This Saturday sees the return of “The Nightmare” Chris Arreola, fighting in a 10 round contest against relative unknown Fred Kassi in El Paso, Texas on the undercard of Carl Frampton’s IBF 122 lb title defence against Mexico’s Alejandro Gonzalez Jr.
The now 34 year old Mexican-American heavyweight is at something of a dead-end in terms of his career, following the peak five or six years ago, that saw him fail in a challenge to then-WBC champion Vitali Klitschko in September 2009.
His most recent world title challenge 14 months ago, a rematch with ex-champ Bermane Stiverne, also ended in failure, with Arreola now seemingly reduced to gate-keeper status in boxing’s marquee division.
Ahead of his fight on the Premier Boxing Champions card, Arreola insisted he will look forward to boxing in front of a large Latino audience in El Paso – and promises the fans in attendance and watching on TV one thing – excitement.
“El Paso is a big boxing community which is not surprising ’cause it’s a big Hispanic community – and it’s a privilege to showcase my skills among a lot of Latinos..”
Arreola, who has faced questions over his fitness and technique in the past, insists he is in tip-top shape ahead of Saturday and has upped his training regimen to include more road work and a focus on head movement and speed.
However, in the eyes of many this fight is really only a half notch up from being completely meaningless – nonetheless Arreola is promising a knockout showing.
“Excitement. That’s the one thing I bring in every fight, and that’s excitement. I don’t stop, I keep on coming. I love fighting. I love getting hit but I love hitting even more, man.”
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