I'm officially going with Wilder naturally. But for some weird reason, I feel like Chris has a chance (yes, Ive watched his past few, not impressive fights). Maybe it's just watching his ups and downs over the years, that The Buffet's Nightmare has a soft spot somewhere in my relatively logical mind. The boxing part of my brain is screaming TayTay ko, but somewhere in the illogical recesses of my grey matter it's screaming "go with the ridiculous underdog". Maybe I think Arreola understands this is his lucky last shot at history or something, and will truly "carpe diem" come fight night. Thoughts? (Haven't lurked in awhile, sorry if this thread subject has been talked about to death already.)
If Chris was less shot, I think his style is perfect for Wilder. Just think he's too shot. Though, paradoxically, even though this is Wilder's worst title defense, it will also be the one I'd be least surprised if he lost:think:
Styles make fights, Arreola can be very dangerous. I think he's potentially better than Wilder's last three and they all gave him problems. :hey.
Ok so I'm not alone in the illogical thinking of Arreola having a punchers chance or something. Maybe the Arreola that entered the ring that night against Vitali would be enough to secure a upset victory. I guess as much as Arreola didn't respect the proper diet aspect of the sport, we all want to think less. But I vividly remember thinking circa 07-08 that Arreola had the goods to pick up an alphabet soup trinket if he just took a few other aspects more seriously.
Arreola used to be dangerous thanks to his power and aggression but he's slowed down considerably. Even at his "best", you could touch him without too much trouble and his chin was never the sturdiest. The last thing a boxer loses is his power but Arreola has already lost the most important thing - timing. Without that, his punch shouldn't matter. I don't rate Wilder very highly but I can't see him losing this.
He would have to land a bomb on Wilder. No way is he winning any kind of decision and his porous defense could easily see him knocked out cold by a Wilder right hand. But if (and it's a big if) he can land something substantial, he definitely has the power to wobble Wilder, who has been wobbled by much less. Problem is that Wilder has the height, reach, speed, and mobility to make it very hard for Chris to do this. Even if Arreola didn't look as completely shot as he has in his last few outings, I would still consider Wilder's a difficult style for him to face. So, in short, I would not bet against Wilder in this one, but my heart will be with Arreola as well.
I think the Arreola that demolished McCline worse than he'd ever lost before and then got stopped by Vitali(in what I always thought was Vitali's best fight, where he showed the greatest mix of experience and skills) would have picked up a trinket belt in an era like the mid aughts where there were no dominant champs. I think prime Arreola gets underrated a lot on these boards. He achieved some impressive stuff, just didn't fight enough top contenders. He was a bit like a poor man's Wilder, in a way, a lot of talent but not enough ambition to challenge himself against real contenders.
This is almost spot on for me. I have a ball park Gatti-like (but not really that close to my boy Gatti) appreciation for Arreola's sacrifice over the years, as I feel he's a decent/pretty honest guy (correct me if I'm wrong [yes Gatti was no angel, but who amongst us is], of course I know him not personally). But yea Savage, I got you. Don't see nips winning, and feel a little silly thinking there's more of a chance, especially in 2016, of him getting the shocker one hitter quitter to land on Deontay's button. Also agree that no way does Chris in a decision (hmmm maybe I should put a few bucks down on a decision in Arreola's favor), this is simply a far out thread gauging our guard's opinion on his puncher's chance.
If Vada tested him his whole career as a pro- Chris "The Nightmare" Arreola 0-0-0-41 (Due to ol' Mary) :yep It's ****ing archaic people still consider mary j a performance enhancer of ANY kind when it comes to boxing. Maybe a 500ml iv right before fight night would be more helpful to Chris