Published: 29 August, 2009, 16:27
Edited: 29 August, 2009, 16:27
WBC heavyweight champion Vitaly Klitschko has expressed respect for his next rival Chris Arreola, calling him “young, aggressive and highly motivated”.
“Being the first in the world ranking, my opponent is an official contender for the champion’s title. He hasn’t lost a single fight in his career. His resume and knock out list are impressive. He won only three fights out of 27 on points, and in all other cases his opponents ended up lying in the ring unconscious. It’s true that Arreola is the most dignified opponent of all for me at the moment,” Vitaly said on Klitschko brothers’ official website.
Meanwhile, the Elder of the Klitschko brothers, nicknamed “Dr. Iron Fist”, himself has an impressive record of 39-2 with 37 knockouts.
The boxers are to meet in the ring on September 26, in Los Angeles.
“Arreola has never faced a world champion before, but it had to happen some day. Now I am thinking of how to defeat him. I am preparing for the opponent’s style, analyzing previous matches, working on strategy and tactics for the bout. Boxing is a lot like chess, and in this sense, our match has already begun. I am excited about this rival, as it’s going to be my first bout against a fighter of such style and of Mexican origin,” the Ukrainian said.
The bout is going to be shown live in around 100 countries, including the US.
And Klitschko couldn’t miss a chance to bite Britain’s David Haye, who was to become Vitaly’s next opponent, but pulled of the fight, preferring another rival – Nikolay Valuev.
The Ukrainian stressed that, because of the wide broadcast, Arreola would receive a lot more money from the bout than Haye would by challenging the Russian giant.