Up until that point the fight still appeared close. One judge and Showtime analyst Steve Farhood had the fight a draw. After the stoppage, doctors didn’t like what they were seeing. As a result, they had a stabilizing collar placed around Rafael’s neck, placed him on a gurney and rushed him to the hospital.
The punch that caused Rafael’s problems was a straight right from Efrain Esquivias. It wasn’t a particularly hard punch, but it was timed right and was accurate.
(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.
Looking as focused as can be, Arreola wasted no time testing Mitchell’s chin and pretty soon the writing was on the wall. Mitchell ate plenty of leather in a short period of time and he was all over the place, hurt bad and clumsily trying to hold on. Arreola, though, would not be denied.
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.
The fight started with Arreola looking to land his heavy hands on what turned out to be a stiff defenseless strongman (boxer) and Chris did so without losing his cool. The new svelte version of Chris not only tidied up his vocabulary but he cleaned up his act as well. Seth Mitchell was frozen and his upper body rigid as if he was expecting a rendezvous with the freight train. He was prepared to use his superior core strength against Arreola’s right hand.
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.
Arreola of nearby Riverside, Calif., came into the fight feeling that Mitchell was out of his league. And he proved it.
A well-conditioned and poised Arreola landed a clubbing right hand in one of the first exchanges of the bout. Mitchell was stunned and already on wobbly legs. Following a push down, and moments later a clean knockdown, veteran referee Jack Reiss halted the action late in the round as Mitchell was unable to defend himself against the power punches of “The Nightmare”.
In a disappointing Showtime card filled with terrible mismatches, heavyweight Chris Arreola (36-3, 31 KO’s) totally obliterated Seth Mitchell (26-2-1, 19 KO’s) in the 1st round tonight at the Fantasy Springs Casino, in Indio, California, USA.
Arreola dropped the weak-chinned Mitchell twice in the 1st round. The fight, if you want to call it that, was then halted after Arreola hit Mitchell with a series of right hands that sent him running towards the ropes for safety behind the referee. Looked almost comical how Mitchell ended up behind the referee.
The first knockdown game from a right hand to the head that put Mitchell on the canvas. Mitchell got up, but his legs were totally gone and it was clear he wasn’t going to make it out of the round unless he held. Unfortunately for Mitchell, he didn’t choose to hold onto Arreola, and moments latter Mitchell was knocked down again after getting hit with several hard right hands to the head.
You can call Cristobal Arreola a lot of names. The fact is no matter what version shows up he always brings a sturdy chin to the table, something Arreola will try to expose in his opponent Seth Mitchell. Come Saturday night one man will stay on major premium television. The other will be reduced to gatekeeper of an already weak division especially domestically.
When breaking down a Chris Arreola fight the first thing that comes to mind is weight.
On his way up as a prospect who graduated to contender Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola was an all action brawler that threw fluid accurate punches with power to boot.
Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (35-3, 30 KO’s) and Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell (26-1-1, 19 KO’s) along with Rafael … continue
Photo by Gene Blevins/Hogan Photos — The Channel Of Champions BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546) is delighted to announce that it has secured the big heavyweight showdown this Saturday night between Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell and Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola LIVE and exclusive from California, USA.
Mitchell and Arreola fight it out over 12-rounds for the WBC Silver Championship in the crucial clash with the winner looking to move on and fight for a world title against one of the all-reigning Klitschko brothers.
Hard-hitting Mitchell, a former linebacker at Michigan State University, has made a big impact in professional boxing with 26 wins from 28 fights and 19 KO’s -16 coming inside three rounds.
Exciting, all-action, Arreola has the edge in experience in a decade long career that has seen him battle WBC World Champion Vitali Klitschko and a win against Mitchell could see him get a rematch against the giant Ukrainian.
Chris Arreola (35-3, 30 KO’s), of Riverside, Calif. and Seth Mitchell (26-1-1, 19 KO’s), of Brandywine, Md., got into a heated verbal exchange during Wednesday’s final press conference for their 12-round heavyweight showdown for the WBC Silver Championship this Saturday, Sept. 7, on SHOWTIME BOXING: Special Edition live on SHOWTIME® immediately following ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo Episode 3 Premiere, which begins at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
In the 10-round co-feature from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif., former two-division world champion Rafael Marquez (41-8, 37 KO’s), of Mexico City, will take on Efrain Esquivias (16-2-1, 9 KO’s), of Gardena, Calif., in a featherweight bout.