SONAHR: May 11, 2014 – For the first time in a long time, a fighter whose last name is not Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko, and is not of Eastern European origin (i.e., Alexander Povetkin, the Russian former ?regular? WBA belt-holder), holds one of the four major heavyweight titles. When Vitali vacated his WBC championship to immerse himself in the crisis facing the brothers? homeland, Ukraine, he opened the door for a new champion. The WBC then sanctioned a fight between Chris Arreola and Bermane Stiverne to fill the vacancy. Stiverne had won a decision over Arreola last year, but the bout was close enough to warrant a rematch.
On Saturday, Stiverne repeated his win over Arreola, but in much more emphatic fashion. This time, Stiverne, a Haitian by way of Canada, stopped Arreola in the sixth round after dropping the slugger known as ?Nightmare? twice in that frame. Stiverne had decked Arreola in their first fight as well, but that time he couldn?t follow up. This time, he did, and the referee had no choice other than to stop the fight after Arreola lurched to his feet for a second time.
This was no one-sided beatdown, however. Even though he didn?t floor Stiverne, Arreola landed enough big punches to put himself ahead by a single point on two of the judges? scorecards after five rounds. The other judge had Stiverne ahead, also by one point. It was basically a two-sided battering until Stiverne dug deep and turned it up a notch during the fateful sixth. The bout was the kind of crowd-pleasing slugfest that has been conspicuously absent in heavyweight boxing during the Age of the Klitschkos.
Arreola?s best assets have always been his punch and his chin. He still has his punch. However, his chin seems to be crumbling ? at least when he?s fighting Stiverne. Arreola was stopped by Vitali Klitschko in a title bid four years ago, but the big-punching Vitali never had him on the canvas.
In the face of this latest loss, Arreola?s days as a top contender are over. He?s still dangerous, as highly touted prospect Seth Miller found out when Arreola annihilated him in one round last year. But the Stiverne rematch was his last best chance to win a title, and he just couldn?t come through.
As for the triumphant Stiverne, the sky is not the limit. His limit is Wladimir Klitschko, who obviously hopes to add the WBC belt to his collection, which includes the WBA, IBF, WBO and Ring Magazine titles. Although Stiverne showed a lot of heart and power in his war with Arreola, he did not display a style that could neutralize Wladimir?s left jab, which is the best the heavyweight division has seen since that of Larry Holmes. If you can?t get past that jab, you can?t exploit Wladimir?s one weakness, which is his chin.
In the event that a lucrative title-unification match with Klitschko cannot be made before the end of this year, Stiverne has plenty of other options. Contenders whose promoters might harbor some doubt about their charges? chances against Wladimir will be lining up to get a crack at Stiverne. Prominent among these potential opponents are Kubrat Pulev, Tyson Fury, Robert Helenius, and knockout artist Deontay Wilder. A match with any of those foes would make a ton of money for Stiverne, though not as big as the purse he would get for facing Klitschko in Germany.
Stiverne could turn out to be a great champion. Or he could end up merely a footnote like, for example, Shannon Briggs. Either way, he will be remembered for restoring something the moribund heavyweight division has long lacked: excitement.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers. His award-winning novel, Damballa, which centers around a fictional heavyweight title bout, is available at Amazon.com.
