Chris 'The Nightmare' Arreola defeated Chazz "The Gentleman" Witherspoon Saturday night after Witherspoon was disqualified for what could be called corner trespass at the end of round 3 of their scheduled 12 round heavyweight fight. Witherspoon was receiving an 8 count and being examined by the referee when his cornermen stepped onto the 'apron' before the ref had given the all clear signal stating that the round was over. Though controversial, the decision was probably correct and the fight could easily have been stopped anyway as Witherspoon was very unsteady on his feet. The rules of the fight declared that a fighter could not be saved by the bell.
Though short, the fight had good action and both fighters were quite active through all three rounds. Here is a brief summary of each round:
Round One: Witherspoon started off with an immediate left, trying to show that he wasn't going to shy away from Arreola. The fighters felt each other out with Witherspoon jabbing and Arreola going to the body and looking for a way to move in. Witherspoon kept him away mainly with head shots. After some time Arreola got his chance, and stunned Witherspoon with some inside combinations. Though wobbled, Witherspoon countered with shots of his own, getting away from the ropes and surviving the attack. At the bell, Arreola looked tired from the effort, but he clearly won the round. Score: Arreola, 10-9.
Round Two: Arreola's sluggishness carried over into the 2nd round. He tried to pick up the assault where he left off, but Witherspoon dodged and covered very well and continued to jab and score. Arreola was far less active in round 2 as Witherspoon controlled the action throughout, making it hard for Arreola to let loose again. Score: Witherspoon 10-9 (19-19)
Round Three: Witherspoon seemed emboldened by round 2 and fought closer to Arreola, at one time unleashing a series of uppercuts, many of which found their target, but Arreola was not hurt; he seemed to have caught his breath and was eager to unload another barrage. Eventually he got inside again on Witherspoon, who traded punches with him or covered up rather than distancing, and at about the 2:00 mark Witherspoon went down. He quickly got up and seemed mostly ok, but Arreola smelled blood and went after him. For the most part, Chazz evaded him successfully--until the end of the round. When the fighters were separated with 6 seconds left, Arreola landed a few good punches while Witherspoon tried in vain to clinch; Arreola stepped back and Witherspoon fell to the canvas as the bell rang. He tried to rise immediately, slipping back down once before standing up at about a 6 count, still almost rocking back and forth. He said he could continue but was unsteady. The ref told him to step forward and he did so, awkwardly. At this time the fight could have been stopped, but the ref seemed ready to give him the benefit of the doubt--and the extra minute of recovery time--until he saw Witherspoon's corner men on the apron outside the ropes, before the ref had declared the round over. Though there's some question as to what order these events happened--and whether the ref knew the bell had sounded, since he seemed to ask Arreola to step forward toward Witherspoon to continue--the end result looked inevitable at the time. Officially Arreola won by disqualification, but it was a knockout by any other name. Score: Arreola 10-8 (29-27, fight over via disqualification).
Both fighters looked impressive at times, but clearly Witherspoon's defense wasn't good enough to handle Arreola's power. Sometimes he blocked very well, stopping Chris' combinations in their tracks; other times he dodged, or returned good shots of his own. But at times he blocked a blow that was too strong, or tried to dodge a shot that was coming in too fast, or, most often, chose to counter when he should have tried to get out of the situation. Not being able to do any of the three consistently, he was in over his head. His corner would have preferred him to use one strategy--evasion--and use it consistently. Instead, as he said after the fight, he couldn't resist trying to box his way out, and he paid the price.
With this fight Arreola will be in a position to move toward title contention. Whether he can compete with a really good technical boxer remains to be seen. Anyone who can avoid his barrages, or with a great ability to take a punch, will be bad for Arreola, as he himself is easy to score on. Thus, a great evasive boxer or stronger-jawed fighter could win a decision on Arreola, who, though he can take punches well, takes a lot of them. The better eastern european fighters like Klitschko, Chagaev, and Povetkin, fit this description in one way or another.
Conversely, Arreola hasn't been tested by a true power puncher like Samuel Peter or David Tua. Against these fighters, it would likely be a contest to see who could knock out who first. Tua especially has been hard to hurt, while having knockout power of his own, which is why some (perhaps wishfully) have rumored him to be Arreola's next opponent.
Additionally, any fighter who could take Arreola to the later rounds would have a distinct advantage, as anything beyond round 6 is basically uncharted territory for The Nightmare. Nicolay Valuev, for example, though no offensive technician, could score since Arreola leaves himself open, and might be leading on the cards if the fight went many rounds.
So while Arreola proved he could beat a good, smart fighter, his deficiencies suggest that the best fighters would have a big advantage over him, one way or another. With a few more fights, however, he might be ready to take on a top fighter, but he should work on his conditioning and defense to make sure his shortcomings can't be exploited the way he exploited Witherspoon's defensive lapses Saturday night.
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