By Dan Ambrose: #2 WBC, Chris Arreola (36-3, 31 KO’s) is convinced that he’s going to defeat #1 WBC Bermane Stiverne (23-1, 20 KO’s) in their fight for the vacant WBC heavyweight title on May 10th, and that he’ll become the first Mexican American to capture a heavyweight title when he faces the hard hitting Stiverne at the Galen Center, in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Arreola took a beating last year in losing to Stiverne by a 12 round unanimous decision. Arreola is blaming the defeat on him suffering an injury to his nose in the 3rd round, and he thinks the fight should have been stopped due to the injury.
“I’m going to get that title,” Arreola said. “That green belt’s going home with me. A Mexican American’s going to have that belt. I was getting my a** kicked [last time he fought Stiverne]. I want to see if he’s willing to do the same. I don’t think he has the fortitude to do what I did.”
Arreola’s not making much sense here. He wants to know if Stiverne is willing to be turned into a punching bag for 12 rounds to see if he can take the punishment that he took. Why should Stiverne want to turn himself into a walking punching bag like the way Arreola did when he has better skills, and can simply avoid punishment by turning Arreola into the punching bag for a second time.
This isn’t about a test to see which fighter can take more punishment. This is a boxing match, and Stiverne is going to use his jab and boxing ability to try and pound out another one-sided decision. It’s up to Arreola to show that he can make the outcome any different than it was last time. By the way that Arreola is talking, I don’t think he’s learned at all from the defeat. If he thinks it’s going to come down to one of them being willing to absorb the most pain, then he’s going to lose for a second time. Arreola should be thinking about trying to keep from getting hit so that he can win the fight without suffering another broken nose.
If Arreola suffers another broken nose, which is a strong possibility given the size of his nose and the power that Stiverne has, he’s going to have another excuse for fans for his second loss. The only way Arreola can keep from getting his nose broken again is if he moves his head more and keeps his guard up to protect his nose.
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