Bad Habits
By William Trillo
Over the past weekend we saw two fighters enter the ring with a chance to prove themselves in front of nationally televised audiences and in both cases we saw the fighters in question, Cris Arreola and Chad Dawson fall victim to their bad habits that have plagued them in the past.
For Arreola, who was victorious in a unanimous decision over Manuel Quezada, we saw that he once again did not prepare properly. At 256 pounds Arreola huffed and puffed while gritting his way to the win. Yes, fighting with 2 bad hands is commendable but it’s this reporter’s opinion that with a little dedication and some major fine tuning he would have dispatched of Quezada in quick fashion.
The dedication is on Arreola. In his last seven fights Arreola has been his own worst nightmare by tipping the scales closer to 300 pounds than 200. This is unacceptable. When he was coming in at 240 or less Cris was a one man wrecking machine and he normally kicked the tar out of whoever was put in front of him. At 250 plus he struggles, it’s hard to deny that fact.
Arreola has told us on more than one occasion that he is working harder now only to show up as heavy as before. Maybe being less than genuine with the media is another habit Arreola should reconsider.
The fine tuning is something that his corner has to accept a lot of the blame for. Seeing Joe Goossen in Arreola’s corner Friday night was a step in the right direction, but if I am the one directing Arreola’s career I tell him it’s time to clean house. Yes, I know Henry Ramirez has been with Arreola since back in the day, and I understand they are good friends, maybe too good. As his close friend I don’t know that Ramirez is capable of coming down on Cris and making him put in the work necessary to become a world champion. He hasn’t yet and I don’t see that scenario changing anytime soon.
As to Chad Dawson…well Chad once again appeared to be sleepwalking through most of his fight in Montreal against Jean Pascal and although the same habit got him by with and older Antonio Tarver it is gravely apparent he needs to stay awake when fighting young, talented and hungry opposition.
As for the claims of an intentional head butt by Pascal…no one is buying it! Yes, Dawson may have been on his way to possibly stopping Pascal late but the clash of heads was an unfortunate accident that bit Dawson on his rear. Had he stayed awake and fought harder earlier he may have put some rounds in the bank and when the doctor ordered the fight to come to a premature halt he may have had a better chance on the lopsided scorecards.
It’s as simple as that. Bad habits have no place in the world of professional boxing, especially if you want to get on top and stay there.
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I agree that chad dawson needed to be more aggressive. From what I saw and I didn’t care who won the fight I thought the head butt did look like it was on purpose. I also believe he was on his way to a ko victory. To me it sound like being in the home town of the other fighter affected the way not only the scoring was but also the way the announcing team announed the fight. Steward was the only one point out that most of Pascal punches were not landing and that the crowd was over reacting to its home town fighter.
Hey Jeff,
Thanks for the continued support.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion on the headbutt, I am sure others feel the same as you, the problem is we will never know. And all the “what if’s” are nothing more than useless speculataion now.
As to the hometown aspect all I can say is having the good fortune to cover a handful of fights in Montreal now I know how it is in The Bell Center. That place rocks like no other and it’s hard not to get caught up in atmosphere. It is no surprise Steward was the only one not swayed by the crowd as he has been on the big stage numerous times.
I know the crowd most likely affected Dawson. His fights with Tarver in Las Vegas had a handful of lifeless fans…combined!! Unless you are completely aware of the situation there is no way to prepare for what goes down in Montreal.
william yeah my opinion on the head butt is just a guess your right. I also have to say after what I saw dawson do in the 11th round it was his fault for not being more aggresive before that. On purpose or not dawson put himself in position where anything that happens to make it go to the cards was not good for him. I hate to see a fighter lose his undefeated record espeically when he had every chance to keep it perfect. I believe that once an undefeated fighter loses he never again posses the same amount of confidence he had before his loses.