telboy66 wrote:I don't know about surprise it will be a miracle if Arreola get passed the ramrod jab & klitschko's long front foot stance IMO it will be a repeat of the Sam Peter fight.You guys have been so long away from having a world class heavy that your clutching at straws now,Somewhere out there is a young guy about 220/240lbs that just needs dragging away from football but at the moment I'm sorry Chris Arreola is not the messiah more the fatted calf & we all know where they finish up.
The Sad Reality . . .
Football players and other big athletes have tremendous talent relating to their own sport. But they can't fight. Totally different mentality.
As far as Arreola is concerned, none of us here think of him as a great prospect, the fact is, these so-called current champs are so weak, it's hard not consider a bum like Arreola having a chance (although I think he has O chance).
Having come up in the gym seeing guys like Liston, Quarry, Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Norton, Patterson, etc. training just several feet away, I think the regulars who post here on the Classic American West Coast have a pretty good handle on who is and who is not a qualified heavyweight. We had more than one great fighter in the heavyweight division when we were active. Today the world has the Lurch brothers and Jumbo Valuev.
The big guys from other sports wash out when they have nobody running intereference for them.
Most agree that Dempsey, Foreman, Louis, Tyson, etc. would get run over on a football field.
In a fight, the football players balls turn to water as they find themselves drowning in an ass-whipping.
There may be a bonafide talent out there somewhere, but when he surfaces, who is going to teach him?
We only have a handful of credible trainers out there, and those who cater to the high-profile boxers rarely take on beginners these days.
For the record, I don't like predictions and I'm often as wrong as I am right.
However, in this one I see Arreola being defeated easily within a few short rounds. Another in a long line of failed Latino heavyweights.
We don't "clutch straws" on this thread. The guy I was responding to was a Kenny Norton sparring partner and he knows the score.
I was a Quarry stablemate and I have a clue myself. I think we are all on the same page regarding Arreola.
We'd just like to see an upset to shake up this boring division.
Mexican boxers may not represent the best of the big boys, but in the lower weight classes their talent & skill is basically unmatched in in sheer numbers.
-Rick Farris