Stiverne claims WBC title

Bermane Stiverne clinched the vacant
WBC heavyweight title after stopping
Chris Arreola in the sixth round of
their clash in Los Angeles.
Stiverne beat Arreola on points a year
ago but this time finished the job
inside the distance to succeed the
retired Vitali Klitschko as the owner
of the belt.
Arreola was dropped twice in the
sixth and was taking further
punishment when referee Jack Reiss
stepped in to stop the fight.
Canadian fighter Stiverne had not
fought since his first win against
Arreola, while his opponent had
knocked out Seth Mitchell in the
intervening period.
"I studied and studied. I watched my
opponent. I knew I could knock him
out,” Stiverne said.
Plan
“I was patient. The plan was to let
him get comfortable, and he soon as
he gets real comfortable, then crack
him. And that's what I did."
Home town favourite Arreola was sent
to the canvas for the first time by a
right hand and although he managed
to beat the count, he never fully
recovered.
Arreola said: "He has a tremendous
right hand, that's exactly what it was.
I felt like I was winning the fight. He
just got me with the same right
hand. Couldn't get away from it, and
after that, it's all she wrote."
Stiverne becomes the first fighter of
Haitian descent to win the
heavyweight title and break the
monopoly the Klitschkos held over the
division. Vitali’s brother Wladimir still
holds the other three versions of the
world title.
Stiverne, whose mandatory challenger
is the unbeaten American knockout
artist Deontay Wilder, says he is not
yet thinking about his next fight.
"With all due respect, I don't give a
damn about Wilder or Klitschko right
now. Right now, it's about what I
won,” Stiverne said.