LOS ANGELES (Sept. 10, 2009) –- With a little more than two weeks to go before his historic heavyweight fight against World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion Vitali “Dr. Ironfist” Klitschko, No. 1-ranked Cristobal “The Nightmare’’ Arreola, his trainer Henry Ramirez and promoter Dan Goossen met with reporters on the phone to talk about the upcoming showdown.
“This fight has been called many things,” Goossen said in his opening remarks. “Klitschko has called it, “No Mercy.” I like to refer to it as, “The Facts.” The facts are, this is heavyweight history. We believe Chris is going to make heavyweight history never seen before in our storied sports history by becoming the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent.”
Klitschko, of Los Angeles and Hamburg, Germany, brings a record of 37-2 with 36 knockouts into what will be an exciting, hotly contested 12-round showdown. The dangerous-punching Arreola, of Riverside, Calif., via East Los Angeles, is 27-0 with 24 KOs.
Tickets are available at all TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 800-745-3000 and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available at the STAPLES Center Box Office. Tickets are priced at $500, $300, $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25.
Speaking about the gate, Goossen said he is encouraged with ticket sales. “I think it’s going to be a packed house,” he said. “It’s doing great. I think ticket sales are going to go through the rafters.”
The world title fight, which will be promoted by K2 Promotions in association with Goossen Tutor Promotions, will air Live on HBO at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. My goal has
Here is what Arreola, Ramirez and Goossen had to say on the conference call on Thursday.
CRISTOBAL ARREOLA
“Training for this fight has been different with the help of Darryl Hudson my strength and conditioning coach. We had to step up a level and just found ourselves in a spot where we had to train harder. I’m just fortunate to have this title shot, and I’ve been working my (expletive) off and will continue to do whatever I have to do to win that title.”
What about the people commenting that you’re not in good shape and questioning your conditioning?
“It bugs me to a point to hear that because they’re just talking. He said-she said type of stuff. That bugs me. But, they need to come to the gym and check me out and watch me for themselves. They’ll see what I’m doing and how hard I’m actually working. I just checked this morning and I’m already (2)59 so I’m already good right there. But it does bug me.”
“The main thing for me has been the two-a-days. And I cut out beer. I’ve just been eating right, a lot of vegetables and greens, chicken and fish and meats. And just the right amount for me. I have a ton of energy and feel great.
“As far as the weight goes in the past it’s all on me. It’s not on anybody else, not Henry, no one. The past weight problems have been my fault. Right now I’m just dropping tons of weight. I’m not sure why. The most important thing for me right now is to come in shape and be prepared to go a full 12 rounds.”
Who do you think the crowd will favor?
“It’s not really important to me really because they cannot go into the ring and help me. I’m going to have fans there and I will feed off of their energy. We have a lot of Mexican and Latino boxing fans out here and I’m hoping to have a big crowd like Antonio Margarito had against Shane Mosley.
“I’m going to try and not get hit but I know that’s impossible. How confident am I that I can take a punch? I’m pretty confident that I can take a punch. But that’s not the plan. The plan is not to get punched but to do the punching, and to not get caught in his territory. My plan is to not stand outside and take those bombs from him.”
Do you feel pressure to make history being the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent?
“It’s more motivating to me. There’s no pressure. I’m up there with Jack Johnson. Jack Johnson is dead and they’re still making documentaries about him. I can’t wait till they start making my documentary.
“Growing up, I used to go the Great Western Forum and watch fights and now I’m fighting at Staples. It’s the big boy and a great honor.
HENRY RAMIREZ, Arreola’s Trainer
“We’re excited about the opportunity on Sept. 26 to make history. It’s been a long time coming and all the hard work is finally coming to fruition.
“You can’t say anything about his weight because he’s always come through. But this time it’s different. It’s Vitali Klitschko. So as far as where we’re at now with conditioning, I see him getting down another 10 or 12 pounds easily. We tend to spar late into camp and we’re already at 10 rounds and we’ll be doing two 12-rounders next week. We feel like we’re peaking at just the right time going into the fight.”
“I’m anxious to get camp over and to get to fight week. My job is to be the calming influence in the corner despite the magnitude of the fight, be it in a small club or a big fight like we have Sept. 26. My job is to keep my composure and to keep my fighter’s head in the fight and to be that calming influence in the corner.”
DAN GOOSSEN, Arreola’s Promoter
“This is right where we want to be. This is a fight that everyone I speak to is getting very excited about. We haven’t had excitement like this in the heavyweight division since Mike Tyson and we believe Arreola is the one who brings this excitement to the table. I don’t believe it, I know it.
“We’re 6-to-1 underdogs but that’s alright. There’s nothing like going out there and proving people wrong.”
