In a May 10th broadcast, ESPN featured a main-event rematch between Bermane Stiverne (23-1-1, 20 knockouts) and Chris Arreola (36-3, 31 knockouts). In the first meeting between the two, Stiverne earned a unanimous decision over Arreola in what was deemed one of the most exciting heavyweight bouts in recent memory. With the memory still fresh in both fighters’ minds and the WBC heavyweight title on the line, both fighters had no lack of motivation going into the bout.
The two fighters picked up the actions from where the last ended. Arreola, with a chip on his shoulder coming into this fight, wasted no time and immediately began attacking his opponent. With a chopping attack that was aimed at stopping Stiverne, Stiverne responded in a much more calculated approach.
Relying on a jab and power punch combinations, Stiverne managed to keep the hard-charging Arreola at bay for the better part of five rounds. Still, there was no stopping Arreola and his volley of concussive blows made it seem like it was going to be another early night of fights.
Going into the sixth round of the championship bout, both fighters were brutally close on the scorecards. Even so, it was widely believed that Arreola had the early lead thanks to his in-ring aggression and high punch output. The competitive back-and-forth between the two continued until Stiverne suddenly unleashed an overhand right that sent Arreola crashing to the canvas. Somehow Arreola managed to rise to his feet, but Stiverne was quick to pounce on his injured opponent and hurt him again.
Once again, Arreola managed to beat the count, but Stiverne once again came forward delivering one blow after another. This finally led to the referee calling for a halt to the action at the end of the sixth round.
With Stiverne winning the WBC Heavyweight title, talk immediately goes to whether he is good enough to take on a Klitschko, or ,even more realistically, his mandatory challenger Deontay Wilder. This questions may or may not be answered, but one thing is for sure and its the fact that Stiverne is a fresh breath to an otherwise lifeless division.
