By Francisco Salazar - USC Galen Center, Los Angeles, California - There is finally a heavyweight champion who doesn't have the last name of Klitschko. In a high stakes rematch, Chris Arreola (36-4, 31KOs) was tougher, more active and landing big shots - but it took one big right hand for Bermane Stiverne (24-1-1, 21KOs) to change the entire fight and capture the WBC heavyweight with a sixth round TKO. The belt was vacated a few months ago by longtime champion Vitali Klitschko. Last April, Stiverne won a dominating twelve round decision over Arreola.
At the age of 33, Chris Arreola believed the boxing world still had not seen the best of him.
Aside from the knockout power and colorful banter, Arreola was also known for falling short whenever he stepped up in class or meaningful fights.
It happened against Vitali Klitschko, Tomasz Adamek, and Bermane Stiverne.
Arreola was down, but he refused to give up on that dream of winning a world title. The only problem was Stiverne also had that dream and even in the anticipated rematch, Stiverne once again capitalized on one Arreola's achilles heel: his chin.
The bout was a rematch of their 12 round bout that took place one year and two weeks prior to Saturday night, when Stiverne dominated the action to win a 12 round unanimous decision while breaking Arreola's nose in the process.
The loss seemed to open Arreola's eyes, where he had to deal with issues with his weight and personal conflicts outside the ring that seemed to get the best out of him. After a change in location and a victory over Seth Mitchell in September, Arreola looked much fitter entering his bout against Stiverne on Saturday night.
Stiverne had not fought since defeating Arreola, waiting for the opportunity to fight then-WBC champion Vitali Klitschko. That fight never materialized, as Klitschko vacated the title and pursued a career in politics in his native Ukraine.
