Chris Arreola

The heavyweight boxing title aspirations of Riverside's Chris Arreola ended in a bloody mess Saturday night. The hard-punching, clever-talking Arreola, marketed as a great hope to become the first heavyweight champion of Mexican heritage, took a convincing beating from unheralded Bermane Stiverne. The boisterous, diehard Arreola fans in attendance in Ontario's Citizens Business Bank Arena, were they to be realistic, had to leave with the realization that their 32-year-old hero likely had had his last big shot.

The heavyweight boxing title aspirations of Riverside's Chris Arreola ended in a bloody mess Saturday night. The hard-punching, clever-talking Arreola, marketed as a great hope to become the first heavyweight champion of Mexican heritage, took a convincing beating from unheralded Bermane Stiverne. The boisterous, diehard Arreola fans in attendance in Ontario's Citizens Business Bank Arena, were they to be realistic, had to leave with the realization that their 32-year-old hero likely had had his last big shot.

Chris Arreola's promoter is trying to get the unbeaten Riverside heavyweight his first crack at a major belt and is negotiating for a fight against world champion Vitali Klitschko at Staples Center in September. Arreola (27-0, 24 knockouts) is trying to become the first heavyweight champion of Mexican ancestry. He was in negotiations to fight contender Oleg Maskaev.

Chris Arreola is a boxer who would wear his emotions on his sleeve. That is, if there were any room. The massive arms that the Riverside boxer hopes will carry him back into the heavyweight title picture are covered with tattoos. The muscles ripple and the tattoos jiggle. For lovers of tattoos and boxing, Arreola is an art form. He is also among the more interesting people in a sport that often filters out real personalities in exchange for orchestrated hype. There is nothing orchestrated about Arreola.

The only thing not predictable about Thursday night's victories by boxers Chris Arreola and Paul Williams was how fast they happened. Each won easily in bouts, in a show at Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, that were clearly overwhelming mismatches. Viewers on the Versus network got a total of 8 minutes 48 seconds of actual action. Arreola, promoter Dan Goossen's projected heavyweight star of the future, took out a 38-year-old from New York named Israel Garcia with a TKO 1:11 into the third round.

His promoter predicts he'll be the first Mexican heavyweight champion of the world, but before he gets there, Riverside's Chris Arreola is fighting tonight in the first main event of his young career. Arreola, 26, will try to extend his streak of nine consecutive victories by knockout or technical knockout when he fights Chicago's Thomas Hayes (27-1, 19 knockouts) in the headline bout of a card at the Ontario DoubleTree Hotel that will be televised by Spanish language Telefutura.

For the 13th time in 22 fights, Riverside heavyweight Chris Arreola won by knockout before the third round of his fight was over. Arreola unleashed a powerful left uppercut in the third round Friday night that sent his opponent, Thomas Hayes, falling under the ropes at the Ontario DoubleTree Hotel. The fight was immediately stopped, sending the sellout, pro-Arreola crowd of 1,900 into celebration.

Chris Arreola loves sneakers. When he buys a pair, he doesn't buy only one. He gets one for his daughter, his little brother and his little sister. Even when they don't need sneakers, he still buys them new pairs. "I didn't realize, but it's because when I was a kid I had one pair of shoes to last me through the whole year," Arreola said. "Now, when I get sneakers, my daughter gets sneakers, my brother gets sneakers, my little sister gets sneakers and they have, like, closets full of sneakers."

Many people wear their emotions on their sleeve. Heavyweight boxer Chris Arreola wears his a bit higher. It is a quiet weekday afternoon, the slightly overcast kind that Vin Scully calls a "soft day." Arreola, an imposing man of muscle and width and tattoos, sits in the backyard of his Riverside home and looks out on treeless hills and dirt paths carved out by various off-road vehicles. "A lot of days, that's where I run," he says. "Good place to do tough roadwork."

Chris Arreola is a boxer who would wear his emotions on his sleeve. That is, if there were any room. The massive arms that the Riverside boxer hopes will carry him back into the heavyweight title picture are covered with tattoos. The muscles ripple and the tattoos jiggle. For lovers of tattoos and boxing, Arreola is an art form. He is also among the more interesting people in a sport that often filters out real personalities in exchange for orchestrated hype. There is nothing orchestrated about Arreola.

Chris Arreola's promoter is trying to get the unbeaten Riverside heavyweight his first crack at a major belt and is negotiating for a fight against world champion Vitali Klitschko at Staples Center in September. Arreola (27-0, 24 knockouts) is trying to become the first heavyweight champion of Mexican ancestry. He was in negotiations to fight contender Oleg Maskaev.

He is a boxer named Williams, but you might think of him as Too Tall Paul. He is long, lean and lethal. He is also fast becoming the greatest example of a man in a Catch-22 situation since Joseph Heller created Yossarian. Before Paul Williams beat the veteran Winky Wright on Saturday night in a 160-pound match at the Mandalay Bay Special Events Center, his biggest problem had been getting good fighters to fight him.

Once boxing's heavyweight division put its ear to the ground 12 years ago, it hasn't been heard from much since. That ear, of course, belonged to Evander Holyfield, who, somewhat pathetically, continues on. The piece of Holyfield's ear went to the canvas when Mike Tyson bit it off. Tyson, who, somewhat pathetically, still hangs around the sport, achieved the near impossible. He sickened millions of boxing fans who assumed they couldn't be.

Many people wear their emotions on their sleeve. Heavyweight boxer Chris Arreola wears his a bit higher. It is a quiet weekday afternoon, the slightly overcast kind that Vin Scully calls a "soft day." Arreola, an imposing man of muscle and width and tattoos, sits in the backyard of his Riverside home and looks out on treeless hills and dirt paths carved out by various off-road vehicles. "A lot of days, that's where I run," he says. "Good place to do tough roadwork."

The only thing not predictable about Thursday night's victories by boxers Chris Arreola and Paul Williams was how fast they happened. Each won easily in bouts, in a show at Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, that were clearly overwhelming mismatches. Viewers on the Versus network got a total of 8 minutes 48 seconds of actual action. Arreola, promoter Dan Goossen's projected heavyweight star of the future, took out a 38-year-old from New York named Israel Garcia with a TKO 1:11 into the third round.

For the 13th time in 22 fights, Riverside heavyweight Chris Arreola won by knockout before the third round of his fight was over. Arreola unleashed a powerful left uppercut in the third round Friday night that sent his opponent, Thomas Hayes, falling under the ropes at the Ontario DoubleTree Hotel. The fight was immediately stopped, sending the sellout, pro-Arreola crowd of 1,900 into celebration.

He is a boxer named Williams, but you might think of him as Too Tall Paul. He is long, lean and lethal. He is also fast becoming the greatest example of a man in a Catch-22 situation since Joseph Heller created Yossarian. Before Paul Williams beat the veteran Winky Wright on Saturday night in a 160-pound match at the Mandalay Bay Special Events Center, his biggest problem had been getting good fighters to fight him.

Once boxing's heavyweight division put its ear to the ground 12 years ago, it hasn't been heard from much since. That ear, of course, belonged to Evander Holyfield, who, somewhat pathetically, continues on. The piece of Holyfield's ear went to the canvas when Mike Tyson bit it off. Tyson, who, somewhat pathetically, still hangs around the sport, achieved the near impossible. He sickened millions of boxing fans who assumed they couldn't be.

His promoter predicts he'll be the first Mexican heavyweight champion of the world, but before he gets there, Riverside's Chris Arreola is fighting tonight in the first main event of his young career. Arreola, 26, will try to extend his streak of nine consecutive victories by knockout or technical knockout when he fights Chicago's Thomas Hayes (27-1, 19 knockouts) in the headline bout of a card at the Ontario DoubleTree Hotel that will be televised by Spanish language Telefutura.

Chris Arreola loves sneakers. When he buys a pair, he doesn't buy only one. He gets one for his daughter, his little brother and his little sister. Even when they don't need sneakers, he still buys them new pairs. "I didn't realize, but it's because when I was a kid I had one pair of shoes to last me through the whole year," Arreola said. "Now, when I get sneakers, my daughter gets sneakers, my brother gets sneakers, my little sister gets sneakers and they have, like, closets full of sneakers."