Chris Aeriola - US Heavyweight Hope

simongurnick

Aeriola knocked out Travis Walker in rd 3 last night to put himself on the top of the US heavyweight totem pole. He got decked in r2 but got up to floor Walker and I felt the fight could have been stopped at that stage, but Walker hung on for the bell. It didn't take long before he was out for the count though as Aeriola knocked him with a sweet left hook.
Aeriola was out of shape for this fight and admitted it afterwards. Not a good sign if he's hoping to challenge for a world title.
This guy could be very marketable though. The entertainment from his post fight interview was verging on James Toney standards.
When he was asked to look back at the fight, he asked "What of me??"
When he was asked what he thought when he got knocked down he answered "****!"
and his repsonse to Walkers skills was"He's one powerful mother****er!`

Being Hispanic, he`s a got that big ethnic following but he`s got a ways to go before he challenges either Klitcshko. I wouldn`t mind seeing him take on David Hay

Big Ears

Arreola is a great addition to the Heavyweight division, exciting as hell, carries loads of power and............never going to make it to the top. Firstly he's shown serious indiscipline in coming in so heavy, and it really showed in his performance.

After that he showed what a porous defence he has, and he also showed that while he may have a good chin he's not Oliver McCall and if he fights like that better heavyweights will blast him away.

While I love watching him fight he'll need major improvement if he wants to become a serious contender. Vitali, Wladamir and Haye would blast him away, Povetkin would break him down and stop him, Chambers would outbox him to a decision easily, as would Ibragimov and Chagaev. Peter may be able to stand toe to toe with him and show he's the stronger of the fat slow heavyweights(although Peter isn't as exciting).

Even old Toney might possibly decision him, although I reckon Arreola's power and weight might get to James.

Was last night a positive performance ?, if you're a fan of exciting fights(and most of us are) and exciting heavyweights then yes.

Was it a good performance ?, no, not at all.

Arreola is getting hyped by HBO because he is American and even more importantly Mexican American. He's a product which can be sold to a wide audience if he is packaged right, and HBO are trying to make that packaging nice and shiny.

I can't believe that was an IBF eliminator but I suppose you get two American heavyweights with flashy records that can happen.

Anyway remember Michael Grant is all I have to close with.

simongurnick

Yeah, I'd agree with most of that. Maybe a bit harsh to say it wasn't a good performance. Fair enough, he was put on his ass, but he got right back up and dominated.
He's going to get hyped up bigtime and will probably get a title shot that he doesn't deserve. I find it a bit sad that a guy with visible rolls of fat on his waist is put forward as a title contender, but such is the state of the US heavyweight scene. Having said that if he does get in shape he could be capable of upsetting one or two of the big guys but he will probably get propelled to that level before he's actually ready.