Chicano heavyweights: Arreola, Quezada set to collide on August 13th 

By Steve Galindo III

It’s not quite American Idol, or Survivor, yet the recently announced August 13th collision between a pair of Mexican-American heavyweights has reality show written all-over it. The search for Boxing’s “Great Brown Hope” is on, and its final two contestants/combatants: Cristobal “Nightmare” Arreola (28-2, 25 KOs) and Manny “EL Toro” Quezada (29-5, 18 KOs) will duke it out in a scheduled-12 round affair that will originate from the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, CA and will serve as the main event on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights. A conference call with reporters was held earlier in the week to formally announce the clash.

   “I’m sure in a lot of ways this could be a history making fight on its own,” said Promoter Dan Goossen, whose Goossen-Tutor promotional outfit represents both fighters. “I don’t believe there’s ever been two heavyweights at this, or any level- of Mexican descent that have fought one another.” The main selling point of the fight is centered on the question of: Who can make the dream of becoming the first World Heavyweight Champion of Mexican descent a reality? As the press-release urgently stated THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!

   The reality of it is that there is a lot more at stake, and I’m not talking about the WBC Mexican National Championship (it doesn’t get more Mexican than that folks). The victor will stay in contention for a title shot, possibly later this year. The loser, well, he can pretty much forget about making history, hell, he might as well apply to be the spokesperson for Alberto’s chain of taco shops. All kidding aside, both men are coming off disappointing defeats, and can ill afford another ‘L’ on their resume. Goossen summed it up best by stating: “Unfortunately in our sport, one, or two loses can certainly damage a fighter’s career, so a lot is at stake here.” 

   In the case of East L.A. native Cristobal Arreola, his road to history has been a bumpy one, to say the least. The Nightmare started his campaign strong, stringing together 27 straight victories en route to being anointed as America’s top heavyweight hopeful. But, as his status began to escalate, so did his weight. “I got content, I was content, and I was just doing enough to get by,” said Arreola. The feeling of contentment would prove to be costly in the two biggest fights of his career- fights against Vitali Klitschko last September, and against Tomas Adamek this past April. Both fights resulted in losses. The loss against Adamek was disappointing on many levels; a victory over the smaller, Polish fighter would have undoubtedly led Arreola to a title shot this year. “The fight with Adamek, I really shot myself in the butt” Arreola said. “I cut some corners (in training). Actually I cut a lot of corners.”

    Arreola now claims to have made some major changes in his lifestyle, changes that will enable him to move full-steam ahead in his quest to make history. He says that the fight against Adamek served as a wake-up call. “It kind of bugs me to know what I’ve done. I kind of feel like I have disrespected the sport by everything that I’ve done, not coming fully prepared as maybe I should be.”  The Nightmare is now looking to make a statement against his one-time sparring partner Manny Quezada. “I got to make a statement,” Arreola said. “I’m out here to win a fight, as he is, and regardless who it is- what the venue is-or what channel it’s on, I don’t care, I’m there to fight, I’m there to put on a show.”

   At 32-years-old, Manny Quezada has long awaited for the opportunity to test his mettle against a fighter of Arreola’s ilk. “Arreola got a world title shot, and with a victory for me on August 13th, then I’ll get mine,” an eager Quezada stated. “It’s very important for me to beat him, don’t get me wrong, Arreola is a tough guy, I know him- he comes to fight-but so do I.” Just like his opponent, Quezada is also coming off a disappointing loss to journeyman Jason Gavern, last April. The loss, his first in nearly five years, snapped an impressive streak of 18 consecutive victories.

   The Wasco, CA native will look to get back to his winning ways, and has enlisted the help of respected veteran trainer Robert Garcia to guide him. Quezada knows, and accepts the fact that he is being looked upon as a heavy underdog in this fight. “It’s true what he (Arreola) says, to him I’m another opponent, it don’t matter who I am, he’s fought the best, so what can I say, I can’t blame him for thinking that way. Arreola’s trainer Henry Ramirez insists that they are not looking past Quezada. “There’s no way that Cris is going to overlook Manny Quezada,” Ramirez said. “I expect the best Manny Quezada possible, and in that regard, I’m going to prepare the best Cris I can prepare for this fight.” With the boxing public’s patience wearing thin with these two underachievers, let’s see if the real Mexican heavyweight could stand-up.

   Tickets are priced at $79, $59 and $29 (parking included with purchase) and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com

EL GRAN CHISME:  Marquez vs. Diaz II edition

A Tale of Two Training Camps:

MARQUEZ: BUSINESS AS USUAL

   For Juan Manuel Marquez, it’s training as usual as the champion feels that he doesn’t need to change what has been working throughout his career. After his morning runs, he returns home for breakfast and relaxes with his family before heading to his gym, arriving by 12:15 p.m. to train for two hours with his esteemed trainer Nacho Beristain. He then sits in a hyperbaric chamber for two hours before returning home. “I am following my past preparations that have proven to work for me,” Marquez said. “My work so far has been with the same energy and dedication that I approach every fight. It feels good to be back at a weight that is comfortable for me which allows me to train at the right intensity and allows my body to get in fighting shape more easily.” Although Marquez comes from a legendary boxing family, he credits his success in the ring to hard work and dedication in the gym, and not his gene pool. Coming from a boxing family does not give me an advantage,” said Marquez. “The advantage is discipline and the training I put in every day.”

DIAZ: SAME FACES, SOME CHANGES 

   Juan Diaz has added a few new faces to his camp since he first fought Marquez on February 28, 2009, including a new dietician and swim coach. Diaz has regimented his diet to organic foods to boost energy and stamina for training.

   However, his longtime trainer and most familiar camp member is his legendary trainer Ronnie Shields, who has worked with the best of the best including Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Vernon Forrest and Pernell Whitaker and has been with Diaz for 30 fights. Diaz is working on being patient in the ring with Shields’ guidance. He knows that for this fight, he is going to have to carefully place his punches as opposed to going out and swinging. “It is an honor to have the opportunity to work with a trainer of Ronnie’s caliber and our relationship has been solid ever since we started working together early in my career,” Diaz continued. “I am fortunate that he lives here in Houston and that I get to work with him. Consistency in training is important to me and although I have added people that will help with my nutrition and conditioning, Ronnie’s place in my camp stays the same.” “This time around I am thinking more about where my punches need to land as opposed to throwing them in clusters and hoping they go where they should,” said Diaz. “I am going to use my head more and I am going to be smarter. My team is really helping me take my time to target my punches.”