V. Klitschko to fight Arreola in LA on Sept. 26

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Vitali Klitschko has agreed to defend his WBC heavyweight title against rising prospect Chris Arreola in Los Angeles on Sept. 26.

Arreola promoter Dan Goossen confirmed details of the much-rumored fight to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The bout will be the 38-year-old Klitschko’s third fight since returning from a layoff of nearly four years to beat Samuel Peter late last year. Klitschko (37-2, 36 KOs) hoped to fight England’s David Haye in Germany on Sept. 12, but Haye backed out last month, choosing to fight Nikolai Valuev instead.

So Klitschko agreed to a major fight at Staples Center for the third time in his career. He’ll take on Arreola (27-0, 24 KOs), who grew up east of Los Angeles and lives in Riverside.

Arreola is hoping to become the first Mexican-American fighter to win a major heavyweight title, and Goossen expects a large Southern California crowd supporting both boxers. Klitschko has lived in Los Angeles at times for the past several years.

“I just think it could go through the roof,” Goossen said. “I think we’re going to pack Staples.”

Klitschko, whose brother Wladimir holds the IBF and WBO heavyweight titles, fought Lennox Lewis at Staples Center in June 2003, losing on cuts in the sixth round despite leading the fight on the judges’ scorecards. Klitschko then won the WBC title in Los Angeles in 2004, stopping Corrie Sanders.

After one more defense, Klitschko retired and repeatedly scuttled comeback attempts because of injuries and two failed campaigns to become the mayor of Kiev, Ukraine. When he finally returned against Peter, Klitschko had little trouble stopping the champion, who quit on his stool after the eighth round in Germany.

The fight with Arreola came together quickly after Haye dropped out. Arreola had been anticipating a fight against Oleg Maskaev next month, but eagerly seized the chance to take on Klitschko instead.

Arreola informally broke news of the fight to several dozen fans at the Agua Caliente Resort near Palm Springs last weekend while watching Timothy Bradley’s victory over Nate Campbell.

“It’s going to be big,” Arreola told a handful of cheering fans. “I’m going to get that (title), believe it.”