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Heavyweights Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola go at it again, this time for the vacant WBC title, held this evening at USC Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA.
When the pair met in April, 2013, Haitian born Canadian Stiverne defended his WBC Silver crown by outworking Arreola after dropping the Californian in the third round, breaking the nose of “The Nightmare”.
Can Arreola turn things around this time?
The 33 year old will have the advantage this time of being the more active boxer, having anihilated previously undefeated Seth Mitchell in just one round last September while Stiverne, 23-1-1 (20), has not entered the ring since defeating Arreola.
For the pair’s initial clash, both boxers had been out of the ring for more than a year but apparently keeping their man active isn’t a concern for Team Stiverne as the 35 year old has only fought on three occasions over the past four years.
Arreola, 36-3 (31), also has the advantage of being the more experienced fighter, having previously shared the ring with Vitiali Klitschko and Tomasz Adamek while Ray Austin tops the list of Stiverne’s meager resume.
That seasoning had no bearing in the first bout, however, as the quickness and power of Stiverne overcame the aggressive approach of Arreola.
Stiverne was far busier that Arreola in their first clash but with a low accuracy while Arreola threw less punches but with a higher success rate. What separated the two here was that Stiverne was able to land flush while Arreola’s connects were mostly ridden by Stiverne, taking the force out of the shots.
The strategy for Stiverne this time out will probably be the same as what worked in 2013, keep Arreola at a distance and then look to beat the Escondido resident to the punch when Arreola does get inside.
Stiverne’s best weapon is his sharp jab, used effectively, along with heavy body shots, to disrupt Arreola’s offense in the first fight. For Arreola to reverse the result this time, he’ll have to find away to take that jab away from Stiverne.
If Arreola can anticipate the punch and time right hands over it, he should take the WBC title as Stiverne will be wide open but Arreola is probably not fast enough, of either hand and foot, to pull this off.
