfort. His fragile body could prove to be a factor as the ten years younger Arreolo pounds away.

Chris Arreola comes into the fight with a record of 27 wins with 24 knockouts. He’s not as tall as Klitschko but at 6’4 he’s plenty tall, and plenty big. I met him last May, and I immediately flashed on a MACk truck. He’s huge all over with hands that resemble mitts, legs that look like a lineman’s and shoulders as broad as a house. It’s certainly easy to see where his power comes from. That power seems to be more prevalent in his right hand then his left. He fights in a very active style, throwing a lot of punches and over whelming his opponents. Chris’s body is hardly fragile but he has entered fights looking soft and out of shape. In his last two fights he weighed in around 255 pounds. I’m figuring he will weigh less then that for the biggest and most important fight of his life. Does he have the skill and power to defeat the champion?

The fight itself could be over rather quickly or hang on into the later rounds. Klitschko has a 3 inch reach advantage. Not that big, but a factor since Arreola is there to be hit. As Travis Walker and Jameel McCline showed, Arreola can be tagged. But let’s not forget that Chris got up (against Walker) and survived being staggered by McCline to win both fights by knockout. Can he do the same against the WBC champion?

Klitschko will taste Arreola’s power and fire back accordingly. Chris will keep plodding away, but surprise Vitali with his hand speed. Arreola’s many hometown fans will go banana’s, praying for the upset that actually could happen. The key is going to be whether Arreola can take Klitschko’s punch. If he can’t the fight could end quickly. The slugging could be pretty fierce at times, with Arreola forcing the fight and Klitschko more then happy to oblige. There’s no doubt that the “Dr” has watched film of Arreola’s fights and seen him be knocked down and then staggered. Arreola needs to duck inside of Klitschko’s power and pound away at anything he can hit. He needs to channel the Rock…Rocky Marciano.

Klitschko will keep jabbing and throwing his right hand figuring that when it connects, it will be goodnight Irene for the tough Arreola. Chris will keep trying and could eventually stagger Vitali, but, the older Klitschko is blessed with a pretty stern chin and will most likely survive.

If Arreola wins it will probably be early, but it’s more likely that the experienced Klitschko will pound away and build up an early lead which will in turn force Arreola to take some chances.

Klitschko is the victor by way of stoppage in round 8.