Arreola Rolls on in Reno

RENO, NEVADA – Crowd-pleasing heavyweight Cristobal Arreola continued his climb back near the top of the division with a one-sided seventh-round stoppage of former fringe contender Kendrick Releford at the Reno Events Center on Friday night.

Arreola (32-2, 28 KOs) of Riverside, California did not exactly come out guns blazing, but controlled Releford (22-15-2, 10 KOs) of Fort Worth, Texas from the early going. Arreola, 236, worked over Releford, 230, in the corner for a stretch in the first, which was a somewhat tentative round for both combatants outside of that exchange.

Arreola, the WBC #2/IBF #5/WBO #13/WBA #15 ranked heavyweight contender worked over Releford’s body in round two and began opening up with combinations that kept Releford’s guard up. In the third, Arreola really mixed up his attack, aiming his shots in between and around Releford’s guard, while mixing in shots downstairs as well. Arreola may have been a bit winded late in the round, which allowed Releford to open up momentarily.

By the fourth Releford was beginning to break down from Arreola’s varied attack. Just before the bell Releford was rocked by a right, which would be a sign of things to come. By the fifth Arreola was finding a home for his . By this time Releford was mostly in cover-up and flea mode instead of aggressively attempting to win the fight. At the end of the round the ringside physician stepped in Releford’s corner to give the fighter a look over.

It may have been a better idea to stop the bout in between rounds, at least for the sake of Releford’s health. It would be a combination left -overhand right that would finally force Releford to drop to a knee. To his credit, Releford got up, but was eventually rocked by another left uppercut that had him moving back to the ropes. The writing was written on the wall. Arreola landed a left that gave Releford reason to change the expression on his face and back up. The Riverside resident moved in ready to pounce, but referee Russell Mora decided to call it off at 2:43 of round seven.

Friday’s win over Releford marked the second appearance and second for Arreola in as many weeks. More importantly, Arreola came to both fights in great physical condition, especially in comparison to some of the outings in his recent past. “I am in great condition and it paid,” said Arreola. “It’s only going to get better. I am going to work my ass of and get that title. I love and you are going to see it.”

While Arreola was in good shape, his body did work against him in the fight. “I felt sick and nasally when I made it into Reno,” said Arreola, who could hardly be seen without a tissue on Thursday. “I felt great, but I could have taken him out earlier.” Tony Thompson (36-2, 23 KOs) of Silver Spring, Maryland moved one step closer to another crack at a world title with a one- sided drubbing of an either faded or disinterested Maurice Harris (24-15-2, 10 KOs) of East Orange, New Jersey.

Harris, 244, simply did not show up for the fight. Thompson, 255 ½, started out behind the in round one, but soon found chopping rights to be a better weapon. Harris, the IBF #6 ranked heavyweight, appeared to have trouble finding the right stance as he threw mostly off balance shots against the southpaw Thompson.

Thompson, who entered the bout the IBF #7 ranked heavyweight, worked over Harris in the second before landing a chopping right that downed Harris. The New Jersey native rose and made it out of the round on unsteady legs.

Thompson landed a light right hand that dropped Harris down again early in the third. When Harris returned to his feet Thompson landed another chopping right at the top of his head and aided his fall with a light push. Referee Vic Drakulich waved off the knockdown, but soon called the fight anyway. Official time was 1:51 of round three.

With the victory, Thompson earned a title eliminator against IBF #1 ranked heavyweight Eddie Chambers, who earned that position with a victory over Derric Rossy. “It’s going to be my title,” said Thompson after the fight. “The title is coming back to DC. Maurice got the real “Tiger.” No man is going to stand in front of a Tiger, not Eddie, not Wladimir.” IBF Heavyweight ruler Wladimir Klitschko scored an eleventh-round stoppage over Thompson in 2008 in a fight that had some competitive action. 2008 U.S. Olympian Javier Molina (7-0, 4 KOs) of Norwalk, California justly scored a six- round unanimous decision over better-than-his-record David Lopez (3-6-3) of Nampa, Idaho, but still looks to be a work in progress.

Molina, 149, got off to a solid start, dropping Lopez, 149 ½, with a short right on the inside early in the first. Lopez proved to be game, as he came right out after Molina, forcing the Goossen Tutor Promotions prospect into an exchange. Once Molina slowed down the pace again, he easily outboxed Lopez to close the round.

For controlling rounds two and three with his better technical skills, Molina was drawn into another wild exchange in fourth. This time with was the crude southpaw Lopez that got the better of the action. Lopez seemed to edge a close fifth with a right, left combination that rocked Molina right before the bell.

Lopez refused to go away and traded with Molina again to close the sixth. In the end, the judges gave Molina a wide decision, 60-53 and 59-54 twice. For Molina it was his second fight in thirteen days and his first six-rounder, which could have played a part his less than spectacular performance. Some of the credit must go to the determined Lopez as well. In the walkout bout, super featherweight prospect Guy Robb (4-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California scored the most entertaining shutout decision you could see over durable Noe Lopez Jr. (7-8, 4 KOs) of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.

Robb, 128, forced Lopez, 131, into a corner in the early going to start off a heated two-way exchange. Robb proved a much more elusive target than was Lopez. The Sacramento resident landed the harder shots throughout the bout.

Throughout the next two rounds Robb continued to outpoint Lopez. Robb threw punches at odd angles and from odd places, and Lopez could not adapt. The fight did close with another wild exchange, but Robb took all three rounds on all three cards, 40-36. Robb returns to the ring June 25th in Fairfield, California.

Ricardo Williams Jr. (18-2, 10 KOs) of Cincinatti, Ohio continued his low pressure comeback run with a lackluster six-round unanimous decision over journeyman Chris Gray (13-15, 1 KO) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Williams, 148, did not flash much of the hand speed that made him a 2000 Olympic silver medalist and professional prospect nearly a decade ago. Gray, 148, was game and caught the slow- moving Williams on several occasions.

After six fairly competitive rounds, Williams took the cards 58-56 and 59-55 twice. For Williams, once an HBO favorite, the road back to a meaningful fight looks to be a tough one to navigate.

In a rematch of a November draw, bantamweight prospect Michael Ruiz Jr. (8-0-1, 3 KOs) of Fresno, California scored a six- round unanimous decision over the always tough Jonathan Alcantara (4-5-2) of Novato, California.

Alcantara, 120, was aggressive at the outset, but missed with an overhand right that left him open for a Ruiz, 119, counter. Just as was to be expected after their contentious interaction at the weigh-in, the action heated up early. Late in the round, Alcantara came on and landed a couple solid right hands.

The inside fight resumed to the start of the second before a Ruiz counter forced Alcantara to stumble back. The Novato resident would not be outdone, and landed two solid left lands solid. Late in the round, Alcantara unloaded a flurry that bothered Ruiz puffed up his left eye. Ruiz had some trouble getting out of the way of Alcantara’s combinations as the round progressed.

Ruiz came back well to start the third, rocking Alcantara with a one-two combination. With Alcantara seemingly stunned for the first time in the fight, Ruiz really opened up and forced his opponent across the ring. Just when it seemed the third would be a clear cut Ruiz round, Alcantara stormed back beginning with a right uppercut. With Ruiz a little punched out for a moment, Alcantara came on for a stretch. Ruiz seized control again, as he landed and overhand right-left hand combination. Alcantara came back in the fourth as he may have hurt Ruiz with a right hand in the opening moments of the round. Ruiz came back midway through and the fourth was another hard round to score. The last two rounds were fought at a slower pace as perhaps the high work rates coupled with the high elevation began to play their part.

In the end, the Nevada judges seated ringside failed to give Alcantara any credit in their scoring. Two judges had the fight a shutout, 60-54 and the third had it 59-55 all for Ruiz.

Photos by Stephanie Trapp/[email protected]

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at [email protected].