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Arreola-Stiverne For WBC Title May 10

Published

10 years ago

March 24, 2014

The Sweet Science

BERMANE STIVERNE VS. CHRIS ARREOLA

WBC HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

“FIGHT FOR PEACE — HEAVYWEIGHT HISTORY”

SATURDAY, MAY 10 — LIVE ON ESPN — USC GALEN CENTER

Sherman Oaks, California (March 24, 2014) “FIGHT FOR PEACE” the highly anticipated World Boxing Council Heavyweight Championshipof the World and rematch between top-rated world contenders, Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne and Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola will take place on SATURDAY, MAY 10 from the USC Galen Center in Downtown Los Angeles and telecast LIVE on ESPN and ESPNDeportes and presented by Corona Extra.

Hall of Fame Promoter Don King of Don King Productions and Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor Promotions made the announcement jointly today.

“ESPN is in it to win it…and ‘win’ in it they have…hitting a grand slam home run in public opinion in welcoming the prodigal son of the sport of boxing – The WBC Heavyweight Championship of the World Title Event back to America – Halleluiah!” said the ever-enthusiastic Don King, promoter of Bermane Stiverne.

“FIGHT FOR PEACE” is a fitting international tribute to the battle for the vacant World Boxing Council Heavyweight Championship of the World previously held by longtime champion Vitali Klitschko who stepped away from boxing officially in December 2013 to focus on the 2014 Ukrainian Presidential Election where he is seeking to become the country’s leader.

“Vitali was a great champion, in and out of the ring, and the winner of this fight will have big shoes to fill wearing the green belt around their waist,” said Dan Goossen promoter of Arreola. “Chris will definitely be going into this fight with his back against the wall. It’s that type of do-or-die situation I believe when he’s the most motivated and dangerous. To top off this history making, and what is sure to be great event, is ESPN’s participation, the home to all major sporting events, putting additional broadcast significance to this Heavyweight World Championship fight.”

Stiverne and Arreola previously battled on April 27, 2013 in Ontario, California, with the Florida resident winning a 12-round unanimous decision over the Southern California based Mexican-American who fought valiantly through a knockdown and broken nose, both suffered in the third round.

The flamboyant King went on to say, “Bermane Stiverne vs. Chris Arreola fighting for the most coveted crowning ceremony in the world of sports scheduled to take place on May 10, 2014 – as Heavyweights go…so goes boxing! Never has that saying had more relevance than now.” “Needless to say there is great joy in the land of fisticuffs creating great excitement for boxing fans around the world who will celebrate this homecoming with bated breath and great anticipation awaiting the destiny of this fantastic rematch: Stiverne vs. Arreola for the WBC Heavyweight Championship of the World broadcast exclusively via ESPN.”

The move by ESPN to telecast the Stiverne-Arreola Championship bout is unprecedented and in recent years heavyweight title bouts have been broadcast primarily on premium cable channels or pay-per-view.

“For nearly 35 years, ESPN has been the premier destination for sports fans,” Goossen said. “We’re thrilled to work with their team to allow sports fans around the world the opportunity to watch a World Heavyweight Championship on what is the undisputed Worldwide Leader in Sports.”

“FIGHT FOR PEACE” exemplifies the obstacles both Stiverne and Arreola have climbed to be in position to do what no other person of their descent have done in the 100-plus years of our sport. With a victory, Stiverne would become the first Haitian to win the Heavyweight World Championship. And for Arreola, with all the great Mexican champions throughout the history of boxing, none have ever held the most prestigious belt of them all. History will be made on this night.

“ESPN has a long history of carrying world class boxing events, but this certainly ranks up there with the best that we’ve televised,” said BrianKweder, ESPN senior director of programming and acquisitions. “Dan Goossen and Don King deserve credit for having the vision to distribute this potentially historical match to as many households as possible and we are thrilled to be televising the fight.”

Assistant Athletic Director and General Manager of USC Galen Center, Carl Reed added, “We are very excited to be part of the historic Heavyweight World Championship match between Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola. We have hosted numerous national and international events; this Heavyweight Championship fight will deliver the knockout blow that will set the USC Galen Center apart from all other venues. I look forward to working with both promoters, Don King and Dan Goossen in ensuring this is a fight for the ages!”

With a record of 23-1-1 (20 KO’s), the hard-hitting Stiverne, originally from La Plaine, Haiti and now living in Miami, Florida is currently world ranked as the #1 contender in the WBC heavyweight rankings.

“The only thing I’m thinking about right now is putting my hands on that title. As a matter of fact, to me, I’m going to the ring like I’m defending my title. This title is mine. It’s my title, you know what I’m saying; they just didn’t give it to me yet. I’m going in there to defend my title. I feel like I’m ready already. I feel great. I look great and I just can’t wait man. I can’t wait to make history, so everybody lookout for that fight. It’s gonna’ be a fantastic performance and a lot of pain and a knockout,” stated top heavyweight contender Bermane Stiverne, who talked about his anticipated rematch with Chris Arreola and his own desire to be crowned the new WBC Heavyweight Champion of the World.

Stiverne’s trainer, Don House added, “I’ve evaluated this fight and we have been going at this like Bermane hasn’t fought Arreola before, as if everything is brand new. Can Arreola bring anything into this fight differently? No. He may come to fight in the best shape of his life but he doesn’t have the skills to beat Bermane. He doesn’t have the power or speed that Bermane does. Arreola will be right there, Bermane won’t have to look for him, and Bermane will be ready to fight 12 rounds.”

Ranked the #2 heavyweight by the WBC, Arreola, 36-3-0 (31 KO’s), returned to action following the disappointing loss to Stiverne with a devastating first round stoppage of top contender Seth Mitchell on September 7, 2013 in Indio, California.

“I’m very excited about fighting for the WBC Title once again and having it seen on my favorite television network ESPN. I have a great opportunity to get my revenge against Stiverne and make history in one night and I plan to deliver,” stated Arreola.

Henry Ramirez, trainer of Arreola said, “Not too many times do you get a chance to right a wrong, and on May 10 Chris will have his chance to do just that with everything on the line. I know we have a tough task but I have zero doubt Chris Arreola will be the WBC World Heavyweight Champion and first ever of Mexican descent to hold such title.”

“FIGHT FOR PEACE” from the USC Galen Center in Downtown Los Angeles will be exclusively televised Live on Saturday, May 10 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN. Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100, $50 and $25 (plus customary fees) will go on sale shortly.

King, the Hall of Fame promoter concluded, “This is a must see and you cannot afford to miss it. You just have to be there, and you can be there, live and in living color with the movie stars, the sports stars, celebrities, dignitaries and world leaders on the scene with the crowd going wild – this is history in the making. Or, you can enjoy the thrilling cheers of excitement at your own house party… in your living room watching the provocatively spectacular TV broadcast on ESPN with friends and neighbors. What a super coup this is for ESPN…seizing the time and grasping the opportunity to reestablish the sport of boxing. Give the people what they want and they will respond with the magical question – When is the next one? ESPN has done just that – give the people what they want using indomitable courage, business genius and visionary ingenuity to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat. BY ESPN’s televising boxing’s redemption, it gives the sweet science a return to glory from its fall from grace. But more importantly, it is the “Fight for Peace” symbolizing the essence of America’s creed- freedom, justice, equality, liberty, and peace which makes all American’s proud, happy and extremely grateful. Thank you ESPN.”

The network will also present comprehensive news and analysis in anticipation and leading into the fight.

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The Sweet Science

Articles

2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Articles

Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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Articles

2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

8 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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