Let The Cash Out Commence: Mitchell-Arreola Preview

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On Saturday, boxing fans should be in for a treat and something that you don’t normally see too often should take place, a competitive fight between 2 guys in the heavyweight division. Out there in the west coast in Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell will square off against Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola. A fight that should be a tough competitive fight, that I don’t think will actually last that long. Between the power and lack of defense from Mitchell and the go all out, hit me and I hit you back, style of Arreola, someone is likely to go to sleep or get hurt in this one.

Most people that follow boxing already know the Seth Mitchell story by now. He was a football player that played linebacker at Michigan State, was a good player, but then hurt his knee. He then went to see a fellow football player, Tom Zbikowski from Notre Dame, fight in Madison Square Garden for his professional boxing debut. He saw Zbikowski knock his opponent out in the 1st round, he loved it, and with a record of 26-1-1 with 19 KOs, the rest is history. His career seemed to be on the way to the top until he got caught against Jhonathan Banks last November and knocked out in round 2. He won the rematch in a lackluster fight this past June, but now he hopes to get back on the track towards a major title fight.

Big boxing fans also know the deal with Chris Arreola. The powerhouse comes into the fight with a 35-3 record with 30 KOs, but you have to look closer than the numbers to tell the story. He ran through 27 straight opponents with 24 KOs and then got plowed through by Vitali Klitschko, which is nothing to be ashamed about. He fought that fight with a lot of heart. However, the only other time he stepped up to fight was against a smaller guy who fought at cruiserweight most of his career and was fighting only his 3rd fight in the heavyweight division, Tomasz Adamek. After beating up a few lower class fighters, he took a slight step-up in Bermane Stiverne. He lost that fight and has put himself in a position where this fight could be just to keep his career alive.

Most people think this is a cash-out fight for Arreola, but I think it’s more than that. Yes, I do think they are trying to put Arreola out to pasture, but I also think this is a sink or swim test for Mitchell. It’s no secret that Mitchell has a lot of faith in his chin, that isn’t exactly the best strategy against a fighter that has big time power. If it goes to a decision and the fight is close, then obviously the cash-out can commence, but I don’t think it will go the distance, so it really comes down to who can knock the other one out 1st. Unlike Mitchell, I do think Arreola fights like a warrior and has a pretty good chin. He also knows that his career is probably over if he goes down.

If you saw the fight two weeks ago between Abner Mares and Jhonny Gonzalez, you saw how much styles can have an effect on the outcome, no matter who is looked at as the better fighter. So does Mitchell’s chin hold up against Arreola’s power? Is Arreola finally going to be put away and knocked out for the 1st time? I say NO. I think Arreola, who has more power than Banks, will eventually hurt Mitchell and finish Mitchell in the 4th round. It is going to be 1 a very emotional night either way in California on Saturday night and thankfully for us boxing fans, Showtime will be giving us a front row seat to all the action. Enjoy the fights.