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Victor Arriola takes a few reps on the speed bag Wednesday afternoon at the Yuma County Youth Boxing facility. Photo by Charles Whitehouse (The Sun) |
| Victor Arriola isn't use to boxing at 176 pounds and feeling intimidated in the ring, but that's what happened last month in Alexandria, LA as Arriola watched seven boxers weigh in during the National Junior Olympics Championships. "I wanted to be the last one to jump on the scale because I wanted to check out the competition" Arriola said. "After watching them get off the scale I just couldn't believe that these guys weighed 176 pounds and that they were 16 and 17 years old. They looked like grown men." The boxers might have looked older, but they were 24 months within Arriola's age. Despite giving up four to five inches and having a less sculpted physique, the 5 foot-10 Arriola found ways to stay comptetitive against light-heavyweights. Arriola took the bronze medal in the tournament featuring the nation's regional champions. "I learned that I shouldn't be boxing at 176 pounds," said Arriola, who is 19-6. "I was not comfortable boxing at that level as I am boxing at 165 pounds." |
Arriola will drop back to 165 pounds this Sunday when he boxes at the National Junior Golden Gloves Championship in Liverpool, NY. The trip to the four-day tournament will be Arriola's thrid straight and he's looking forward to it being as successful as the last two. "I was a little nervous my first time around in 2001, but I came out victorious," said Arriola, who placed third last year. "This will be my last time fighting in the National Junior Golden Gloves Championship and I want to make it a memorable one. The next time Arriola competes in the Golden Gloves will be in the Senior tournament because he will turn 17 on Jan 17th. The birthday will also allow him to fight anyone up to 35 years old. "The competition next year will be tough," said Billy Orta, who coaches Arriola out of the Yuma County Youth Boxing Association's gym. "He will be going up against guys who have fought 100 to 200 fights already, but Victor will be ready to box competitively." Something Arriola managed to accomplish at the National Junior Olympics Championship against bigger |
and stronger opponents. Arriola admits he had never been hit as hard before facing Craig Hernandez of Houston in the quarterfinals. He got the decision against Hernandez by staying away and using a quick left jab. "I'm usually the one who dishes out the punishment," Arriola said, "but I had to create distance between us because he could have hurt me if I had stayed close. I eventually lost in a decision in the semi-finals to a guy (David Imoersiri) from Long Beach, CA, who was ripped. I could still feel the power in his punches in the third round. It seemed like my punches in the last round didn't phase him at all." The tables should turn in New York. Arriola will be boxing at 165 pounds, a weight he's never felt intimidated at when in the ring. David Carrillo can be reached at dcarrillo@yumasun.com |
