ProBoxing-Fans.com will be featuring live round by round coverage of the Vitali Klitschko vs. Chris Arreola fight on September 26, 2009. In addition, we will be offering full results and analysis for the entire night of exciting heavyweight boxing after the card is over.
Klitschko vs. Arreola Updates
12:04 PM: The Klitschko Arreola fight is now over! The fight was stopped after the 10th round, and Klitschko retains his heavyweight title. See below for the full recap of the Klitschko vs. Arreola heavyweight title fight.
11:15 PM: Arreola’s ring walk is underway. Arreola looks to be in a mean mood, we’ll see how that stands up for him. Klitschko is now making his ring walk, the crowd boos and is clearly in Arreola’s corner. Klitschko looks determined and focused, but also stoic and calm compared to Arreola’s energy and attitude. See below for our live Klitschko vs. Arreola round by round coverage starting now.
11:12 PM: We’re into a Klitschko background story now. The fights should be underway in just a moment.
11:07 PM: The Arreola background story is going into his weight problems quite a bit. Arreola seems to think it’s not a problem at all, and that if he works hard he should play hard. He has had a new strength and conditioning coach for this fight, however his 251 lb weight says he hasn’t taken the new fitness approach too seriously.
11:03 PM: The replay for the Mayweather Marquez fight is over and Klitschko Arreola is just a few moments away. HBO is now going into a background story of Arreola.
10:02 PM: The Klitschko Arreola HBO card is now on, and after showing some Arreola and Vitali highlights, they are switching to a replay of last week’s Mayweather vs. Marquez bout. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you can take a look at our Mayweather Marquez round by round results. At this rate, the Klitschko vs. Arreola scrap will get started around 11 PM eastern.
9:34 PM: The HBO televised portion of the card is less than 30 minutes away. Several of the preliminary bouts are already finished, and the crowd is beginning to fill in at The Staples Center. ProBoxing-Fans.com staff writer Mike Boehm is on hand at the event tonight, and will report on the card afterward. The live blog will begin as soon as the fight does.
5:25 PM: Tonight is the big night for Klitschko vs. Arreola. The HBO telecast for the Klitschko Arreola bout will begin airing at 10 pm. Keep checking in with ProBoxing-Fans.com, as we will be featuring a live Klitschko Arreola round by round, and detailed analysis after the fight. Before the fight gets started, you can check out Klitschko Arreola weigh in pictures and our Klitschko Arreola preview.
Klitschko vs. Arreola Scorecard
Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Total |
Chris Arreola | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | – | – | – |
Vitali Klitschko | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | – | – | – |
Rd 1: Klitschko starts with a lot of lead left hooks and reaching uppercuts. He doesn’t look like he is very warmed up. Arreola tries to make his way inside behind a couple of jabs, but Klitschko so far is keeping him at bay. Vitali continues to bounce around on his toes, lands a stiff jab and continues alternating between pawing jabs, hard jabs and lead left hooks. Vitali keeps his hands almost all the way down, and by the end of the round Arreola already seems to be a bit discouraged perhaps.
Rd 2: Vitali lands a big right hand for the first time, but Arreola then does his first good work of the night immediately following. Vitali on his toes and keeping Arreola at the end of his jab. Vitali timing his jabs well so that Arreola can never get comfortable and always has to reset. Another easy Klitschko round.
Rd 3: Klitschko lands a big overhand right after pawing with a few jabs, and continues to throw his reaching right uppercut to the body. As Klitschko pushes Arreola to the side with a brushing right hand to the head, Arreola smiles, but his efforts to get inside are already less energetic. Klitschko takes the round easy and Arreola’s face is starting to show some sign of wear and tear.
Rd 4: Arreola lands a reaching right to Klitschko’s head, his first good shot of the night. Klitschko seems to have been caught off balance as he stumbled back, and reacts by throwing a few combos. The crowd and Arreola are both energized, and Arreola is having his best round of the night thus far.Vitali seems to stabilize himself behind his jab. The round could go either way, but despite Arreola’s big landed shot I think Klitschko controlled more of the action.
Rd 5: As Klitschko gets on his bike a bit the crowd boos, Klitschko responds by throwing a few hard shots. Arreola gets inside and they tie up, he then lands a few good, hard body shots. Klitschko slows down the pace by circling and working from his jab.
Rd 6: The pace has slowed in this round as Vitali seems calm and in control. He gets some good pressure a few times, but Klitschko more often than notes circles out of danger and dictates the action with his jab. Arreola’s pressure is seeming more desperate than planned or controlled at this point.
Rd 7: Arreola pushes forward and actually lands a few jabs. Klitschko does seem more tired but at the end of the round, he controlle the pace, the action and he landed more shots. Arreola threw a punch that hits Klitschko in the back that he should have been at least warned for, however the ref ignored or missed it.
Rd 8: Just as the crowd and Arreola seem to be out of the fight, he comes to life by landing a jarring left hand, and he immediately begins pressing as Klitschko goes on the retreat. Arreola lands another big left as Klitschko tried one of his reaching right uppercuts to the body. Arreola grabs his first round of the night – an anomaly or a sign of trouble to come for Vitali?
Rd 9: In the first minute of the 9th, the answer to the above question seems to be more anomaly than anything else. Arreola despite looking more energetic, also is appearing more bloody and busted up. Vitali’s jab is back, as is his lead left hook and he’s setting his feet and pushing forward instead of retreating. He lands a big right that makes Arreola pause, and if he lands a few more of those Arreola could crumble. But in the meantime Vitali is content keeping the fight at its current pace. Big Vitali round.
Rd 10: More of the same in round 10. Arreola is trying, but it’s more a show of heart than a show of effective pressure. As Arreola’s face is covered with streams of blood, Klitschko looks nearly untouched.
The fight has been stopped! Arreola is unhappy with the decision, but he was taking more than enough punishment and after a brief burst of energy in the 8th, Vitali responded by continuing is streak of dominance. Arreola begins crying as he came up short on his dream.
Post fight: Arreola continues weeping in his interview with Larry Merchant, calling Vitali a f*cking strong dude, among other things… he’s swollen up and battered a bit, and disappointed in his performance and the outcome. He certainly shouldn’t be apologizing for the performance and if anything his raw emotion, and gritty attitude will gain him more of a standing in the sport.
Side note: Why HBO was continuing to pump up Arreola during the fight as coming on strong, and making a dent is beyond me, and somewhat deplorable. Hey guys… we are already watching, you don’t have to sell us on the fight while it’s happening.
Image Credit: Jan Sanders/Goossen Tutor Promotions
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