V. Klitschko vs. Arreola: Round by Round

The replay of Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez just ended, so it should only be a few minutes until Vitali Klitschko and Cristobal Arreola make their way to the ring.

Now Jim Lampley has Floyd for a live interview from his house. Mayweather says that he was happy with his performance last week, but he knows he can get better. He thanks all of the fans who tuned in and bought the PPV. Lampley asks him about the interview being hijacked by Shane Mosley. He says that he's willing to fight anyone, but he offered to fight Mosley almost 10 years ago. He finished the interview apologizing to HBO for his behavior last week. Lampley forgives him and says that they have enjoyed following his career.

HBO now airs a short documentary of Arreola's life and career. They have footage from yesterday's weigh-in. Arreola stepped on the scale with his t-shirt on and weighed in at 276, but then revealed that he was wearing a 25-pound weighted vest. So he actually weighed in at 251.

Larry Merchant is back on duty for tonight's fight.

Now an overview of Vitali's career. Still waiting for the fighters to come out.

Chris comes to the ring first. He walks out to "Run This Town" by Jay-Z, Kanye West and Rihanna. The crowd sounds completely behind him.

Vitali follows to a chorus of boos. The commentators have to yell to be heard over the crowd.

Arreola is 27-0 with 24 KOs. Klitschko is 37-2 with 36 KOs.

Here we go...

Round 1

The two meet in the middle with no glove touch. Arreola starts the action first and is showing good upper body movement. Arreola establishes the jab. He lands a right to the body and Vitali gets out of the way. Vitali is landing his jab and left hook very cleanly. The size difference is clearly evident. Arreola is trying to get Vitali against the ropes, but Vitali is moving around well. Klitschko is keeping his gloves below his waist. This has been a good round for Vitali.

Spartan117: 10-9 Klitschko

Round 2

Klitschko is getting the jab in again. Arreola matches the jab output. Vitali lands a right hook, and Arreola steps on the gas and gets in a good right hand and combos to the body. Klitschko is doing serious damage with his jab and right hand; now an overhand right. Vitali is throwing way more punches than we are used to seeing. Arreola gets tagged by two big punches.

Spartan117: 10-9 Klitschko

Round 3

Arreola is showing good defense and is blocking a good amount of Klitschko's onslaught. Arreola is still having trouble getting on the inside. Vitali tags him while he comes in with a left-right combo. Chris lands a jab to the body that sends Vitali back. Arreola is focusing on the body while Vitali has been aiming for the head exclusively. Arreola gets two shots to the body in before the bell.

Spartan117: 10-9 Klitschko

Round 4

Arreola's face is getting red. Chris rushes the inside again and grazes a few punches. Vitali responds by getting out of there quickly. Vitali lands a stiff jab. Chris lands two great punches while Vitali is stuck in the corner. This has been Arreola's best round yet. Chris sends Vitali back with a jab. Vitali throws two jabs that are partially blocked. Arreola lands two hooks to the body.

Spartan117: 10-9 Arreola

Round 5

Arreola goes to work with a four-jab combo. Vitali lands a hard right straight. Vitali lands another. Arreola is fighting with more aggression now as he knows he's probably down on the scorecards. Vitali gets two more hooks in. This has been a Vitali round all the way. Chris just can't get inside to do any damage, but he is trying.

Spartan117: 10-9 Klitschko

Round 6

Arreola tries to get inside the massive reach of Vitali. So far it hasn't worked well. Arreola stumbles into Vitali and backs him into the ropes. Vitali nearly misses with a big right hand. Arreola gets in two punches to the body. Vitali continues to move around the ring very well. Vitali punctuates the end of the round with a big right hand.

Spartan117: 10-9 Klitschko

Round 7

Chris is starting to headhunt now. He rushes out for the seventh round and tries to land some power shots upstairs. He lands one cleanly. Vitali is winning these rounds, but it doesn't look like the punches are doing much damage to Arreola. He's in no danger of being KOed. Vitali lands a right hook to the body and one upstairs. Vitali lands two more hooks to Arreola's head. Chris lands a right hand right at the bell.

Spartan117: 10-9 Klitschko

Round 8

Vitali gets backed against the ropes early. He ties up and Arreola gets in a few hard body shots in the clinch. Chris lands a big left hand and the fans get on their feet. Vitali ties up. Vitali does look like he's getting tired. Arreola is stepping on the gas in this round. He lands another big right hand. Now he gets tagged while closing the gap again. There is some blood coming from Chris' nose.

Spartan117: 10-9 Arreola

Round 9

Arreola is fighting with a new sense of urgency. He gets Vitali against the ropes again, but Vitali uses good defense to block Arreola's offense. A Klitschko chant starts but is quickly silenced by boos. Arreola has been on the offense the entire fight but hasn't been able to land anything that has put Vitali in danger. Klitschko is landing more punches now as Arreola's defense is being broken down.

Spartan117: 10-9 Klitschko

Round 10

Klitschko lands a jab and straight right. Arreola continues to come forward. Arreola throws a couple more shots, but Vitali gets out of dodge quickly. Vitali looks like he's on autopilot now, throwing jabs, then a power punch, then backing away from Arreola's punches. The routine has repeated itself from Round 1. Klitschko lands another power right hand before the bell.

Spartan117: 10-9 Klitschko

The ref visits Arreola's corner and decides that he's seen enough. He stops the fight.

The winner by TKO, Vitali "Dr. Ironfist" Klitschko.

Arreola is very emotional after the loss and is shown weeping in his corner with his trainer.

In the post-fight interview, Vitali says that the city should be proud of Arreola, who showed great heart and will. He says that Chris has an amazing chin. He says he feels great, and he would like to break the record of George Foreman.

Arreola is choked up during his interview. He says that Vitali is tough, and if it were up to him, he would have never quit. He apologizes to the fans. He promises that he will be back.

Posted by spartan117