Chris Arreola admits title shot undeserved but ready to seize chance vs. Deontay Wilder

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Chris Arreola was riding to Dodger Stadium with his best friend and long-time trainer, Henry Ramirez, when the driver's cell phone rang.

Al Haymon was on the other end with good news for Ramirez on that May day: an offer for Arreola to fight Deontay Wilder on July 16 in what would be the Southern Californian's third (and likely final) attempt at a heavyweight title.

Arreola (36-4-1, 31 KOs) readily agreed to fight Wilder in enemy territory, watched his beloved Los Angeles Dodgers win (he's a season-ticket holder) with ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw on the mound and then set up camp in San Diego to accomplish what he never had before - win a championship.

"I believe Wilder is going to try to knock me out, he's talking a big game and I hope he does come to try to knock me out because that's what I love to do; I love fighting," Arreola, 35, told Paste BN Sports. "Personally, I won't get a decision in Alabama. I'm not getting a decision out here.

"So I have to go for the knockout, but I have to be smart about it. … I believe he's still a boxer that's learning. He's a young fighter."

Arreola is known for his big punch, and Wilder's chin is unproven. Even still, Arreola acknowledged that he's not confident he can KO the 30-year-old if he lands squarely. And that's a good thing for the man of Mexican descent.

Instead, he says he will focus on combination punching.

"I guarantee one punch ain't gonna do it. I'm not that kind of a fighter," said Arreola, who failed in title challenges vs. Vitali Klitschko and Bermane Stiverne. "I have to bully him. I have to make it a dirty, rough fight. Hit him in the arms, hit him in the ribs while he's holding me.

"I don't mean dirty like hit him in the balls kind of thing. But make it dirty, make it grimey, make it known he's in a fight. Make sure that he doesn't get those long arms out because that's where he has the best knockouts. His most exciting knockouts are where (opponents) are at the end of the punch."

So Arreola will seek to put his head in Wilder's chest and smother the taller man's shots to avoid a fate like Artur Szpilka, who was viciously KOed by the WBC champ in January. Arreola has been dogged by questions about his physical fitness since he emerged on HBO last decade, and those doubts persist today.

Wilder (36-0, 35 KOs) was chiseled at 226 1/4 pounds at Friday's weigh-in; Arreola weighed exactly 20 pounds heavier with some flab. But more important than looks and weight is actual fitness, and Arreola said he was able to spar 10 and 12 rounds "without a problem."

He also claims that he added muscle under the guidance of new conditioning coach B.B. Hudson.

The beer-drinking, profanity-prone Arreola has been bandied about as a foe for Wilder since last year, but after the worst campaign of his professional career, he's become an afterthought in a suddenly attractive heavyweight division.

Arreola struggled to a decision over journeyman Curtis Harper and then was held to a draw against Fred Kassi. Arreola ended 2015 with a controversial decision victory vs. long-time sparring partner Travis Kauffman.

Arreola admits he had trouble with motivation for the first two bouts, but says Kauffman's familiarity with him after more than 200 rounds in the ring together was hard to overcome, though he believes he pulled out the win.

"Absolutely the (odds) offend me - 30 to 1," Arreola said in astonishment. "30 to 1. Those are (expletive) ridiculous. But you know what? I'll take them. I told my wife before she got here to make sure she gave a thousand dollars to one of my cousins to go put at least one thousand on myself.

"That's $30,000. (Expletive) it, I'll take that all day, every day. To me, that's very disrespectful. Extremely disrespectful. Basically like Buster Douglas (vs. Mike Tyson) odds."

"The Nightmare" was scheduled to face Dominic Breazeale in March but was forced to withdraw after suffering a spiral fracture in his right ankle. Arreola admits he was "buzzed" after a night of drinking when he turned his ankle on the street.

Now his first fight in 2016 is a surprise title shot that even he admits he doesn't deserve. But he plans to take advantage all the same.

"It is my last chance," Arreola stated. "This is my golden ticket, brother. … I'm a sleeping giant because everybody is overlooking me. Wilder is overlooking me. Wilder's already thinking about his next fight. He was talking about fighting (Anthony Joshua). He's talking fight about Tyson Fury.

"I'm first. I'm here. I'm a heavyweight to be reckoned with. He's making me a homecoming fight. I'm going to leave with that title and that (belt) box."

(Photo of Arreola by Jennifer Hagler/DiBella Entertainment/Premier Boxing Champions)