ESPN has reportedly bought the rights to televised the rematch between heavyweights Chris Arreola (36-3, 31 KO’s) and Bermane Stiverne (23-1-1, 20 KO’s) on May 10th in their fight for the vacant WBC heavyweight title at a still to be determined venue. For boxing fans this is a big deal because they won’t need an expensive premium channel like HBO or Showtime to see the fight now that ESPN will televise it.
While it sounds nice that ESPN was able to purchase the fight to televise on their network, it gives you an idea of how much interest HBO and Showtime had in televising the fight. Believe me, if they had wanted to show the fight, they would have purchased it.
OTTAWA, Canada (January 2, 2014) – On his mission to become the first Haitian-born heavyweight champion of the world, World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver champion Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne (23-1, 20 KOs) still doesn’t know exactly when and where he will be fighting for the vacant WBC heavyweight world title.
Chris Arreola (36-3-0) was meant to be a boxer. He is lacking nothing, but has had a somewhat rough spell.
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) Chris Arreola came into last night’s fight with Seth Mitchell wearing a robe that had written on it “you don’t play boxing.” A clear dig at Mitchell’s attempts to transfer his physical skills from the football pitch to the boxing ring, Arreola’s statement was borne out – in quite devastating style.
Chris Arreola just did what most of us expected. He stopped Seth Mitchell in 1 easy round. It was over so fast that it proves absolutely nothing. No real surprise here. Mitchell simply isn’t that durable and it showed again. While the victory probably doesn’t prove much in the grand scheme of things, Arreola just gained some momentum. This is especially true if you consider how poorly he fared in his previous fight against Stiverne. The celebratory pushups by Arreola were probably a bit much, but this was Chris’s biggest win in a long time, or at least his flashiest and most explosive win under a televised spotlight. He had reason to be happy. He actually even appeared trimmer and thinner than he has in years. Dare I say he almost looked like a fit professional prizefighter. Arreola finally seems to be picking up the pieces and putting them back together, something he promised to do after losing to Vitali but never did.
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) The fight ended quickly and so did heavyweight Seth Mitchell’s career as a prospect. 31 year old prospects with KO defeats on their record are not a bizarre concept nowadays. Chris Arreola deserves his encouragement for winning and if this was an eliminator of sorts, the right man advanced to the next level. I am not sure this was a boxing match though and I’ll give my grounds for doubting the obvious.
INDIO, Calif. (Sept. 7, 2013) – Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola made short work of Seth Mitchell, dispatching the younger fighter in just 2-minutes 26-seconds of round one in the main event of Saturday’s SHOWTIME BOXING: Special Edition from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. In the co-feature, Efrain Esquivias stopped Mexican legend Rafael Marquez in the ninth round of their 10-round junior featherweight bout.
Unbeaten heavyweight Deontay Wilder (29-0, 29 KO’s) can already smell fear coming from Chris Arreola (36-3, 31 KO’s) now that he’s in a position where Golden Boy Promotions is trying to match him up against him. Arreola destroyed Seth Mitchell (26-2-1, 19 KO’s) in a 1st round TKO in Indio, California.