Arreola, Adamek declare war on April 24
By Steve Galindo III
It’s been roughly three months since Mexican-American heavyweight contender, Cristobal “The Nightmare” Arreola (28-1-25 KOs) last stepped inside a ring, and already he’s getting withdrawals. “Just recently I was saying, Man I need to get punched- I really do” said Arreola. “I love getting hit, I love hitting people, that’s my passion.” Arreola will get an opportunity to further pursue his passion for punishment when he takes on former two division titlist Tomasz “Goral” Adamek (40-1-27 KOs) on April 24 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California. Never at a loss for words, Arreola made his intentions clear at a press conference held last week to formally announce the fight. “Come April 24, were going to beat the crap out of each other” said Arreola. “I’m going there trying to knock his head off, and he’s going to try and knock my head off, and it’s going to be a great fight.”
No stranger to war’s himself; Adamek of Jersey City, NJ by way of Zywiec, Poland enters the bout on the heels of an impressive nine fight win streak, a streak that includes victories over Steve “USS” Cunningham, and heavyweights Andrew Golota, and Jason Estrada. His exciting, fast paced, fan friendly style has enthralled fans for several years now. His last fight against Jason Estrada at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ drew over 10,000 fans. One person that was in attendance that night was Arreola’s trainer Henry Ramirez, “I was at his fight, I was impressed” said Ramirez. “It was very festive, I was blown away, just the atmosphere- it was very loud- they love the guy.” Having already developed a hardcore, loyal fan base on the East coast, Adamek is hoping to capture the imagination of fans on the West coast and believes that his fight with Arreola could put him over the top. “I am fighting for the fans” said Adamek via translator. “Having a guy like Chris Arreola who goes forward- relentless, and me everybody knows me, I love to punch people in the mouth, it just guarantees a great fight.”
Just like Arreola, Adamek also has dreams of competing for a world heavyweight title later this year. In order to make those dreams a reality, Tomasz will have to heavily rely on his speed to defeat Arreola. As it stands, Arreola will likely be entering the ring with a 30-pound weight advantage over Adamek. Tomasz (who will be engaging in just his third fight as a heavyweight) is quick to point out, that he faced a similar weight disadvantage when he fought Andrew Golota last October. In that fight, Golota weighed 256 pounds, to Adamek’s 214, yet- despite the disparity in weight, Adamek made easy work of his fellow Polish compatriot winning via fifth round TKO.
Henry Ramirez doesn’t believe that Adamek will be able to dictate the pace of this fight as he did with Golota. “He (Adamek) is naturally an aggressive fighter” said Ramirez. “I think that natural fighter at some point is going to come out, and I think that’s going to be his un-doing, that’s going to play right in Chris’s hands.”
Weight Watcher
Since suffering his first professional defeat last September at the hands of Vitali Klitschko, Arreola has been on a mission to prove to himself, and to his people that he still has what it takes to make history as the first heavyweight champion of Mexican ancestry. In a positive sign, Arreola reported to training camp for the Adamek fight weighing somewhere around 260-pounds. “This is the lightest that we’ve actually started a training camp in two years since the Chazz Witherspoon fight” said Henry Ramirez. Arreola hopes to trim down to 245-pounds come fight night. To help him attain his lofty goal, Arreola has once again enlisted the help of strength and conditioning trainer Darryl Hudson. “I love working with Darryl” said Arreola. “That’s why I’m saying that I’m going to make 240-245, because I want to validate them.” Arreola says that he’s specifically been working out his “twitch” muscles which will give him better use of his legs and allow him to chase down the speedy Adamek.
Undercard has much bite
From top to bottom, the card on April 24 is chopped full of exciting bouts. In addition to Arreola vs. Adamek:
· Mexicali’s own Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo kicks off his 2010 campaign when he takes on the always dangerous Joel Julio. This bout will be televised as the co-feature on HBO’s Boxing After Dark
· Also featured on the under-card will be Covina’s John Molina Jr., as well as his Goossen Tutor stablemates, 2008 U.S. Olympians Shawn Estrada, and Javier Molina.
· Tickets for Arreola vs. Adamek go on sale today and are priced at $250, $100, $70, and $35 and are available at Ticketmaster.com or can be purchased in person at any Ritmo Latino Outlets
EL Gran Chisme:
Librado Andrade wants Carl Froch, plans a move up in weight
Behind all the cameras, and all the media members that were present at the Arreola-Adamek presser, stood Super Middleweight Librado And-rade. Andrade said that he was there in support of Arreola. When asked about his thoughts on the fight he said “I think that Chris is a little too strong for Adamek, I think that Chris is hungry, and he has the desire to come back, and show the people that what happened against Klitschko shouldn’t have happened.” When asked about his next fight, Librado said that he hoped to return to the ring in April. On who he’d most like to fight Andrade stated “I would love to fight Carl Froch, but he’s tied up with the Super Six.” Librado also hinted at the fact that he would like to move up in weight. “I’m going to give it another try at Super Middleweight, and go for the title, and from there I’ll move up to 175-pounds.”
Martin Honorio, John Molina Jr. Return to Pechanga March 5th for Friday Night Fights
He won his NABO Lightweight Championship by upsetting undefeated hot prospect John Molina, Jr. in the Grand Ballroom of the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California back in November of 2009. On March 5th, Martin “El Brochas” Honorio (27-4-1, 14 KOs) will make his first defense of that title against another undefeated hot fighter in Wilton “Pretty Warrior” Hilario (12-0-1, 9 KOs) at that very same venue in the scheduled 12-round main event of the ESPN2 “Friday Night Fights” telecast. In one of the co-feature bouts, undefeated Rico “Sauvecito” Ramos (14-0, 8 KOs), of Pico Rivera, California will take on Mexico City’s Cecilio “Boga” Santos (24-12-3, 14 KOs) in a battle for Ramos’ NABO Super Bantamweight title. Covina’s John Molina Jr. also set to see action on the card. Tickets priced at $70, $60, $45 and $30. Doors open at 5:00 PM.