Some Thoughts on Chris Arreola

If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.

Napoleon Hill

By Randy De La O

The saying is “Water will always find it’s own level”. It’s the same way with fighters. They will always find their own level of competition. The level that they can no longer surpass. It’s a natural process. You can only go as far as your talents and heart will take you, right? Sometimes though, a fighter will allow himself, for any number of reasons, to stay at a certain level that he might have, with a little more effort, eventually surpassed. Sometimes something enters a fighters mind and he stops trying, stops giving 100% of himself.

I think this is what happened to Chris Arreola. Somewhere during his fight with Vitali Klitschko, Arreola stopped believing he can win the big fights. He’s made a lot of excuses for himself but the truth is he’s forgotten one of the cardinal rules of boxing, “fights are won and lost in the gym” There is no doubt that Arreola has a lot of heart, that is not in question. In boxing a fighters heart, like steel, must be forged and honed, and that only comes from hard, consistent training and that includes roadwork. There is no other way.

I don’t know if Arreola has the right stuff to become a world champion. I doubt if he knows it either but I do know this, at some point in the near future he is going to have to settle the matter by himself. Do I want to be a champion or am I satisfied just being a local tough guy?

The real champions, in any division, in any sport, didn’t become champions just because they were better than everyone else, though some certainly were, they became the best because somewhere deep inside of themselves, they believed they could and in those moments in a fight when a championship heart emerges, they didn’t let themselves down. They refused to lose regardless of who was in front of them. It’s the stuff inside that makes a man a champion, in boxing, in sports and in life.

Just a little over a year ago Chris Arreola was being hailed as the next Rocky Marciano. To say that he has not lived up to that would be an understatement - to say the least. Rocky possessed no real great boxing skills nor any outstanding physical attributes and he certainly was not a graceful fighter. What set Rocky apart from every other heavyweight of his era was his huge heart and the fact that he trained as if his life depended on it. He never stopped punching and he never stopped trying. He refused to lose. His heart of steel was forged in the boxing gym. Hard , consistent training. For Rocky there was no other way. All the great champions knew that. It was no accident that Rocky Marciano retired as the only undefeated Heavyweight Champion in boxing history - finishing his career with a record of 49-0.

In Arreola’s last fight on August 13th, 2010, with Manuel Quezada, a fight he won unimpressively, he entered the ring at 256 lbs, 6 lbs heavier than his previous fight with Tomask Adamek, a fight he lost. He was booed that night, not because he lost but because the fans knew that he didn’t give his all, not necessarily in the ring but in the training. A better conditioned and well trained Arreola would have won that fight and the hearts of the fans.

When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.
Napoleon Hill

Boxing is a sport but it’s also a business. A tough and brutal business at times but a business none the less. Like any business, there is a CEO, a business owner or a boss. In boxing, whether he knows it or not, the fighter is the boss, he is also the product. Like any Business owner he wants to protect his investment and provide the best product possible. He hire’s the right people to help him reach his goal and safeguard that investment; managers, trainers, cutmen and sparring partners, presumably men with experience. In a business enviorment when a manager or a plant superintendent fails to do his job and the business begins to crumble it’s time to look for a new guy, someone that can turn things around or at the very least hire a consultant to pump some new ideas into the business. Regardless of how well loved the old manager is the business will fail unless some change is made. It’s the only option.

Well, The Chris Arreola Company is crumbling even as we speak. His fan base is shrinking. There is nothing to indicate besides a few well intentioned words to the fans that things will change. If Chris Arreola is content with the status quo then he needs to do nothing. Again, boxing is a tough business and outside the ring tough decisions have to be made. It’s essential to the survival of both the business and the product.

Loyalty is a great quality and one that I admire. In my own life undying loyalty has cost me. I understand loyalty. However, sometimes loyalty can undermine our goals and our visions. Chris Arreola is loyal to Henry Ramirez. That’s a good thing. I believe Henry is also loyal to Chris. I believe he has Chris Arreola’s best interest at heart, however a change needs to be made but someone with more experience in boxing needs to work with Arreola and Ramirez. New ideas need to be pumped into the business. There are a few guys around that could do wonders for Arreola. Freddie Roach for example, would almost guarantee an improvement. Some egos may need to be humbled but that’s not such a bad thing in the long run. There is an old adage that goes something like this: “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always have what you’ve always had”. to which I would add “and not one thing more”.

I can see the desire in Arreola’s eyes when he thinks of becoming the first Mexican American (Chicano) heavyweight. He’s sincere in his desire but it puts a load on him that affects the way he fights. Sometimes there is a desperation to the way he fights, especially when he finds himself on the short end of an exchange. He seems to panic at the thought of letting his fans down. It causes him to make mistakes in a fight. It affects his judgment. His first and only thought should be to win the fight in front of him. If he were to be fortunate enough to win a title everything else will take care of itself. A fighter’s pride a wonderful thing, it’s what keeps him going. It helps to have pride in your self or in your people. The trick is not to let the pride consume you and cloud your judgment.

Sometimes a boxer needs to remove himself from all his old habits, haunts and friends. Again, loyalty is a good thing but loyalty to yourself is just as important and if you happen to be on a quest for the Heavyweight title, well…… The irony of all this loyalty is that when it is all over and a boxing career is a long ago thing of the past those same friends will be nowhere to be found. My own father once said to me that “your true friends can be counted on one hand“. Over the years I have found it to be true.

Look out for yourself Chris because ultimately your success or failure will fall squarely on your shoulders and only yours. You know what you need to do now go do it!

Words to live by This should be posted in every boxing gym in America

If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you like to win, but you think you can't,

It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,

For out in the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow's will.

It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,

You've got to think high to rise,

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man.

But soon or late the man who wins,

Is the man who thinks he can.

~ C. W. Longenecker