Chicano heavyweight loses steam towards end, hopes for rematch
By Steve Galindo III
If history is going to be made in boxing’s heavyweight division this year, it will not be made by Mexican-American Cristobal “Nightmare” Arreola. His dream of becoming the first heavyweight champion of Mexican heritage quickly turned into a nightmare, compliments of Poland’s favorite son-Tomasz Adamek. The two fought in a scintillating, crowd -pleasing affair, last Saturday Night, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena, in Ontario, California. With the odds, and the pro-Arreola crowd against him, Adamek (41-1, 27 KOs) was able to stay focused, and execute his game plan to perfection. The performance earned him a victory via majority decision with scores of 114-114, 115-113, and 117-111.
Despite entering the ring with a 33 ½ pound weight advantage, Arreola (28-2-25 KOs) had difficulty finding the shifty Adamek in the early rounds. To his credit, Adamek executed superb lateral movement, which enabled him to keep his distance from the Nightmare’s crushing blows. The inability to connect on his smaller opponent would go on to fluster the 6’4″ Arreola. “I want to fight, I want to sit there and bang” a frustrated Arreola said afterwards. “I hate f—— chasing a guy around the f——— ring all night.”
To make matters even worse, Arreola would go on to sustain an injury to his left hand in the fifth round, taking away his most effective punch, the left jab. “Honestly when I hurt my hand, I just couldn’t” Arreola said afterwards. “Every time I landed a jab on his f——— hard ass head, it just hurt real bad. I was trying to keep using it, but I couldn’t use it no more.”
In spite of the injury, Arreola would go on to utilize his size to dictate the pace of the middle rounds. His ability to battle through the pain and agony of his injury set the crowd of 6,000 into a frenzy. To them, he solidified his status of a true Mexican warrior. The onslaught would turn out to be short lived, as Arreola would not be able to close the distance-allowing Adamek to land combinations at will. When the dust had settled, Adamek would go on to land a total of 197 punches, compared to 127 for Arreola. Of the 197 punches that Tomasz landed 128 of those were power punches compared to 67, for the bigger Arreola.
After the fight, Arreola made no excuses for the loss; instead he expressed interest in a possible rematch with Adamek. “I would love to fight him in f——— Newark (New Jersey) and this time I’ll come out with my hand raised.” When asked when he would like to return to action, Arreola said “As soon as possible, I hate losing; I hate losing with a passion. I came ready, I really did, I wasn’t tired, I was more frustrated than tired.”
John “The Quietman” Ruiz Retires : The First and Only Heavyweight World Champion of Latino Heritage Calls it a Career
After a professional career spanning 18 years, highlighted by becoming the first and only Heavyweight World Champion of Latino heritage, two-time world champion John “The Quietman” Ruiz today announced his retirement from the ring. Ruiz (44-9-1, 30 KOs) defeated three world champions – Evander Holyfield, Hasim Rahman and Tony Tucker – as well as top contenders such as Andrew Golota, Fres Oquendo, Jameel McCline and Kirk Johnson. Six of John’s nine career losses were to world champions. “I’ve had a great career but it’s time for me to turn the page and start a new chapter of my life,” Ruiz said. “It’s sad that my final fight didn’t work out the way I wanted, but, hey, that’s boxing. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished with two world titles, 12 championship fights, and being the first Latino Heavyweight Champion of the World. I fought anybody who got in the ring with me and never ducked anyone. Now, I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family.