Saturday, July 16, 8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT
Wilder vs Arreola
Vasquez vs Diaz
Live on FOX
A world heavyweight title fight … in prime time … on free network television? No, you haven’t time-traveled back to 1985. It’s really happening tonight. Not only that, but there’s a tasty appetizer between a couple of talented 147-pound contenders with a combined professional record of 38-1.
So gather your friends, put the beers on ice and tune into Fox at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, when the fists start flying from Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
Deontay Wilder
WINS LOSSES DRAWS KO
36 0 0 35
Chris Arreola
WINS LOSSES DRAWS KO
36 4 1 31
Chris Arreola
226.2 lbs (102.82 kg) WEIGHT
246.2 lbs (111.91 kg)
6’7″ (2.1 m) HEIGHT
6’3″ (1.91 m)
Deontay Wilder and down time go together about as well as plaid pants and a striped shirt. So after a ring hiatus that has lasted exactly six months – the longest break of his professional career – the heavyweight champion is champing at the bit to smash a face with his fists.
Well, the wait ends tonight, when Wilder makes the fourth defense of his crown about an hour’s drive from his lifelong home of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The face that “The Bronze Bomber” gets to hit belongs to Chris Arreola, a veteran fighter who will try for a third time to win a world championship. If he does so, Arreola will not only score one of the biggest upsets in recent boxing history, but he’ll become the first fighter of Mexican descent to become a heavyweight champion.
Here’s why the odds are stacked against the 35-year-old Arreola: Nobody has defeated the 30-year-old Wilder in his 36 career fights. What’s more, 35 of those 36 opponents met their demise before the final bell.
But hey, as they say, all it takes is one punch to make history. And with 31 KOs among his 36 victories, Arreola certainly has the power to shock the world.
FIGHT DETAILS
Vasquez
WINS LOSSES DRAWS KO
21 0 0 15
Diaz
WINS LOSSES DRAWS KO
17 1 0 8
Felix Diaz
146.8 lbs (66.73 kg) WEIGHT
145.8 lbs (66.27 kg)
5’10” (1.78 m) HEIGHT
5’5″ (1.65 m)
There’s no question that Sammy Vasquez Jr. is one of the most talented up-and-coming fighters in the stacked 147-pound division. There’s also no doubt that Vasquez – much to his dismay – has yet to face top-level competition.
That changes tonight, when the 30-year-old U.S. Army National Guard veteran goes toe-to-toe with fellow southpaw Felix Diaz, a two-time Olympian who won gold for his native Dominican Republic at the 2008 Games.
Diaz won his first 16 professional fights, and some would argue he won his 17th as well, having given former 140-pound champion Lamont Peterson fits for 12 hard-hitting, action-packed rounds. Diaz came out on the short end of a majority decision in that October 17 contest, but even in defeat the 32-year-old showed he’s a top-level fighter.
As was the case against Peterson, Diaz will have to be at his best to hang the first “L” on Vasquez, a slick boxer-puncher who is coming off January’s sixth-round stoppage of Aron Martinez – “The Sergeant’s” 10th knockout in his last 12 fights.
The Fighting News will be watching
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