Paul Williams And Chris Arreola Survive Hairy Early Moments To Score Knockout Wins

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November 30, 2008 at 4:19 AM

Paul Williams And Chris Arreola Survive Hairy Early Moments To Score Knockout Wins

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Paul Williams, above: Boxing elite's skinniest. Chris Arreola: Boxing elite's fattest.

Paul Williams and Chris Arreola had trouble with their opponents early, but turned the tables to knock them out. In so doing, Williams enhanced his stock with me, but Arreola hurt his. Williams never was in any major trouble, but lost a round to Verno Phillips before firmly taking control and exhibiting new dimensions en route to notching one of the three best wins of his career. It was his third weight class of the year, junior middleweight (154 lbs). Arreola, by contrast, showed up fat again for the second straight fight, this one against an opponent, Travis Walker, that he definitely shouldn't have showed up fat against. It's a troubling trend that now has the looks of a permanent condition for the best American heavyweight, one that suggests Arreola's more destined for "action hero" status than the kind of pound-for-pound greatness Williams is heading toward.

CHRIS ARREOLA - TRAVIS WALKER

I once thought the ceiling for Arreola was "anybody short of the Klitschko brothers." I wouldn't necessarily pick him against any other top 10 heavyweight, but I would have thought him credible against any of them. Now -- no. And it's because Arreola is, candidly, determined to be a fattie. For his last fight, Arreola showed up at a career-high 258, but you could maybe write that off to the fact that his opponent was not very threatening. Walker? Walker was threatening. Some might argue it was his best opponent. But Arreola showed up at 254. It's inexecusable, and very disappointing, and it now looks like a bad habit Arreola will never shake, because even at his least fat, he's never been as un-fat as he should be. He needed to be better than ever. Instead, he was almost his worst.

The consolation prize is that Arreola is going to be a great action fighter no matter what, perhaps in part because of his vulnerabilities. After a feeling-out 1st round where Arreola did not much of anything but Walker threw a whopping 106 shots, Walker took the momentum into the 2nd round and knocked down Arreola with a very nice right hand. So far as I can discern, it was the first knockdown of Arreola's career, and he was legitimately hurt. But he mixed holding on with punching back, and before long, he caught Walker and hurt him. In fact, he knocked him down twice in the round. It was one of the most fun rounds of the year.

Walker clearly never recovered, because in the 3rd, Arreola caught him early with a beatiful left hook that dropped Walker, prompting the ref to stop the fight. It was a reasonable stoppage, and as the ref told Walker afterward, he had nothing to be ashamed of, because he fought well early before he got stopped. Arreola acknowledged in the post-fight interview that he now knows he needs to work on his weight, which is an improvement from the pre-fight interviews he did where he said he never even stepped on a scale. But frankly, I don't believe he is capable of caring as much as he should. The least-blubbery version of Arreola, as I said before, was still too blubbery. He most likely will never fulfill his potential. But it won't be boring watching him become a heavyweight version of Arturo Gatti.

Next for the winner: Arreola won this IBF title eliminator, setting up a potential bout with Wladimir Klitschko. During the post-fight interview, Arreola asked the crowd if he was ready for a Klitschko, and the crowd cheered. Wrong reaction. Arreola gets murdered by a Klitschko. I'd still like to see him in against just about any top heavyweight, and since David Haye is looking for a spring opponent, howsabout the two best young heavyweights -- Haye and Arreola -- square off? It's a Fight of the Year candidate because both men can punch and both men have flaws. Let's make it happen.

Next for the loser: I think I underrated Walker, who is better than I thought. I think he'd be a credible test for any sub-Klitschko heavyweight, and in all three of his fights that I've seen, he's brought excitement, win or lose. To paraphrase a recent Librado Andrade quote: If he loses, this is the way I want him to lose -- going down in flames shooting for the knockout. (I wonder if he tired himself out with his early punch output, a strategic mistake, but among the more fan-friendly strategic mistakes.) I don't think he's title material, but is he good television? Hell yeah. And he deserves another shot at the big time off this admirable effort.

PAUL WILLIAMS - VERNO PHILLIPS

Williams may still be learning, which really should make the rest of the boxing world scared. He's already sniffing the list of the top 10 fighters in the world of any size, and the notion of him actually getting better cheers me, a Williams fan, and probably chills everyone who isn't in his corner.

If you asked me before this fight to name Phillips' top trait, it would be: "He never stops coming." Williams MADE him stop coming, with the ring doctor apparently recommending a stoppage at the end of the 8th that Phillips and his corner didn't much resist. I say this without any disdain for Phillips. He fought bravely, but he was taking a serious beating that lesser fighters would not have been able to sustain for far fewer rounds. At 39, Phillips didn't need to take any more of that business.

Early on, Phillips had some success. I barely gave Williams the 1st round and gave Phillips the 2nd, owing to Phillips' excellent counter-punching -- much as Carlos Quintana did so skillfully in Williams-Quintana I -- and occasional lead right hand. An unintentional head butt that maybe should have led to the conclusion of the fight clouded Williams' vision, which made his rebound round in the 3rd all the more impressive. Williams, on the advice of his corner, made adjustments that kept Phillips from countering so well. That is, he came in with much better head movement, and focused a little more on when Phillips timed his shots. Offensively, be began opening up to Phillips' body, and it was phenomenal work. You don't see tall fighters like Williams, around 6'2" to Phillips' leprechaun-like height by comparison, punch to the body that well.

In subsequent rounds, Williams was out-landing Phillips 30-something to 10-something, and by the 6th and 7th, Williams was starting to hurt Phillips, a real statement considering that Phillips' chin hasn't been truly dented since 19-freaking-88. Phillips tried to rough-house Williams a little and land some good body shots, but they were far fewer than Williams' own shots, which were swamping Phillips.

Williams still gets hit too easily, and gives away his height too often, but he showed he could focus on defense if he wanted, and he fought through adversity by overcoming a very bad cut. This was an excellent statement win. If you don't like Williams yet, I don't know what to tell you. He's exciting and increasingly versatile, and there's no one, literally no one, I'd count him out against from 147 lbs. to 160 lbs.

Next for the winner: Anyone he can get his damn hands on. At 147, a rematch with Antonio Margarito is one of the best fights that can be made in boxing, but frankly, I don't think Margarito or his team wants any, no matter how much money Williams' team throws at him. At 154, I think Williams against Vernon Forrest is a very interesting bout -- Forrest can neutralize Williams' height somewhat with his own, and he offers Williams one of the biggest names in his "W" ledger much as Williams offers Forrest a very nice name on his borderline Hall of Fame resume. But Williams will fight anyone, and besides the two I just mentioned, I'd love to see him against just about any of them, especially Andre Berto, Joshua Clottey, Daniel Santos, James Kirkland, Alfredo Angulo, Kelly Pavlik and Arthur Abraham.

Next for the loser: Phillips may want to consider retirement; it's not that I'd count him out against most of the other top 154-pounders, it's just that he's 39 and he's just been forced to quit for the first time in his career. I doubt his next payday is as big as the one he earned against Williams. But if one of the youngsters at 154 wants a dipstick to see how far up he's come, he could do a lot, lot worse than Phillips.

Categories: Alfredo Angulo, Andre Berto, Antonio Margarito, Arthur Abraham, Arturo Gatti, Chris Arreola, Daniel Santos, David Haye, James Kirkland, Joshua Clottey, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams, Results, Travis Walker, Verno Phillips, Vernon Forrest, Wladimir Klitschko

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16 Comments on "Paul Williams And Chris Arreola Survive Hairy Early Moments To Score Knockout Wins"

Posted by EJ, November 30, 2008 6:13 AM

Chris Arreola is a bum... Wlad and Vitali would quickly dispose him.

Posted by Tim Starks in reply to comment from EJ, November 30, 2008 6:22 AM

I wouldn't go all the way down to "bum," EJ, but yes, Wlad and Vitali would most definitely dispose of him in short order. But don't you want to see him fight again, bum or no?

Posted by Ed in reply to comment from Tim Starks, November 30, 2008 7:00 AM

Heres a thought:"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face"... Arreola has the heart to go the distance with any one fighter that decides to step in the ring with him. I agree he needs to work on his discipline but come on ...fighters like him only come around every blue moon... and you will soon find out that this kid is special in every way.. love him or hate him he will continue to provide us with great excitement. Unlike the kiddy punching of the Klitschko brothers.(No i dont think Emmanuel Steward is a good trainer)
Anyways all the Arreola Haters keep doing your job and please dont stop hating because its free publicity for him... so please keep
hating.... peace!

Posted by Tim Starks in reply to comment from Ed, November 30, 2008 7:05 AM

I don't count myself as an Arreola hater. I actually really like him. I just wish he'd tighten up his discipline considerably. Right now, I agree that he will "continue to provide us great excitement." I think he could do more if he wanted, is all.

And I think Steward is a very good trainer, but man has he had an AWFUL year.

Posted by joe rock, November 30, 2008 12:17 PM

You are right about Arreola's excessive weight,however wladimir has no chance against Arreola.
Why?
Wlad and Vitali have no defense,fat Corrie sanders droped vitali and lost the fight,coz he had poor stamina instead Arreola never showed to be tired and he lands powerful 3 punches combinations.
Vitali is a worse fighter than before and he is a slugger like Arreola,but he bleeds too easily and he never uses combinations.
I think Arreola can make 108 kg 226 pounds again.
Walker scared him and fear is a thing who makes a guy train harder.
Wladimir couldn't dispose of Peter who is a lot worse than Arreola so how can he beat someone like arreola who can make combinations and has the reach to nail him.
Steward is not a great trainer,because he is biased
and basically he got lucky like Angelo to have someone who gives them the top fighters no matter what,these guys are the trainers who belong to the system.
Cus D'Amato was a great trainer.

Posted by Tim Starks in reply to comment from joe rock, November 30, 2008 5:29 PM

I think both Klitschko Bros. are very good defensive fighters. It's Waldimir's main mission in life, actually, and that chin of his hasn't been tested in a long time because of his scheme of jabbing and tying up. And Vitali hardly got touched by Peter -- he would move backwards or shrug his arm up any time Peter rushed.

Steward does have a tendency toward taking up big-time talent, but I think he's kind of worked miracles with Wladimir. We're talking about a deeply flawed fighter who has really saved his career in large part with Steward's methods. He's not the most beloved heavyweight champion BECAUSE OF those methods, but without them, Wladimir (who I think could fight in a slightly more offensive style and still be effective) might have been knocked out another time or two by now.

If Walker scared Arreola, and fear makes a man train harder, why did Arreola come in at 254?

Posted by Chris, November 30, 2008 6:08 PM

Williams TKO8 Phillips! Sounds like a Great win I missed last night against a guy who hadn't been stopped in two decades -- that's seriously impressive. I have great hope Williams is one of the fighters that can make boxing a serious spectator sport again.

With a win like this, Margarito beware. Heck, even Pavlik might be a bit beware (although I think that's a fight that could still use some simmering time to develop better flavour).

And what about a fight with Santos? That's probably just as tough a fight as Margarito or Pavlik, but in a totally different style. A win over Santos would be pretty impressive in my books, but would it UP the mandate for a Williams rematch with Margo if Paul wins?

Posted by Tim Starks in reply to comment from Chris, November 30, 2008 7:15 PM

Isn't that about the round you predicted? Nice call, if so.

I'm like you -- I'm down with Pavlik-Williams, but it can wait. I'd rather see Williams-Margarito II and Pavlik-Abraham first. If both men win, then it would have some more flave.

Santos is no easy opponent for anyone. I don't know if his name is big enough to help force a Margs rematch, but it would mean that, among the most recent Margs conquerors, Williams would have been the man who beat the other. That says something. I'm just not sure it says enough.

Posted by joe rock in reply to comment from Tim Starks, November 30, 2008 7:53 PM

Vitali hardly got touched by Peter coz Peter can't move,he is slow and he doesn't know how to fight inside like Joe Frazier or Mike Tyson and he hasn't the reach or the speed to touch him.But Peter,brewster or Sanders touched wladimir easily,coz they gave that little step to get inside.
Let's not forget the fight with old Thompson who hurted wladimir several times.
Vitaly got touched by fat Sanders in his best performance,actually Sanders dropped him and Sanders is a fighter who uses all the time the same combination jab and straight with no defense.
Lewis exposed Vitali,basically he couldn't avoid a single punch under pressure against a fat lennox.
If you want to hit someone you need to give a step or else is impossible to get inside.
Vitali or wladimir never fought against fighters with speed.They have no defense,they are no different from Povetkin except reach and size.
If Walker scared Arreola, and fear makes a man train harder, why did Arreola come in at 254?
Arreola got scared after the fight,for the first time someone dropped now he knows that he can be dropped if he doesn't train well.

#10

Posted by joe rock, November 30, 2008 8:11 PM

I made a mistake in my last comment "But brewster or Sanders touched wladimir easily,coz they gave that little step to get inside."Peter never knew how to give that little step and brewster did it sometimes in the first fight.

#11

Posted by Tim Starks in reply to comment from joe rock, November 30, 2008 8:55 PM

No problem on the correction, Joe.

However, I'd like to object to something else you said: Brewster, Sanders and Peter were the last men to "touch" Wladimir. He's been a completely different fighter since then; those are the three fights that made him adapt to a new style. Tony Thompson never really hurt Wladimir very badly.

I also think you might have confused Sanders' showings against the brothers Klitschko. Sanders dropped and knocked out Wladimir; Sanders never knocked down Vitali, and Vitali knocked out Sanders.

I do think you're right about one thing: If there's someone who beats the Klitschko brothers, it's someone with speed. I just question whether Arreola has enough speed.

Please don't think I'm anti-Arreola and pro-Klitschko. I'd much rather see Arreola rule the division than the Klitschkos. I just don't think Arreola is good enough to beat either of them.

#12

Posted by joe rock in reply to comment from Tim Starks, November 30, 2008 11:21 PM

Ok Tim,just to finish our discussion,Sanders dropped
Vitali in the first round, i have the fight.
Just check your DVD and you will see.

#13

Posted by Tim Starks in reply to comment from joe rock, December 1, 2008 2:31 AM

I'll discuss anything with just about anyone for as long as they like. One of the reasons I have this blog is that I really enjoy talking/joking/debating with other boxing fans.

Anyway, it looks very much like there's an ongoing debate about whether Vitali was knocked down or not: http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/archive/index.php/index.php?t-35301.html

But there was no official knockdown.

#14

Posted by joe rock in reply to comment from Tim Starks, December 1, 2008 11:42 AM

I can't believe there isn't an official knockdown.In my opinion this is BS.
He dropped him.I saw some fans in that site
saying that vitali was not hurt,lol.Come on, he was panting heavily,look at his legs before he went down.Who is sanders?
Rahman destroyed easily a young Sanders in shape.
Do you know what kevin Rooney tells me everyday about Klitschko brothers?
That they are ladies and against an all time great they would be destroyed specially wladimir.
He also says that those fighters don't want to get the first punch to get inside considering that they don't have Cus D'Amato style to slip punches or the ability or speed to stay in the correct position to land.
It is true wladimir improved a little after Steward specially the footwork,but he still hasn't a chin or great stamina.
His reflexes aren't good enough to react against speed.
Thompson exposed wladimir again look at his face and he didn't throw anymore after the 5 round due to his poor stamina.
Again just watch how wladimir fought against ibragimov.Scared all the time he panics every single time a fighter goes forward.
On the other hand Vitali's hands are down all the time and often he doesn't know how to keep the distance to avoid punches.
These guys can't fight under pressure,look what happened with fat Lennox.If Arreola puts pressure under Wladimir he is dead,he can't deal with pressure and Vitali couldn't slip a single punch from Lennox that is the reason why lennox hurted him so bad.
If Vitali fights Arreola like he did against Lennox considering that Arreola can throw so many punches,i think Arreola will prevail,but we will see.
Let's see if Arreola can make a good weight in the next fight.

#15

Posted by joe rock in reply to comment from Tim Starks, December 1, 2008 12:56 PM

#16

Posted by Tim Starks in reply to comment from joe rock, December 1, 2008 5:27 PM

I hear you. Look, I'm not super-high on the Klitschkos, as I've said. I think Vitali's the better fighter, and the more entertaining one. I think with their size, both men give trouble to most any heavyweight from eras past, but ultimately Wladimir's chin is too suspect to beat many of them.

But by the same token, I can't see Arreola taking either Klitschko, either. I think he's a very exciting fighter, and I think he's got the ability to put some technical polish to a skillset that I think is underrated, but until I see him do it, and consistently be in the proper condition, I'm going to be skeptical of his chances against the current heavyweight elite, such as it is.

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