Wilder vs. Arreola only 10 days away

By Boxing News - 07/06/2016 - Comments

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By Scott Gilfoid: Boxing fans only have 10 more days to wait until the mouth-watering match-up between two of the most powerful punchers in the heavyweight division between Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder (36-0, 35 KOs) and #9 WBC Chris Arreola (36-4-1, 31 KOs) on July 16 at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Wilder-Arreola fight is one that is sure to have fireworks going off from the crack of the bell in the 1st round. This is Wilder’s fourth defense of his WBC heavyweight title that he picked up last year, and it’s sure to be his best fight of his early heavyweight reign.

It could very well wind up being Wilder’s most thrilling fight of his eight-year pro career, because Arreola has the offense, power, fighting style and the experience to make it an really nail-biting affair for as long as it lasts.

Wilder and Arreola have an opponent in common in Bermane Stiverne. While Arreola lost badly to Stiverne twice, Wilder had a relatively easy time of it in battering Stiverne in the process of winning a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision last year in January 2015. However, as the saying goes, ‘Styles make fights,’ so it’s quite possible that Arreola’s fighting style will be more suited against a fighter like Deontay, who can look vulnerable at times when getting nailed by big shots.

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Wilder has a bad habit of backing straight into the ropes. He obviously can’t do that against an old pro like the 35-year-old Arreola, because this talented Mexican American will take full advantage of that by knocking Deontay’s block off. Wilder needs to make sure that he’s stays on the outside and doesn’t let Arreola get near enough to him to land his big shots.

Wilder can put the heavyweight division on notice with an impressive performance against Arreola. No one has been able to poleaxe Arreola and get him out of there early before in his career. If Wilder can smash Arreola to smithereens in the first four rounds, it would send a message to the rest of the heavyweights that Wilder is someone to be reckoned with. This giant 6’7” force of nature has an opportunity to set himself apart from the other heavyweights if he can deal Arreola a crushing defeat in Birmingham on the night.

This is technically a voluntary defense for the 30-year-old Wilder, but it’s a potentially a very difficult one that is similar to a mandatory because of Arreola’s talent and punching power.

Wilder needs to win this fight to keep in the hunt for the big payday fights against IBF champion Anthony Joshua and the winner of the Tyson Fury vs. Wladimir Klitschko. A loss to Arreola would wreck Deontay’s chances of fighting any of those top heavyweights in the near term.