By Luis Sandoval
It will be almost exactly a year since their first meeting when Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola step in the ring for their rematch on May 10th. Their assignment to fight each other is a familiar one but the stakes are higher this time as the winner will be crowned with the vacant WBC Heavyweight title.
Stiverne handily defeated Arreola last April as he was able to drop him in the 3rd round and shatter his nose in the process. Arreola was forced to fight the remaining 9 rounds with his nose broken and while he didn’t win, he showed a lot of heart by finishing the fight.
Arreola has had a history of not training properly and that was the case in his fight with Stiverne. While he makes no excuses and admits Stiverne “kicked my ass”, he points to his poor physical preparation as the reason he was so ineffective. He’s promised to come into this rematch prepared but Stiverne doesn’t think it will make a difference.
“We’ve been getting ready for the unexpected. So whatever he brings we’re making sure that we’ll be able to handle that. At this point it’s not about who has the most heart, balls or will; it’s about skills. And like I said, I have more skills. I’ve been getting ready and we’re just ready to go. I don’t see him beating me. I don’t see him winning the fight so like I said, on May 10th I’m going to come out of it with a belt” Stiverne would tell BoxingScene.
Both men are known for their power and while their first contest went the distance, Stiverne doesn’t feel that will be the case this second time around. He points to the fact that he was injured in the first affair and that prevented him from being able to finish Arreola off. Now that he’s 100% healthy, he guarantees the fight won’t see the 12th round.
“Well I wasn’t trying to finish him in the last fight. This fight here will not go the distance. I can guarantee you that. It’s not going the distance”.
Stiverne will train for his bout in Las Vegas while Arreola will head south and train in San Diego.
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