The beat goes on. Riverside’s Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (35-2, 30 KOs) will fight Bermane Stiverne (22-1-1, 20 KOs) of Las Vegas on Saturday, April 27 at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California said Dan Goossen, president of Goossen Tutor Promotions.
Rescheduled after Arreola was forced to postpone a previously scheduled fight with Stiverne due to illness, the crowd-pleasing heavyweight was thrilled with the new date.
“I’m glad we were able to reschedule this terrific heavyweight matchup so the boxing fans can look forward to an exciting night of action on HBO® with the heavyweight showdown between Cristobal Arreola and Bermane Stiverne,” said Kery Davis, Senior Vice President of Programming, HBO® Sports.
“The illness that forced me to pull out of the fight was unfortunate but I am very happy to once again be healthy and thankful to my promoter Goossen Tutor and HBO for rescheduling my fight,” stated Arreola. “Being less than 100% against an opponent like Stiverne and in a fight of this magnitude would not have been the best decision for my career. I’m back in training camp, completely healthy and fully motivated for April 27.”
Said Dan Goossen, “Heavyweights, especially hard-hitting, aggressive heavyweights, always get the fans excited, and this is a perfect fight to display that excitement.”
Said Stiverne, “The thing about Arreola is he’s a tough customer, but I have noticed that all of his opponents seem to fight the same way. They come into the ring with great intentions before falling into his traps. They have a game plan but they seem to forget. They follow the plan for a few rounds and then they let him take over. I will not do that. I’m bringing my ax to the fight and I’m going to chop the tree down.”
“Arreola is successful at intimidation but you can’t intimidate me. The fans are going to see the best Bermane Stiverne there is. I plan to impress and move to the next level.”
“This fight with Arreola became personal for me after the postponement. I’ve been going back and forth for so long waiting for this fight to happen that I’m now taking this personally. Time spent with my friends and family has been taken away from me, so it’s good he and I are finally going to get it on in Southern California on April 27.”
“It’ll be a great fight between Arreola and Stiverne,” Stiverne’s promoter, Don King, predicted. “It’s the next step in bringing the world championship back to America. The fight is a must see.”
In addition, being showcased that night will be Olympian twin brothers from Norwalk, CA, Javier (13-1, 5KOs), the 2008 US Olympian and Oscar Molina (2-0, 1KO), the 2012 Mexican Olympian. Also featured in a 4-round bout, the pride of the Ten Goose Gym, up-and-coming Juan Funez (1-0) of Van Nuys.
Arreola and Stiverne, the WBC #1 and #2 world rated heavyweights, respectively, face each other in the “Boxing Before Dark” 12-round WBC World Championship Heavyweight Elimination main event, with the winner guaranteed to immediately fight for the World Championship.
Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, plus fees, will go on sale this Saturday, March 16 at the Citizens Business Bank Arena Box-Office (open Monday-Saturday) or online at AXS.com or call AXS at 888-929-7849.
