Chris Arreola vs. Bermane Stiverne Preview April 27
Heavyweight prospects Chris Arreola and Bermane Stiverne will finally slug it out at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California on Saturday April 27 with the winner supposedly earning a title shot at WBC Champion Vitali Klitschko. The 12-round title eliminator will see Stiverne taking a step up in class while Arreola has already been beaten by Klitschko. This bout has been postponed a couple of times now and is finally set to take place.
The 32-year-old Arreola is a decent size for today’s modern heavyweights as he’s 6-foot-3 and has a 76-inch reach. Stiverne is two years older than his opponent and stands 6-foot-2 with an 80-inch reach. Arreola will likely have the crowd on his side since he lives in nearby Riverside, California. He’ll enter the ring with a record of 35-2 with 30 Kos. Stiverne now fights out of Las Vegas, but is originally from Haiti and has spent some time in Canada too. He’s also got powerful fists and can be seen by his record of 22-1-1 with 20 Kos.
Stiverne had a good amateur career as he beat David Price and Robert Helenius before turning pro eight years ago. He hasn’t really faced any elite opposition in his pro career and has beaten the likes of Grade C fighters such as Ray Austin and Robert Hawkins. His one loss came to Demetrice King, who knocked him out in the fourth round in 2007 and he was trailing on points to Austin before stopping him in the 10th round back in June of 2011. He’s going to have some ring rust to shed as well since he’s fought just once since that bout.
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Stiverne has a chance against just about anybody due to his punching power and Arreola isn’t averse to going toe-to-toe with his opponents. This means Arreola’s going to have to take Stiverne seriously and will need to be wary of his power. Arreola’s biggest bouts were against Klitschko in 2009 and former light-heavyweight and cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek of Poland in 2010. However, he was stopped by Klitschko in the 10thh round and lost a 12-round majority decision to Adamek. He wasn’t in the best of shape for those fights and he’ll also have to fight ring rust since he hasn’t been in the ring since February of last year when he defeated Eric Molina by a first-round knockout.
Prediction
Arreola has fought some good opposition since turning pro in 2003 and definitely has the edge in experience. However, it’s all going to come down to his will to win as well as his chin. There could be multiple knockdowns in this fight if the two of them decide to slug it out and get into a brawl. If this happens, then it’ll just be power against power and chin against chin with all boxing skills thrown out the window. There’s a good chance this bout won’t go the distance. Look for Arreola to take it by stoppage anytime after the opening bell rings and earn another shot against Klitschko.
Odds
Sportsbook 5dimes.eu has the latest odds of a Stiverne win at +345 and an Arreola victory at -430. Visit 5Dimes.eu to see up to date odds and to bet on this fight. You should also check out our recent boxing betting predictions to see how we’ve done of late capping the fights.
Bermane Stiverne betting • Chris Arreola betting