FanHouse Wladimir Klitschko

Brian Minto first got the call to fight Cris Arreola about "three or four weeks ago."

"I think that they wanted to bring Arreola back, and they were looking for opponents," said Minto, who is considered to be a journeyman with a solid punch. "I know what the situation is. It's happened to me before. I was brought in to lose to Axel Schulz."

Minto was referring to a June, 2006, sixth-round knockout victory over Schulz that followed the latter's stoppage loss to Wladimir Klitschko.

And now, said Minto, "I'm a guy they think they're bringing in" to pad the record of Riverside's Arreola (27-1, 24 KOs), who is coming off of September's 10th-round knockout loss to WBC king, Vitali Klitschko.

Minto was chosen over other considerations such as 40-year-old former world champion, Oleg Maskaev (36-6, 27 KOs), 36-year-old former contender David Tua (50-3-1, 43) and 38-year-old Ray Austin (28-4-4, 18).

Austin knocked out DaVarryl Williamson (26-6, 22 KOs) on Halloween, and Maskaev is set to meet Nagy Aguilera (14-0, nine) on Dec. 11.

"I was on a list of maybe two or three," said Minto, a 34-year-old resident of Butler, PA. "They're looking for guys they think that are the perfect opponent, and that's what they think that they're getting with me."

LAS VEGAS -- When England's David Haye traveled to Nuremberg, Germany, for his Nov. 7 matchup with 7-foot, 316-pound, Nikolay Valuev, the 218-pounder did so with more support from his own countrymen than the man who is named "The Russian Giant" for his status as the largest champion in the history of boxing.

And when Haye broke his right hand in the second round of an eventual, 12-round majority decision, it was the deafening cheers of his fans that lifted him on the way to dethroning Valuev for the WBA championship.

David Haye has fists that have earned him the nickname, "The Hayemaker," since only one opponent in 22 victories has gone the distance with him.

But the London resident is known by opponents as much for his verbal taunts and jabs outside of the ring as he is for the actual bombs he throws inside of it.

Haye, for example, once wore T-shirts sporting the decapitated likenesses of the siblings, heavyweight champions Wladimir Klitschko (IBF and WBO) and Vitali Klitschko (WBC), during promotions of scheduled bouts with each that never materialized.

And during the buildup to Saturday's matchup with WBA titlist, Nikolay Valuev, of Russia, Haye's vocal assault on the largest heavyweight champion in history have been equally relentless.

Called by Haye, "a circus freak, a zombie and a robot," the seven-foot Valuev literally steps over the ropes instead of through them because he says "it's easier."

Vitali Klitschko will make the third defense of his WBC heavyweight title against unbeaten Kevin Johnson, according to Klitschko's manager.

"It looks like he's going to fight Kevin Johnson on Dec. 12 in Switzerland [at the PostFinance Arena] in Bern," said Tom Loeffler of the Klitschko brothers' K2 promotions.

Loeffler also said that it looks as if Vitali's younger brother, 33-year-old Wladimir Kiltschko (53-3, 47 knockouts), will defend his IBF and WBO titles "sometime in March" against Philadelphia's Eddie Chambers (35-1, 18 KOs).

On July 4, America's independence Day, "Fast" Eddie Chambers was handing Ukrainian Alexander Dimitrenko his first loss in 30 bouts before a crowd partisan to Dimitrenko in Hamburg, Germany.

It was Chambers' fifth consecutive win since a January 2008 setback against Russian Alexander Povetkin. And the symbolism is not lost on Chambers, America's best shot at a heavyweight champion.

"I hear that a ton from my fans, like, 'You're the only one who is gonna do it.' It was important for me to go over there and show my skills," said Chambers, who defeated Dimitrenko the day before the latter's 27th birthday. "Beating Dimitrenko, you know, I realize what it did for the United States and our hopes of having a world champion again."

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Dmitriy "Star of David" Salita is getting ready for his Dec. 5 title fight against world champion Amir Khan.

This bout is drawing lots of attention worldwide as Salita (30-0 and the official WBA welterweight contender) is an Orthodox Jewish fighter. He's become quite popular in New York, where he's lived since was he was 9 years old, to Israel and all the way to the Ukraine, where he was born.

In this FanHouse exclusive video, we hear from Salita fans, including heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Check out the video after the jump.

At age 78, boxing promoter Don King is still at it.

The man who brought the world "The Rumble In The Jungle" on Oct. 30, in 1974, featuring Muhammad Ali's dramatic, eighth-round knockout of George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, will celebrate that event's 35th anniversary on Halloween with the first-ever, boxing event to be held at Las Vegas' Treasure Island.

That's when IBF bantamweight (118 pounds) titlist Joseph Agbeko (27-1, 22 knockouts) will put his crown on the line against Colombia native Yonnhy Perez (19-0, 14 KOs) of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., as part of an event to be televised on Showtime.

"This event at Treasure Island is going to be a great festival. I'm bringing the eighth wonder of the world to Las Vegas, King Kong," said King, referring to the nickname given Agbeko for his ferocity in the ring.

The chaotic scene outside of Veltins Arena resembles that of a big, rock festival.

Inside the jam-packed, 61,462-seat capacity stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen -- one of the largest sports complexes in Germany -- the wait is over.

The larger-than-life, world champion Klitschko brothers emerge from separate sides of the ring and climb through the ropes to finally determine who is the king of the ring.

If only it weren't fantasy.

An aging fighter who is approaching 40 years old, Vitali Klitschko said this past week that when the time comes he will truly know when to retire from boxing.

"I'm in great shape, and I am in great form. If I feel that I don't have it left anymore, I will announce my retirement. But not yet," said Klitschko, adding that Saturday night's performance in defense of his heavyweight World Boxing Council championship against Cris Arreola would go a long way toward determining his decision.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Undefeated heavyweight Cristobal Arreola is more than ready to take on the world champion Vitali Klitschko, but for some reason everyone keeps thinking he is overweight. In this FanHouse exclusive, we see how Arreola got a good laugh out of his haters. Also in this video, we find out what nickname Arreola would give Klitschko.

Check out the video after the jump.