Chris Arreola could position himself for a rematch with Vitali Klitschko if he defeats Bermane Stiverne in a proposed WBC heavyweight title eliminator.
Bob Arum said Julio Cesar Chavez could fight Brian Vera next, and eventually, Andre Ward.
Arreola-Stiverne WBC purse bid on Saturday
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 A purse bid is being held on Saturday for a WBC elimination bout between heavyweight contenders Chris Arreola, of Riveside, Calif., and Haitian-born Bermane Stiverne, of Las Vegas, according to Arreola's promoter, Dan Goossen. The winner of Arreola-Stiverne would be in line to challenge 41-year-old WBC titleholder Vitali Klitschko (45-2, 41 knockouts), who scored his 13th straight win and his 10th stoppage victory during that run against Manuel Charr (21-1, 11 KOs) on Sept. 8. The 6-foot-4 Arreola (35-2, 30 KOs) will be after his eighth straight win, his sixth knockout during that span and his third consecutive stoppage victory against Stiverne (22-1-1, 20 KOs). Arreola, 31, has not been in the ring since February, when he came up with a first-round knockout over Eric Molina (19-2, 14 KOs). Arreola suffered his two losses against Klitschko by 10th-round knockout in September 2009, and by majority decision to Tomasz Adamek in April of 2010. Stiverne, 33, is 10-0-1, with eight knockouts in his past 11 fights, including five first-round stoppages during that time. Stiverne's lone defeat was by fourth-round knockout against Demetrice King in July of 2007. "We've got a purse bid coming up on Saturday in Las Vegas, and that will determine who, what and where," said Goossen. "It's the WBC version for the mandatory position to face Vitali Klitschko against Bermane Stiverne, and we definitely want to get it in this year." Photo by Naoki Fukuda Lem Satterfield can be reached at lemuel.satterfield@gmail.com |