Arreola is a fascinating study. He has fought 26 times and you'd have to be an editor for Ring Magazine to recognize the names of his vanquished. He tends to be overweight, and fight that way. He has tattoos everywhere, drives one of those huge pickup trucks that should come with a ladder just to get you into the driver's seat and he has a close friend and manager who, at 31, is younger and less battle-tested than the punching bags in the gym.
"My goal for this year," Arreola says, "is to make Henry Ramirez coach of the year."
Arreola's first shot at the real big time: the Staples bout against Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko.
"Vitali said he wants to fight us there," Ramirez says, "so we will."
Arreola is not a big-talking hotshot.
One of his tattoos is about dying young and is dedicated to his best friend, who died from bullet wounds after a gang invaded their party. He talks often about his 7-year-old daughter and has made a Yard House restaurant in a Riverside shopping mall one of his main hangouts. The bulk of the clientele, mostly schoolteachers and yuppie Lakers fans, have no idea who he is.
"Can't get in a lot of trouble there," he says.
Instead of talking tough, Arreola talks legacy, about how he wants to become the Mexican equivalent of Jack Johnson. Arreola was born in East Los Angeles, and seems to know the value of being a heavyweight champion with a Spanish surname.
"I want to leave a legacy," Arreola says. "I want to open the door for a lot of my people. I believe that, when I'm done, there will be two heavyweights of Mexican descent in the top 10.
"One time, when I was out, I had a big Mexican kid come up to me and say he looked up to me. I felt very good."
Arreola says legacy is built on longevity.
"When I get the title, I want to defend it three times a year," he says. "I want to win it, and defend it, and keep at it."
Larry Merchant says. "It's a test. He needs one of those to convince people that he is a serious heavyweight. Some still see him as a B-level club fighter."
Arreola's last fight, in November at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, had elements of that. He actually was knocked down by journeyman Travis Walker but rallied to knock Walker out in the third round.
It was a fight that also had the elements of great old-time heavyweight action. Huge punches. Both fighters on the canvas and against the ropes. More action packed into two-and-a-fraction rounds than you'll see on many entire fight cards.
Whether Arreola can take that brute force into the ring with an opponent who has the same, as well as boxing skills and movement, and prevail remains to be seen. The big guy from Riverside has a chance and a challenge. He can become the next heavyweight hope, or the next heavyweight dope
