The Bronze Bomber and current heavyweight world champion of the World Boxing Council (WBC), Deontay Wilder, had a virtual argument with his soon-to-be opponent Chris Arreola, through statements made to the press, where Wilder responded to some criticism from Arreola to his performance as a professional boxer in the Olympics.
Chris Arreola will compete with Wilder after Alexander Povetkin, the first opponent, was expelled of the contest due to drug issues. Wilder had some expectations about his fight with Povetkin, a Russian professional boxer owner of the WBC Silver heavyweight titles.
Povetkin and Wilder together seemed like a good fight
Like Wilder, Povetkin represented his country in the Olympics and won a gold medal in the heavyweight division in the 2004 edition. Wilder, on the other hand, represented the United States at the 2008 edition and won the bronze medal in that same division, what made him “The Bronze Bomber” ever since.
Povetkin is one of the leading boxing stars from Russia, with 30 victories out of 31 fights, an almost perfect record, affected only by his loss to Wladimir Klitschko, a fellow Russian boxer. Winner of several gold medals, he was an interesting opponent to Wilder, who showed excitement to be fighting with the Russian.
“I thought that fight was going to be good not just for me but for all boxing,” said Wilder to FOX Sports, stating as well he felt a little depressed when he heard the news that the fight with Povetkin was cancelled.
And the replacement arrived: Chris Arreola
Chris Arreola challenged for the heavyweight title in WBC in 2009 and then for the second time in 2014. His record is not as perfect as Wilder’s or Povetkin’s, but his 36 victories out of 43 fights had given him a proper place in the professional arena.
He lost twice to Bermane Stiverne, the Canadian boxer for the WBC Silver title but have won to most fellow American fighters he had fought with, and his nickname is “The Nightmare”. This time, he was chosen to fight Deontay Wilder in order to decide who is going to get with the WBC title in Alabama, with a weight about 20 pounds above Wilder.
The tension between the American boxers
Arreola is known by his blunt honesty sharing his opinions, and it seems he has been a strong critic of Walder and his boxing techniques and career. When Wilder participated in the Olympics and won the bronze medal to then became world champion, Arreola was on the front line of detractors.
To Walder, this is “trash talk” that does not motivate him at all regarding the fight, since people saying negative things about him and his performance is something he is used to and does not affect him at all. He even stated that is possible that Arreola was jealous of him, pointing out that he has not gotten a world title yet.
“He talked a lot, now he gets his chance to back up the talk,” was the main conclusion from Walder, as he was speaking with FOX Sports journalists.
Arreola, on the other hand, responded that he is aware he does not deserve the title, but it’s willing to make the maximum effort.
“Do I deserve this title shot? No, I don’t think I do (…) But since I don’t deserve it, I’m doing everything to win. I got to leave everything in the ring. I got to leave everything out there, this is my last title shot,” was Arreola’s statement to ABC News when asked about this fight.
Source: ABC News