Stiverne Has Arreola’s Number And He’s Also Pretty Good

Published

11 years ago

May 12, 2014

In the end it was the technically superior fighter with the better delivery system and equal toughness and power that won, again.

That is pretty much the story as to why Bermane Stiverne 24-1-1 (21) beat Chris Arreola 36-4 (31) via a sixth round TKO to win the vacant WBC heavyweight title this past Saturday night. For the second consecutive time, Stiverne’s superior hand speed, accuracy and better boxing skill overwhelmed Arreola’s aggression and presumed power advantage. And he accomplished that against a better and more in shape version of Arreola this time.

As was highlighted here before the fight, Chris is really in a catch-22 stylistically fighting Stiverne. When he didn’t push the action and fight behind his jab from the outside, he was in the fight. The problem was he couldn’t seize control of the fight from the outside…but he was safe. That was until Stiverne started coming out of his shell with a full assortment of jabs, hooks and crosses to Arreola’s head and body. This ultimately forced Arreola to open up more and get into exchanges with Stiverne, and that’s when things started to come undone for Chris. When Stiverne began to let his hands go more freely, Arreola was forced to answer back with the hope of stabilizing Stiverne’s assault, only it left him more open. In the end it was a looping right to the temple in the middle of an exchange that dropped Arreola for the first time in the bout during round six. Chris beat the count, but he was really hurt and went down again, only to rise and get hit a couple more times before the referee correctly stopped the fight.

History has been brutal to fighters who fight as the attacker and are the supposed puncher, like Arreola, when they lose to the better boxer/technician like Stiverne the first time they meet. The only thing Chris had to fall back on was to get in better shape and try to give Stiverne an overload of what didn’t work the first time. And as stated in the pre-fight piece, more aggression and wide- open fighting by Arreola may lead to him getting beat up more and possibly stopped. And sadly for Chris, that’s exactly what happened in the fight, especially in light of him leading in the bout when it ended, although it really was a mirage. That’s simply because Stiverne looked to be letting Arreola push the action so he’d leave himself open for his big counter shots, especially the right hand.

In reality there’s nothing Arreola can do to beat Stiverne. Changing trainers won’t do it. Going on a new diet won’t do it and neither will fighting more and staying active get it done. The only thing Arreola can do is stay away from Bermane Stiverne because he just can’t beat him. There simply isn’t one thing Arreola can hang his hat on to hope to beat Stiverne. He can’t beat him by fighting it out more and he can’t out-box him or out-work him. He just doesn’t have the punch, physicality or skill to get by Stiverene. That’s boxing. Maybe someone will beat Stiverne and take his title down the road and Arreola may match up better with him, but as long as Stiverne holds the WBC title, Arreola can’t get it.

The thing Chris needs to do now is take some time off without ballooning up dramatically in weight. His career isn’t over and there are big names and ranked contenders he can beat as long as his confidence isn’t badly shaken. I get the feeling that Stiverne has Arreola’s number more than he is the next great heavyweight, but only time will tell because he is 35 years old. Arreola can stay in the mix as long as he doesn’t let himself become a trial horse and stepping stone. Other than Wladimir Klitschko and Stiverne, Arreola is 50-50 at worst to beat any other heavyweight at the bottom of the top-10, so there’s good reason to take care of himself and try to pick the right fights down the road.

As for Bermane Stiverne; he’s a very gifted heavyweight and would go into a bout versus WBA/WBO/IBF champ Wladimir Klitschko 62-3 (52) with a realistic shot to score the upset because he can box and punch pretty well. That’s something Wladimir hasn’t had to face very often during his reign as champ. He’s faced many challengers who possessed some power but didn’t have the means to deliver it against him. He’s faced a few challengers who could box pretty good but they didn’t have nearly enough physical strength or power to even annoy him let alone beat him.

However, Stiverne appears to be different. Regardless of the misinformation Teddy Atlas spewed during the broadcast regarding who was jabbing better, Stiverne’s jab looked better and quicker in this fight than it did the first time he met Arreola. He also fought with more confidence and seemed more sure of himself. Granted, a lot of that may be he just matches up great with Arreola and has supreme confidence against him. But I think it’s a little more than that. If Stiverne isn’t shaken or unnerved when Wladimir hits him with something big early, his confidence will grow and that could make things interesting as the fight progresses.

Here’s the worst case scenario: Stiverne may not be quite as good as he’s looked against Arreola, but he is a skilled boxer who has enough power to keep Wladimir from just walking over and through him. And if by chance he ever hurt Wladimir with a minute or so left in the round, it’s very plausible that with his hand speed and accuracy he would be capable of finishing him.

I have an idea: how about if the boxing establishment let Klitschko and Stiverne meet for the undisputed title while Deontay Wilder fights a real live contender in the interim, then have the winners meet?

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Frank Lotierzo

Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

Published

4 hours ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his least three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, delivered the coup-de-gras, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

Published

14 hours ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11^th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is the winner of the Feb. 2 match between Brandon Figueroa and Stephen Fulton. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa/Fulton have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

Published

20 hours ago

January 24, 2025

David A. Avila

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Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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