by Johnny Walker
An interesting matchup between two American heavyweights who’ve had their ups and downs lately may soon be a reality as Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola is set to take on Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell on September 6 at the Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, USA.
Mitchell (26-1-1, 19 KOs) recently avenged a knockout loss to Johnathon Banks, though not without some rough patches on the way to a 12 round decision. Banks had Mitchell hurt badly early in the fight, but injuries to his hands slowed him down enough for Mitchell to eke out a win.
Arreola (35-3, 30 KOs), meanwhile, took a tremendous beating from Canadian contender Bermane Stiverne, losing out on his chance to become a mandatory for a fight wi/th Vitali Klitschko. Arreola’s nose was broken by Stiverne and he later needed surgery to correct the problem following the 12-round wide UD win for the Canadian.
Then again, after Arreola being manhandled by Vitali in their initial meeting, later sobbing on national TV, perhaps Vitali-Arreola II wasn’t such a good idea anyway.
“We’re working to get this fight done,” Dan Goossen, Arreola’s promoter, told ESPN.com.
“It’s a great fight for both fighters and I think it’s a great fight fans’ fight. They’ll both come at each other. Fans really love the heavyweights, especially ones that like to get in there and bang with one another.”
In reality, if Arreola approaches this fight with any kind of seriousness–always a question mark with him–it shouldn’t last more than a round or two. As nice a guy as he is, ex-football player Seth Mitchell is a boxing disaster waiting to happen, and a pressure fighter like Arreola should make short work of him.
However, if Arreola waddles into the ring carrying all kinds of excess weight, Mitchell might escape with a win. So this one is pretty much up to Arreola and his trainer Henry Ramirez, who is not always able to convince his charge to take his training seriously.