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Avila Perspective, Chap. 58: The Journey of Chris Arreola and More
Chris Arreola knows this could be his final walk into the prize ring when he faces Adam Kownacki on Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
It’s been 16 years since his pro debut and the circle of boxing is near completion.
Arreola, 38, who quickly rose to fame from the California desert city of Riverside, knows all about victory, fame and defeat. He doesn’t want the journey to end.
“Nothing negative against Adam Kownacki, he can knock me out and I can knock him out, we both know how to fight,” said Arreola. “We both just need a little opportunity to knock somebody out. Were both exciting fighters that put everything on the line.”
In a battle that could be the end or the continuation of his career, Arreola (38-5-1, 33 KOs) battles Kownacki (19-0, 15 KOs) who now lives in Brooklyn but is originally from Poland. They meet on Saturday. FOX will televise.
During the turn of the 21st century the city of Riverside was quickly transitioning from a sleepy town more famous for citrus fruit, toward a refuge for Los Angeles residents seeking more affordable housing.
The family of Arreola was one of these families that moved 60 miles from East Los Angeles to the growing town of Riverside near the 60-Freeway and 91-Freeway. Before World War II, Riverside was more defined by its many railroad crossings than freeways.
Arreola was one of the dozen or so talented youngsters that saw boxing as a way to pass the time. Riverside’s closest mall on Central Avenue and Riverside Avenue was mostly avoided until it was rebuilt into the now bustling Riverside Plaza. Back in the 1990s kids like Arreola, Josesito Lopez and Henry Ramirez visited the Lincoln Gym. That was their refuge despite soaring temperatures in the summer.
Those same kids and a few others helped spark a boxing revolution in the Inland Empire. It’s now an area that is home to several powerhouse boxing camps in Riverside, Indio, Big Bear and San Bernardino. That doesn’t include the many more boxing gyms that are scattered from Pomona to Coachella.
As an amateur, Arreola was a tall skinny light heavyweight who caught the rest of America by surprise during a National Golden Gloves tournament in the early 2000s. He grabbed the championship by knocking everyone out.
Arreola quickly grew into a heavyweight but Mexican heavyweights had never been a commodity. Though he packed a punch and was always entertaining, the promoters were wary about spending time and money on him.
Even Thompson Boxing Promotions, a company famous for discovering hidden talent in the Inland Empire, passed on Arreola. They signed Josesito Lopez and took a flyer on Arreola.
It was boxing scout Wes Crockett who urged Al Haymon to take a look at the Mexican heavyweight. He was subsequently signed by Goossen-Tutor Promotions and his career began to take off.
Championship Potential
Dan Goossen, the president of Goossen-Tutor Promotions, was always in pursuit of a heavyweight world champion. He stockpiled heavyweights hoping one would win a world title and help carry the company to the next level.
Goossen also saw something in Arreola.
Years ago during an informal press conference inside the Casa Vega Restaurant in the San Fernando Valley, the Southern California promoter Goossen whispered aside that Arreola was a promoter’s dream who possessed the gift of gab like Muhammad Ali.
It was a quality you can’t teach.
Early in Arreola’s pro career, mentor Andy Suarez, who trained fighters at the Lincoln Gym, worked the corner of Arreola and would point out the other Riverside fighters who had potential. He always saw championship quality in Arreola.
Another who worked Arreola’s corner was Willie Schunke who served as the cut man and hand wrapper for years. He was a Native American so everyone called him “Indian Willie” to differentiate him from the other Willie in Riverside, a trainer named Willie Silva.
Indian Willie built a gym on his hillside manor so that Arreola and Josesito Lopez could train there exclusively. It had the most spectacular views in the entire area. No boxing gym ever had a comparable panoramic view.
Fighters like Mikey Garcia, Ronny Rios, Damian “Bolo” Wills, and even new WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz visited the hillside gym to spar in the gym with a breathtaking setting.
On many occasions an old veteran boxing journalist named Bill O’Neill would trudge up and down the steep driveway to the gym to watch Arreola prepare for world title combat.
O’Neill had covered boxing from the 1960s and was the foremost expert on the career of the great Jerry Quarry. He owned orange tree orchards and would often bring several bags of the largest and juiciest oranges you ever saw or tasted. He had seen many Mexican heavyweights pursue the world championship and always felt Arreola would one day grab the belt.
First Title Shot
Arreola first fought for the world title against Vitali Klitschko in 2009, but few believed he could defeat the Ukrainian giant at the time. He was 28 years old but still in a learning process. Yet, the fans flocked to the Staples Center in hopes of watching the crazy Mexican-American heavyweight capture lightning with a Mexican left hook.
It didn’t happen but Arreola was still young.
Perhaps the closest the Riverside heavyweight came to achieving his heavyweight title dreams was in May 2014 at the Galen Center at USC when he fought Bermane Stiverne for the second time on a Goossen Promotions card.
“With Stiverne I was ready for that fight and ready to take that title,” said Arreola who was ahead on two score cards when Stiverne caught him with a knockout blow. “I was winning the fight.”
It would be Goossen’s last heavyweight title fight card and also the last time anyone would see the beloved Southern California promoter. At the time very few were aware the gregarious promoter was suffering from cancer. Months later, Goossen would pass away.
Other supporters of Arreola would pass away too.
Back when Arreola first started his heavyweight journey his original trainer Andy Suarez died in 2006. Goossen passed away in September 2014, cut man Willie Schunke died in 2015 and journalist Bill O’Neil in 2018.
All believed Arreola could be a heavyweight world champion when he started boxing professionally in 2003.
Hilltop Gym
Those memories of Arreola training in that hilltop gym as Schunke and O’Neill discussed boxing history and the old days remain permanently etched in the minds of everyone who was there. Or the lunches held at Sisley’s Italian Kitchen in Sherman Oaks at the foot of the office building that Goossen called headquarters.
Maybe that’s why Arreola chose to train with Joe Goossen the brother of the late great promoter Dan Goossen.
“The reason I went with Joe Goossen, I’ve known Joe for many years ever since the Jose Luis Castillo-Diego Corrales fight,” said Arreola on Goossen who trained Corrales for that epic fight in 2005. “I’ve always wanted to keep it in the family. He’s old school, very old school. He is very methodical every minute of training camp. It was a great experience.”
Or maybe it was an attempt to rekindle moments from the past, those unbreakable ties and memories like Indian Willie’s two bull dogs “Sherman” and “Tank” who passed away during a scorching Riverside heat wave. The two canines would often scurry around the gym licking the small children who entered the boxing facility including Arreola’s then young daughter. Or perhaps it was listening to O’Neill describe some of the battles Jerry Quarry had with little known heavyweights like George “Scrap Iron” Johnson who was small but fearsome.
Some moments are more valuable than championship belts.
“If I lose there’s no reason to be in the sport of boxing, I’m too old to be doing that. It’s a win or go home thing,” said Arreola. “I know Adam worked his head off to get me out of this sport of boxing but I’m not ready to go home.”
On Saturday, the Riverside heavyweight looks to continue the journey of a thousand memories.
Boxing Notes
Roy Englebrecht Events presents a boxing card at the Gardens Casino in Hawaiian Gardens, Calif. on Saturday. Aug. 3.
A number of gifted prospects including Michael Norato and Triantafyllos Mavidis are ready to perform in separate bouts at the casino located off the 605-Freeway.
Englebrecht has been providing boxing shows for decades and also teaches a class on the art of promoting.
Doors open at 6 p.m. For more information call (949) 760-3131 or go to this link: www.battleintheballroom.com
Ramirez-Hooker Another FOY Candidate
Several recent fights have propelled boxing to another level including last week’s super lightweight unification world title fight between Jose Carlos Ramirez and Maurice Hooker. It’s definitely a candidate for Fight of the Year.
It was also one of those rare instances when two world champions crossed over to other media realms to challenge each other.
Top Rank’s Ramirez who holds the WBC super lightweight title was allowed to crossover from ESPN to DAZN to challenge WBO titlist Hooker in Arlington, Texas. What transpired was an incredible battle between two equally talented fighters in a fight that lasted six incredible rounds.
It was breathtaking while it lasted.
Ramirez won by knockout but until that final moment no one knew who would ultimately win.
“It just wasn’t my night,” said Hooker. “Ramirez is a great fighter, but it was his time. I’ll be back and better than ever in my next fight – I can tell you that.”
Cheers to both media outlets for allowing the fight to happen and for the rival promotion company’s willingness to work with each other.
Fights to Watch
Thurs. UFC Fight Pass 5:30 p.m. PT – Erik Walker (18-2) vs Jose Abreu (14-5).
Fri. UFC Fight Pass 7 p.m. PT – Eva Wahlstrom (22-1-1) vs Ronica Jeffrey (17-1).
Fri. Telemundo 11:35 p.m. PT – Yomar Alamo (16-0) vs Salvador Briceno (16-4).
Sat. ESPN+ 2 p.m. PT – Michael Conlan (11-0) vs Diego Alberto Ruiz (21-2).
Sat. FOX 6 p.m. PT – Chris Arreola (38-5-1) vs Adam Kownacki (19-0).
Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel
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Bygone Days: The Largest Crowd Ever at Madison Square Garden Sees Zivic TKO Armstrong
Bygone Days: The Largest Crowd Ever at Madison Square Garden Sees Zivic TKO Armstrong
There’s not much happening on the boxing front this month. That’s consistent with the historical pattern.
Fight promoters of yesteryear tended to pull back after the Christmas and New Year holidays on the assumption that fight fans had less discretionary income at their disposal. Weather was a contributing factor. In olden days, more boxing cards were staged outdoors and the most attractive match-ups tended to be summertime events.
There were exceptions, of course. On Jan. 17, 1941, an SRO crowd of 23,180 filled Madison Square Garden to the rafters to witness the welterweight title fight between Fritzie Zivic and Henry Armstrong. (This was the third Madison Square Garden, situated at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue, roughly 17 blocks north of the current Garden which sits atop Pennsylvania Station. The first two arenas to take this name were situated farther south adjacent to Madison Square Park).
This was a rematch. They had fought here in October of the previous year. In a shocker, Zivic won a 15-round decision. The fight was close on the scorecards. Referee Arthur Donovan and one of the judges had it even after 14 rounds, but Zivic had won his rounds more decisively and he punctuated his well-earned triumph by knocking Armstrong face-first to the canvas as the final bell sounded.
This was a huge upset.
Armstrong had a rocky beginning to his pro career, but he came on like gangbusters after trainer/manager Eddie Mead acquired his contract with backing from Broadway and Hollywood star Al Jolson. Heading into his first match with Zivic – the nineteenth defense of the title he won from Barney Ross – Hammerin’ Henry had suffered only one defeat in his previous 60 fights, that coming in his second meeting with Lou Ambers, a controversial decision.
Shirley Povich, the nationally-known sports columnist for the Washington Post, conducted an informal survey of boxing insiders and found only person who gave Zivic a chance. The dissident was Chris Dundee (then far more well-known than his younger brother Angelo). “Zivic knows all the tricks,” said Dundee. “He’ll butt Armstrong with his head, gouge him with his thumbs and hit him just as low as Armstrong [who had five points deducted for low blows in his bout with Ambers].”
Indeed, Pittsburgh’s Ferdinand “Fritzie” Zivic, the youngest and best of five fighting sons of a Croatian immigrant steelworker (Fritzie’s two oldest brothers represented the U.S. at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics) would attract a cult following because of his facility for bending the rules. It would be said that no one was more adept at using his thumbs to blind an opponent or using the laces of his gloves as an anti-coagulant, undoing the work of a fighter’s cut man.
Although it was generally understood that at age 28 his best days were behind him, Henry Armstrong was chalked the favorite in the rematch (albeit a very short favorite) a tribute to his body of work. Although he had mastered Armstrong in their first encounter, most boxing insiders considered Fritzie little more than a high-class journeyman and he hadn’t looked sharp in his most recent fight, a 10-round non-title affair with lightweight champion Lew Jenkins who had the best of it in the eyes of most observers although the match was declared a draw.
The Jan. 17 rematch was a one-sided affair. Veteran New York Times scribe James P. Dawson gave Armstrong only two rounds before referee Donovan pulled the plug at the 52-second mark of the twelfth round. Armstrong, boxing’s great perpetual motion machine, a world title-holder in three weight classes, repaired to his dressing room bleeding from his nose and his mouth and with both eyes swollen nearly shut. But his effort could not have been more courageous.
At the conclusion of the 10th frame, Donovan went to Armstrong’s corner and said something to the effect, “you will have to show me something, Henry, or I will have to stop it.” What followed was Armstrong’s best round.
“[Armstrong] pulled the crowd to its feet in as glorious a rally as this observer has seen in twenty-five years of attendance at these ring battles,” wrote Dawson. But Armstrong, who had been stopped only once previously, that coming in his pro debut, had punched himself out and had nothing left.
Armstrong retired after this fight, siting his worsening eyesight, but he returned in the summer of the following year, soldiering on for 46 more fights, winning 37 to finish 149-21-10. During this run, he was reacquainted with Fritzie Zivic. Their third encounter was fought in San Francisco before a near-capacity crowd of 8,000 at the Civic Auditorium and Armstrong got his revenge, setting the pace and working the body effectively to win a 10-round decision. By then the welterweight title had passed into the hands of Freddie Cochran.
Hammerin’ Henry (aka Homicide Hank) Armstrong was named to the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the inaugural class of 1990. Fritzie Zivic followed him into the Hall three years later.
Active from 1931 to 1949, Zivic lost 65 of his 231 fights – the most of anyone in the Hall of Fame, a dubious distinction – but there was yet little controversy when he was named to the Canastota shrine because one would be hard-pressed to find anyone who had fought a tougher schedule. Aside from Armstrong and Jenkins, he had four fights with Jake LaMotta, four with Kid Azteca, three with Charley Burley, two with Sugar Ray Robinson, two with Beau Jack, and singles with the likes of Billy Conn, Lou Ambers, and Bob Montgomery. Of the aforementioned, only Azteca, in their final meeting in Mexico City, and Sugar Ray, in their second encounter, were able to win inside the distance.
By the way, it has been written that no event of any kind at any of the four Madison Square Gardens ever drew a larger crowd than the crowd that turned out on Jan. 17, 1941, to see the rematch between Fritzie Zivic and Henry Armstrong. Needless to say, prizefighting was big in those days.
A recognized authority on the history of prizefighting and the history of American sports gambling, TSS editor-in-chief Arne K. Lang is the author of five books including “Prizefighting: An American History,” released by McFarland in 2008 and re-released in a paperback edition in 2020.
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Jai Opetaia Brutally KOs David Nyika, Cementing his Status as the World’s Top Cruiserweight
In his fifth title defense, lineal cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) successfully defended his belt with a brutal fourth-round stoppage of former sparring partner David Nyika. The bout was contested in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia where Opetaia won the IBF title in 2022 with a hard-earned decision over Maris Briedis with Nyika on the undercard. Both fighters reside in the general area although Nyika, a former Olympic bronze medalist, hails from New Zealand.
The six-foot-six Nyika, who was undefeated in 10 pro fights with nine KOs, wasn’t afraid to mix it up with Opetaia although had never fought beyond five rounds and took the fight on three weeks’ notice when obscure German campaigner Huseyin Cinkara suffered an ankle injury in training and had to pull out. He wobbled Opetaia in the second round in a fight that was an entertaining slugfest for as long as it lasted.
In round four, the champion but Nyika on the canvas with his patented right uppercut and then finished matters moments later with a combination climaxed with an explosive left hand. Nyika was unconscious before he hit the mat.
Opetaia’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants Opetaia to unify the title and then pursue a match with Oleksandr Usyk. Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, a Golden Boy Promotions fighter, holds the WBA and WBO versions of the title and is expected to be Opetaia’s next opponent. The WBC diadem is in the hands of grizzled Badou Jack.
Other Fights of Note
Brisbane heavyweight Justis Huni (12-0, 7 KOs) wacked out overmatched South African import Shaun Potgieter (10-2), ending the contest at the 33-second mark of the second round. The 25-year-old, six-foot-four Huni turned pro in 2020 after losing a 3-round decision to two-time Olympic gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov. There’s talk of matching him with England’s 20-year-old sensation Moses Itauma which would be a delicious pairing.
Eddie Hearn’s newest signee Teremoana Junior won his match even quicker, needing less than a minute to dismiss Osasu Otobo, a German heavyweight of Nigerian descent.
The six-foot-six Teremoana, who akin to Huni hails from Brisbane and turned pro after losing to the formidable Jalolov, has won all six of his pro fights by knockout while answering the bell for only eight rounds. He has an interesting lineage; his father is from the Cook Islands.
Rising 20-year-old Max “Money” McIntyre, a six-foot-three super middleweight, scored three knockdowns en route to a sixth-round stoppage of Abdulselam Saman, advancing his record to 7-0 (6 KOs). As one can surmise, McIntyre is a big fan of Floyd Mayweather.
The Opetaia-Nyika fight card aired on DAZN pay-per-view (39.99) in the Antipodes and just plain DAZN elsewhere.
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R.I.P. Paul Bamba (1989-2024): The Story Behind the Story
Paul Bamba, a cruiserweight, passed away at age 35 on Dec. 27 six days after defeating Rogelio Medina before a few hundred fans on a boxing card at a performing arts center in Carteret, New Jersey. No cause of death has been forthcoming, leading to rampant speculation. Was it suicide, or perhaps a brain injury, and if the latter was it triggered by a pre-existing condition?
Fuel for the latter comes in the form of a letter that surfaced after his death. Dated July 25, 2023, it was written by Dr. Alina Sharinn, a board-certified neurologist licensed in New York and Florida.
“Mr. Bamba has suffered a concussion and an episode of traumatic diplopia within the past year and now presents with increasing headaches. His MRI of the brain revealed white matter changes in both frontal lobes,” wrote Bamba’s doctor.
Her recommendation was that he stop boxing temporarily while also avoiding any other activity at which he was at risk of head trauma.
Dr. Sherinn’s letter was written three months after Bamba was defeated by Chris Avila in a 4-round contest in New Orleans. He lost all four rounds on all three scorecards, reducing his record to 5-3.
Bamba took a break from boxing after fighting Avila. Eight months would elapse before he returned to the ring. His next four fights were in Santa Marta, Colombia, against opponents who were collectively 4-23 at the time that he fought them. The most experienced of the quartet, Victor Coronado, was 38 years old.
He won all four inside the distance and ten more knockouts would follow, the last against Medina in a bout sanctioned by the World Boxing Association for the WBA Gold title. As widely reported, the stoppage, his 14th, broke Mike Tyson’s record for the most consecutive knockouts within a calendar year. That would have been a nice feather in his cap if only it were true.
Born in Puerto Rico, Paul Bamba was a former U.S. Marine who spent time in Iraq as an infantry machine gunner. In interviews on social media platforms, he is well-spoken and introspective without a trace of the boastfulness that many prizefighters exhibit when talking to an outsider. Interviewed in a corridor of the arena after stopping Medina, he was almost apologetic, acknowledging that he still had a lot to learn.
His life story is inspirational.
His early years were spent in foster homes. He was homeless for a time after returning to civilian life. Speaking with Boxing Scene’s Lucas Ketelle, Bamba said, “I didn’t have any direction after leaving the Marine corps. I hit rock bottom, couldn’t afford a place to stay…I was renting a mattress that was shoved behind someone’s sofa.”
He turned his life around when he ventured into the Morris Park Boxing Gym in the Bronx where he learned the rudiments of boxing under the tutelage of former WBA welterweight champion Aaron “Superman” Davis. “I love boxing,” he would say. “The confidence it gives you permeates into other aspects of your life.”
Bamba’s newfound confidence allowed him to carve out a successful career as a personal trainer. His most famous client was the Grammy Award winning R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo who signed Bamba to his new sports management company late in the boxer’s Knockout skein. Bamba was with Ne-Yo in Atlanta when he passed away. Ne-Yo broke the news on his Instagram platform.
Paul Bamba had been pursuing a fight with Jake Paul. Winning the WBA Gold belt opened up other potentially lucrative options. In theory, the holder of the belt is one step removed from a world title fight. Next comes an eliminator and, if he wins that one, a true title fight attached to a hefty purse will follow…in theory.
Rogelio “Porky” Medina, who brought a 42-10 record, had competed against some top-shelf guys, e.g., Zurdo Ramirez, Badou Jack, James DeGale, David Benavidez, Caleb Plant; going the distance with DeGale and Plant. However, only two of his 42 wins had come in fights outside Mexico, at age 36 he was over the hill, and his best work had come as a super middleweight.
Thirteen months ago, Medina carried 168 ½ pounds for a match in New Zealand in which he was knocked out in the first round. He came in more than 30 pounds heavier, specifically 202 ¼, for his match with Paul Bamba. In between, he knocked out a 54-year-old man in Guadalajara to infuse his ledger with a little brighter sheen.
Why did the WBA see fit to sanction the Bamba-Medina match as a title fight? That’s a rhetorical question. And for the record, the record for the most consecutive knockouts within a calendar year wasn’t previously held by Mike Tyson. LaMar Clark, a heavyweight from Cedar City, Utah, scored 29 consecutive knockouts in 1958 after opening the year by winning a 6-round decision. (If you are inclined to believe that all or most of those knockouts were legitimate, then perhaps I can interest you in buying the Brooklyn Bridge.)
Clark was being primped for a fight with a good purse which came when he was dispatched to Louisville to fight a fellow who was fairly new to the professional boxing scene, a former U.S. Olympian then known as Cassius Clay who knocked him out in the second round in what proved to be Clark’s final fight.
Paul Bamba was a much better fighter than LaMar Clark, of that I am quite certain. However, if Paul Bamba had gone on to meet one of the world’s elite cruiserweights, a similar outcome would have undoubtedly ensued.
One can summon up the Bamba-Medina fight on the internet although the video isn’t great – it was obviously filmed on a smart phone – and pieces of it are missing. Bamba was winning with his higher workrate when Medina took his unexpected leave, but one doesn’t have to be a boxing savant to see that Paul’s hand and foot speed were slow and that there were big holes in his defense.
This isn’t meant to be a knock on the decedent. Being able to box even four rounds at a fast clip and still be fresh is one of the most underrated achievements in all of human endurance sports. Bamba’s life story is indeed inspirational. When he talked about the importance of “giving back,” he was sincere. In an early interview, he mentioned having helped out at a Harlem food pantry.
Paul Bamba had to die to become well-known within the fight fraternity, let alone in the larger society. One hopes that his death will inspire the sport’s regulators to be more vigilant in assaying a boxer’s medical history and, if somehow his untimely death leads to the dissolution of the fetid World Boxing Association, his legacy would be even greater.
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