(Photo Credit Vincent Vallejo/Goossen Tutor) By Dan Ambrose: Chris Arreola (36-3, 31 KO’s) blames his previous defeat at the hands of Bermane Stiverne (23-1-1, 20 KO’s) on him getting careless in the fight resulting in him getting his nose broken. Arreola says he’s not going to let down his guard for his rematch against Stiverne in their fight for the vacant WBC heavyweight title on May 10th at the Galen Center, in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Arreola realizes he can’t mess up and lose this fight because it may be a while before he gets another crack at a title.
“First and second round, I was winning the fight,” Arreola said to ESPN. “Then, I got complacent. I threw a lazy jab and he came over the top and broke my nose and took me out of the fight. I got complacent against a world-class fighter…He timed it perfectly. This time I won’t get complacent and throw a lazy jab.”
If Arreola wasn’t able to make adjustments after getting his nose broken last time then what makes you think anything will be different in the rematch? Arreola was like a one-trick pony last year in April against Stiverne, and incapable of making the chances needed for him to come back and beat Stiverne. Arreola could have used his longer reach and beat Stiverne by jabbing him, but Arreola instead walking forward into Stiverne’s jabs and power shots.
Arreola wants to put pressure on Stiverne to try and wear him down. He seems to have the same game plan as he did in their previous fight, but it looks like Arreola is going to try and focus on using his jab more this time. Whether it’ll work will depend on how well Arreola is able to stick to his game plan. He tends to throw more power punches than jabs, and that leaves him open to getting hit with a lot of punches.
Arreola’s power is what has got him to this point in his career, but he’s now facing guys with better power than himself and he needs to use other strategies to win this fights. Going straight into the teeth of Stiverne’s offense might not be the smartest thing for Arreola to do.
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