Bermane Stiverne
vs.
Chris Arreola
Photo by Vincent Vallejo/Goossen Tutor
Gabriel Polanco, Staff Writer
In a rematch some did not expect, Chris Arreola attempts to avenge his earlier loss to Bermane Stiverne in a WBC Heavyweight title fight. In the first fight, Arreola came out charging and was constantly countered by Stiverne and impressively dropped. Fighting with a broken nose, Arreola found himself falling more and more behind on the scorecards. No heroic comeback would come that night, as the scores read Stiverne the unanimous-decision winner. Fast forward to Saturday night, as a more motivated Arreola comes into this bout and Stiverne seems a bit more thick for my comfort. I don’t see history repeating itself, as Arreola comes roaring in and winning by KO within the middle rounds on ESPN.
Prediction: Arreola
Lou Catalano, Staff Writer
Chris Arreola’s problems with training and twinkie consumption are well established. He’s promised to bring his A game to this fight, and if he has indeed dug in and trained hard, he should make this a pretty decent scrap. While Arreola can take a shot with the best of them, he’s got major defensive liabilities that Bermane Stiverne will continue to exploit. The feeling here is that a game Arreola will make things interesting early on before Stiverne takes over en-route to a wide decision in another entertaining fight.
Prediction: Stiverne
Brendan Montenegro, Senior Corespondent
This is hard for me to judge as I’ve been told that Chris Arreola was overconfident and undertrained for his last fight with Bermane Stiverne. If that is the case, then the Arreola that will show up for this fight will be a monster. He has the hunger and drive again to be a champion and with this being a title fight, the monster in Arreola needs to come out. I do like Stiverne, and he does have some boxing skills. In the first fight, he embarrassed Arreola and knocked him down twice and I believe in this fight Arreola will make him pay. I also see Arreola trying to knock the block off Stiverne. If he isn’t careful, Stiverne will make him pay, but in the end I don’t see this fight going the distance, someone will get knocked out.
Prediction: Arreola
Rob Anthony, Contributing Writer
The heavyweight division has a chance to shine on ESPN airwaves on Saturday night. Bermane Stiverne has already convincingly beat Chris Arreola once before, the last time being on HBO. This time there’s more at stake and the possibility of many more eyeballs that will be watching this fight. Arreola has had issues with his weight, motivation and training. If a WBC heavyweight championship bout on prime time ESPN doesn’t motivate him, nothing will. Both would be the first heavyweight champions of their respective ethnic backgrounds, so there will be history made for whoever wins. A motivated Arreola will put up a better fight, and make this one entertaining, but I believe Stiverne is just plain better. Although Arreola would make for a very entertaining and interesting champion that might draw eyes back to the heavyweight division–being that he’s based in America and speaks English–Stiverne is the better fighter and will end up with the belt.
Prediction: Stiverne
Gino Garcia, Contributing Writer
Chris Arreola vs. Bermane Stiverne is bound to be an action-packed fight. If Arreola can adjust and avoid Stiverne’s strait right then he will be crowned the heavyweight champion. I see this fight going the distance in favor of Arreola by SD.
Prediction: Arreola
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
The same story has been constant throughout Chris Arreola’s career; is he in shape? In his first first fight gainst Bermane Stiverne, Arreola said he did not put in the necessary work to compete at the level he knows he’s capable of. Indeed, that’s been the story in the build up to the rematch. But, let’s not forget that Stiverne is a big, burly Heavyweight with technical skill. I believe if he was younger–and not trapped on Don King island–he would be the talk of the town and a serious threat to either Klitschko. This fight may come down to pace, conditioning and power. We know Arreola is tough, but he can’t afford to fight with a broken nose and suffer multiple knockdowns again. For Stiverne, he can’t go into the rematch thinking it’s going to be Round 13. This is a completely different fight, one that Arreola won’t go down easy in, so Stiverne has to step up his effort as well. I think we will see some bombs thrown and shaky moments for both men. At the end of the day I think Arreola will score the biggest win of his career and earn the WBC Heavyweight title on an exciting night of action on ESPN.
Prediction: Arreola
Stiverne and Arreola Get Heated at Final Presser
