In back-to-back weekends in July, we'll be treated to some of the biggest heavyweight fights of the year: Ruslan Chagaev vs. Nicolay Valuev on July 5th, and then Vladimir Klitschko vs. Tony Thompson on the 12th.
But will these fights live up to the hype? It's possible, but given the combatants' track records, there are doubts. The first Chagaev-Valuev match wasn't the greatest fight by any means, and there's the chance that the Klitschko bout will resemble his previous effort, or--in an attempt to derail criticism--he might make short work of Thompson.
It's often the fights with less hype that have the most enjoyable payoff. That's why I'm looking forward to the Arreola-Witherspoon bout on June 21st, a fight that kicks off a great stretch of summer heavyweight fights. Both fighters are young and undefeated, and neither has faced an opponent of the other's caliber.
The matchup of styles is interesting as well. Arreola is a self-described 'banger', though certainly not one of the Tye Fields ilk; far from being a bar brawler, he hits hard and takes advantage of opponents' weak moments. And while Witherspoon can score KOs too, he is best summed up as a more cautious, technical, even 'brainy' fighter; he carried a 3.8 average in high school.
Witherspoon strives to have a diverse style, and studies his opponent: "Right now I fight well on the
inside and I fight well on the outside. I want to have that balance so
that I can take on any guy’s style and beat him at it." (quoted in Eastsideboxing.com).
Arreola, however, doesn't even watch films of his upcoming foe. "I've never actually seen him [Witherspoon] fight. I know nothing about him, really. I leave all the strategy and stuff like that to my team." (quote from Eastsideboxing.com)
The contrasts don't end there. Arreola has fought nearly his whole life, starting at an early age and continuing through a lengthy amateur career. Witherspoon, on the other hand, took up boxing at age 20 and made rapid progress to reach where he is today.
But there are similarities as well: Both men are 6' 4" tall, weight approximately 235 pounds (though Arreola has fought at over 250 before) and were born within 6 months of each other. Both carry records of 23-0-0 into the bout. Each has a relative who boxed. Arreola's father was a boxer, while Witherspoon's 2nd cousin Tim had a long and successful heavyweight career.
Rankings and Careers
Chris Arreola has recently reached the top ten in the SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Top 100, while Witherspoon has risen to #28.
Arreola turned pro in late 2003, about a year before Witherspoon. Within a year and a half he'd scored 12 knockouts and one disqualification, before Andrew Greeley took him to a full six rounds in September, 2005. Though he won a unanimous decision, winning all rounds on 2 of 3 cards, Arreola and his manager decided to do extra work on fundamentals and defense; the fight remains the only time Arreola has had to go the distance.
His next win over Domonic Jenkins put him in the Top 100 in October, 2005. He knocked out journeyman Sedreck Fields in May of the next year, then Damian Norris (8-1 at the time) in August. In November, Damian Wills was 21-0-1 when Arreola stopped him in the 7th round. Stoppages of Zakeem Graham and Malcolm Tann, and a first round KO of Derek Berry kept him moving up, and when he beat Thomas Hayes last September he was in the top 20, close to the top ten. A win over Cliff Couser--and losses by other top ten fighters--put Arreola in the top ten in April, 2008.
Witherspoon reached the Top 100 at nearly the same time as Arreola. In November, 2005 he beat Demetrice King to inch into the Top 100. He followed that with a series of wins over other questionable fighters: David Polk, Earl Ladson, Patrick Smith, Charles Davis, and Ron Guerrero. These fights helped hone his skills but barely moved him into the top 50. Wins this year over Kendrick Releford, Jonathan Haggler (then 18-1) and Domonic Jenkins put him in the top 30.
Probable Outcomes
The fighters' bouts with common foe Domonic Jenkins show the difference in the fighters' styles. Arreola was losing his fight against Jenkins after four rounds, but he was able to find an opening and win the fight in the fifth round. Witherspoon also took some shots from Jenkins, but took control of the fight and won easily on all the cards.
What this suggests is that Witherspoon is a better boxer than Arreola, but perhaps not a better fighter. Arreola has gone the distance only once, which is both a good and bad thing. Never having fought more than six rounds, it brings up questions as to what happens if he has to go into later rounds with Witherspoon, and the answer would probably be his first loss, by decision. Conversely, Witherspoon has KOed 15 opponents, but won by decision over many of the "tomato cans" he faced. It's doubtful that Witherspoon could knock out someone of Arreola's ability and resilience. To win, he'll have to avoid getting stopped himself, and he hasn't exactly faced a skilled knockout artist in his pro career so far.
So this will be a great test for both boxers. If Arreola can't get on track against Witherspoon, he may be forced to fight in the later rounds, while Witherspoon will have his skills tested against a fighter who takes advantage of any opportunity given to him. Anything can happen, but I think this mix of styles will result in a very entertaining fight.
My gut instinct says that Arreola's experience, and having faced better competition, gives him the edge. Though Witherspoon can outbox him, Arreola will get through enough to hurt Witherspoon and keep the later rounds even--enough for Arreola to win by a late knockout or even a close 12-round decision.
There is a good chance that Witherspoon might frustrate Arreola and win by decision as well, but I don't see him stopping Arreola by knockout. Another possibility is that Arreola overwhelms Witherspoon from the start, but I think (and hope) that Chazz's skills will be able to handle the Arreola attack that has vanquished mostly fighters that are a few levels down.
Either result--an Arreola win or Witherspoon win--will entrench the victor in the top 10 and put him on track to be a legitimate contender for a title shot. Rumor has it that David Tua--also in the SportsRatings Top 10--will fight the winner, which is an excellent idea as Tua needs to step up his competition level.
Despite all the interesting fights taking place in the division in the next month, I would recommend not missing out on this one, as it has the chance to be one of those unheralded great fights that many talk about but few bothered to watch live. Even if it ends early, it should be exciting, and will be the launching pad for the winner.
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