By Steve Kim, SecondsOut.com
On Saturday night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, the main event featured on HBO will be a heavyweight tussle between Chris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek. Based on track record, this battle looks to be among the most fan-friendly fights that can be made in the often dreary heavyweight division.
Arreola is a straight ahead banger who relies more on brawn than finesse in the ring, while Adamek, from his days as a light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, has a history of being involved in slugfests. But Arreola, who will hold a sizable weight advantage on the Polish star, doesn’t believe that Adamek will sit and trade with him, at least not initially.
"No, I don’t expect him to bang with me at all. If he didn’t bang with Jason Estrada, who’s not a banger, can’t pop a grape, you expect him to bang with me? Exactly," reasoned Arreola. "So I don’t forsee that at all. But you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. He’s going to resort to his old stuff eventually. After a couple of rounds, four or five rounds, he’s going to have to go and bang."
While it’s true that eventually you’ll most likely revert to what you do best- which, in Adamek’s case, is stalking his prey and punching them out- it’s a whole different ballgame when you’re going up against much bigger men. Against Estrada in February, Adamek fought in a calculated manner. Arreola says he saw a boxer who cannot deal with a legitimate, 21st century heavyweight." No, not at all. Like I said, I wouldn’t be afraid of Estrada, I’d be in there banging with him. Estrada is not a puncher. Nothing about him says, ’Hey, I’m a puncher.’ It’s hit-and-go. And that’s what he was doing. You know I wouldn’t fear Estrada."
If that’s the case, then can Arreola lure Adamek into a firefight?
"I’m hoping for it, but y’ know what? Honestly, I’m going to make it that fight. Not him- I am, because he’s not that kind of fighter. He’s really going to try to run from me. I guarantee you from the bell, he’s going to jab and run, jab and run. That’s exactly what he’s going to do. And y’ know what? I’m going to come and bring the fight to him and make him fight and eventually, he’s going to have no choice but to fight me," said Arreola, who has a record of 28-1 with 25 knockouts. To prepare for the expected movement, his main sparring partner was Fres Oquendo.
His strength and conditioning coach, Daryl Hudson says, "The things that we’re focused on, is for Chris to be more agile, quicker. We really emphasized quickness and agility, to the level of effectiveness, that the level of sparring that we’re bringing in, he has to exercise those things, as well." A constant storyline with Arreola will always be his weight. It wasn’t that long ago he was fighting at 235 pounds (when he faced Malcolm Tann in 2007), to weighing in over 260, like he did for his last outing versus Brian Minto in December. But his team swears that he is a changed man after his loss to Vitali Klitschko last September. "Since then, he has mentioned to me that he finally watched the Klitschko fight,” Hudson continued. “I don’t know what prompted him to watch it; you know how fighters are after a devastating loss like that- because it was devastating to him- but the work we had been doing, was the work we just mentioned, agility, quickness, things of that nature. We were out working and warming up on the track one day, and he mentioned that he watched the fight and I think he now realizes that he can’t just run over people, plow them over and expect someone to step to him. He’s going to have to be a boxer, as well."
His often-times frustrated trainer, Henry Ramirez, insists that they have had a productive stretch out in Riverside, where they both hail from.
"Yes, very much so. An average training camp is eight weeks and so I tried to make this one a ten-week camp, with certain things in mind about Chris...let’s just leave it at that," said Ramirez, laughing. Those “certain things” are no small secret throughout boxing circles. The man likes his beer; he likes to eat large portions of food and has been known to simply disappear for a day or three during the lead-up to a fight.
Is he really a changed man after the loss to Klitschko?
"I would think so," said Ramirez, "I would certainly hope so. The Minto fight obviously wasn’t an example of that but, no matter what, people are going to judge him on what he weighs. That’s the reality. They’re going to assume that if he’s a certain weight, he’s in great shape or not in great shape. I’ll tell you this; he’s going to be under 245. So I guess in some people’s mind, they’re going to see him as being in superb shape."
But yes, there are still those…ahem…”certain things” with Arreola.
"There are moments; it’s just Chris," said Hudson, with a laugh. "It’s just his nature. Y’ know, with fighters, nothing should surprise you with them. They are who they are. They go through where they question themselves and it’s like a moment of truth. Every fighter- I don’t care who the opponent is- they tend to question themselves. But one thing about Chris is, when it’s time to step in-between the squared circle, he’s ready to fight and he’s gonna fight." Hudson believes that the indiscretions will lesson with time. "Yes, I think it will. What he’s doing now is, you see him execute the drills, the agility and the movement, the quickness, the double-jab, the triple-jab, things that we work on. Stepping, pushing off and you see him execute in sparring. That’s a beautiful thing when you see a fighter take what he learned into the ring."
For Arreola, less is more. When asked how much better his client is closer to 240 than 260, Hudson says, "On a level of one-to-ten, 260 being one, ten is 240. Even in the ’50s now, he’s moving like he’s in the ’40s. Just imagine when we get nine, ten pounds off of him within the next two weeks."
Regarding alcohol consumption, the big fella says, "I cut that off, now going on four weeks." Not even one beer? "No beer, no nothing." That had to be the most difficult vice for him to give up, right? "No," he clarified, "that’s not difficult. The most difficult thing is cutting out..." Uh, let’s just say it’s that thing that supposedly kills a fighter’s legs. "Yeah, exactly," said Arreola, chuckling.
So when it’s all said and done, will the leather fly on Saturday night?
"I would hope so, I mean, that’s what people are looking towards this fight," said Ramirez. "The fight that people want to see, and that gets this fight some of the press and people excited, is the assumption that Adamek is going to be Adamek. Chris is going to be Chris. Is Adamek going to be himself? I know that they’re going to try to box, initially. But like I told you before, I just think he’s a fighter at heart and at some point in this dog fight, he’ll resort to being the old Tomasz Adamek, exciting and a brawler, basically."
We hope so.
GHOST BUSTED
At the end of eight rounds on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, it seemed that Kelly Pavlik had things where he wanted them against Sergio Martinez. After getting out-boxed and out-quicked during the early rounds, he had seemingly figured out the riddle that was Martinez, who suffered a mid-round knockdown and seem to be fading a bit. It was at this point, you figured that the naturally bigger and stronger Pavlik would come on and wear down “Maravilla.” All the momentum was with Pavlik, at this point.
But in an interesting fight that played out in three stages, the last portion of the fight was taken by Martinez, who just seemed to grit his teeth and was determined not to be the recipient of another close, questionable call in the States. He got his second wind and started darting in and out and around Pavlik, then peppered him with sharp punches that cut Pavlik around both eyes and left him with a mask of crimson, by night’s end. The only thing that could save Pavlik this night was judges from Nevada, but being that they were about 3,000 miles away, he would get no such aid. Ultimately, Martinez won a well-deserved unanimous decision and distinction as the middleweight champion of the world.
Martinez was every bit the stylistic problem most had envisioned for Pavlik. But what was really striking to me was the lack of snap and torque in Pavlik’s punches and his inability to pull the trigger with any quickness or velocity. He’s still a heavy-handed guy, but I haven’t seen his offensive arsenal that made him so dangerous since 2007. Pavlik’s never been fleet of foot or a speed merchant, but he just looks like a fighter who’s movement looks so labored and forced. I know some will, of course, blame his trainer, Jack Loew, but to me, this is really about the thoroughbred and not the jockey. Pavlik has gone backwards physically at a time in his career when you think he should be in his prime.
I’m left wondering if the Pavlik who first captured the title from Jermain Taylor was the best version of him we’ll ever see. The future is certainly murky for the pride of Youngstown, Ohio, whose support in his hometown had waned before this latest setback. He has a rematch clause, but Martinez will simply present the same problems all over again and, next time around, armed with the confidence that he can defeat Pavlik.
But this was also a loss for the business of boxing, which needs all the ticket sellers it can get. Atlantic City has been looking for the next Arturo Gatti to be its flagship fighter and it was hoped that Pavlik would fill that void. But on Saturday night, Pavlik was unable to pull out a dramatic victory under the same circumstance that Gatti did on a regular basis.
And because of that, the search is still on.
VALERO
Like everyone else that follows boxing, I was hit with the disturbing news on Sunday morning that WBC lightweight champion Edwin Valero had allegedly stabbed his wife to death in his home country of Venezuela. I’m shocked but, then again, I’m not all that shocked. Valero’s life was turbulent, to say the least, and you just had a feeling it wasn’t going to end well. But I didn’t think the downfall would be to this extreme.
I remember getting introduced to a young Valero in the summer of 2004 by Joe Hernandez, who believed this young, dynamic, raw puncher had a chance to be a champion. I certainly didn’t follow him to the degree that my then-Max-colleague Doug Fischer did, but I enjoyed a friendly and cordial relationship with him, since that point. To him, I was that Asian guy who worked with the pony-tailed fellow who always interviewed him.
My last real interaction came with Valero the night before Manny Pacquiao faced Oscar De La Hoya on December 5th, 2008, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He was with my friend Ray Alcorta of Top Rank, who had actually promoted some shows in Maywood, California, where Valero made his American debut, and was still pretty close with him. I was invited by them to have dinner at the Studio Cafe at the MGM Grand. We were with a group of about six or seven people, with Valero, Alcorta and me at the very end of the table. Valero speaks very little English, but I asked him through Alcorta, who he thought was going to win the next night. Very few pundits believed that the “Pac-Man” could topple De La Hoya going into that contest.
Valero calmly explained- to the shock of Alcorta- that this was an easy fight for Pacquiao and that he would be wagering big on him. He said during his time in camp as a sparring partner for Oscar in Big Bear, he could not miss him with his left-hand. And that, while he felt his left had more jolt than Pacquiao’s, the Filipino was much faster and quicker with his. He believed that Pacquiao would not be able to miss with that weapon. He also clarified something that was brought up in that “24/7” for that promotion, it was he, not Victor Ortiz, that blackened De La Hoya’s eyes during sparring. But because he was not a Golden Boy fighter, he wasn’t given credit for it and he was soon jettisoned from that camp. Something he had harsh feelings about.
He turned out to be a prophet, as Pacquiao- based largely on the utilization of his left hand- was able to dominate De La Hoya and stopped him after eight one-sided innings. I believe that was also the night when he was busted for a DUI on the strip.
Unfortunately for Valero, it seemed to be just the beginning of his problems.
STICKS AND STONES
I read that Shane Mosley’s attorney, Judd Burstein, isn’t too thrilled with the coverage given by the New York Daily News over the YouTube video released by Victor Conte, of his client admitting to his knowledge of EPO before his rematch with De La Hoya in 2003. He reportedly sent out this email to one of the stories co-authors, Nathaniel Vinton: "Nate, there will come a day when I have an opportunity to do serious harm to your career. You may not know it, at the time, that it was me, but when you end up with your job lost, reputation destroyed, I will call you to tell you it was me."
And this was perhaps one of the more tame things Burstein said about Vinton.
OK, but one question- just how does stuff like this aid Mosley, right about now?
SO CAL SCHEDULE
On Thursday night at the Club Nokia at L.A. Live, another edition of the “Fight Night Club” will be staged by Golden Boy Promotions. On Friday night, Thompson Boxing Promotions returns to the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California, followed by the big show the next evening at the CBBA.
I plan on pulling a trifecta. Hey, it’s my job; it’s what I do.
FINAL FLURRIES
Arreola-Adamek will take place after Alfredo Angulo and Joel Julio slug it out to begin the HBO telecast. “Ring of Fire” is what they are calling this show. Tickets are priced at $250, $100, $70 and $35. They can be purchased on www.Ticketmaster.com or the Citizens Business Bank Arena box-office (for more info, log onto CBBankArena.com)...There is an incredibly sad irony to this being the 25th anniversary of the classic battle between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns and Hearns now being broke and having to auction off his belongings...Mosley’s trainer Naazim Richardson is the best thing to happen to this edition of “24/7”...Seriously, did HBO refer to Danny Jacobs and Fernando Guerrero as “top middleweights”? That’s a tad premature, in my opinion. But they are with Al Haymon, which it seems is their main qualification...I know Lucian Bute doesn’t have all that many options at 168, but please tell me that Bernard Hopkins isn’t one of them. Haven’t we had enough of him?...When did Kevin Garnett turn into such a phony tough guy? Geez, I used to be a big fan of KG...So Kanye West is the reason why Reggie Bush ran out on Kim Kardashian? (All the juicy details are on Mediatakeout.com). In the long run, Reg may have gotten lucky. Hey, you ain’t gonna tie him down...This week’s edition of “The Main Event” featured Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer and Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole...Any questions or comments can be directed to k9kim@yahoo.com and you can follow me at www.twitter.com.stevemaxboxing. You can also become a Facebook fan of Maxboxing at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing
Source: secondsout.com
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