Published: 6 October, 2009, 11:54
Edited: 6 October, 2009, 09:01
WBC heavyweight champion Vitaly Klitschko thinks he underestimated Chris Arreola, but added that the American would’ve gone down if his coach hadn’t stopped their September 26 bout.
”With my hand on heart, I can say that I somewhat underestimated him. I thought that the fight will end much sooner. But Chris has a wonderful ability to bite the bullet. He is very energetic and fought to the last drop. He’d continue, if his coach wouldn’t have stopped the fight,” Vitaly Klitschko said in an interview with Sport-Glavred website.
The elder of the Klitschko brothers defended his title against Chris Arreola. The champ dominated the bout in Los Angeles and won by TKO, forcing the American’s corner to forbid his going into the 11th round.
“But if it had not stopped the fight, I think, in the next round Chris Arreola would be down on the ring. The coach took the decision avoid his client’s serious injury, leading to considerable loss of health. In continuation of this theme, I would say that in any profession, in any case the most important is experience. He is accumulating,” the Ukrainian said.
Klitschko has his headquarters in Germany, where he holds most of his bouts, enjoying wide fan support, but the packed Staples Center, most of which was shouting for Arreola, wasn’t enough to discourage him.
“Well, it is quite logical that the Los Angeles audience supported my opponent. After all, Arreola is a Californian of Mexican descent. And I had a right attitude towards this fact. Nevertheless, the most important thing in sports is not nationality, not belonging to anything or anyone, but the athletic abilities. Anyway, the one who’s better prepared wins. It plays a dominant role. In this case, I had a chance to prove that I was much stronger than Chris Arreola, and did it, stopping him in ten rounds,” the chap said.
Vitaly Klitschko, who has an impressive 40-2 record with 37 knockouts, is 38 years old, and he is philosophical about the possible end of his boxing career.
“Frankly speaking, a career can end after any fight,” Klitschko said in an interview. “No one can tell how long a career may last. No one can say what will happen tomorrow. It would be boring to live, if we knew in advance what will happen in the near future. We can just plan and to try to make these plans reality,” Doctor Iron Fist explained.
“I usually inspire my kids to dreams. You should try to fulfill them regardless of how fantastic they are. And I continue to dream. And I continue to make my dreams a reality."
“And, I can tell you, that it works out. I dreamed to become a world champion simultaneously with my brother [Wladimir]. I once dreamed of an Olympic gold medal. And I am still dreaming of dominating heavyweight boxing. Today we have three of the four belts. [Nikolai] Valuev has the one we are missing. I'll keep my fingers crossed for Nikolai when he defends his title in the bout against David Haye. And who knows, maybe we’ll meet in the ring soon to out the better among us,” he added.
Vitaly has three kids – Egor-Daniel, Elizabeth-Victoria and Max (named after the former World Heavyweight Champion Max Schmeling), and he has no objections if his two boys become boxers.
”Whatever occupation my sons choose in the future, the most important thing is that they become good people. If they want to take up boxing, I will do everything to ensure that they achieve their goal. But at the moment I don’t allow them to watch my fights, as they are too small,” Klitschko said.