Travis Kauffman versus Chris Arreola Upped To 12 Rounds on NBC Tonight
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
*Photo Credit: Real Combat Media
Houston, TX (December 12, 2015)– NBC television and Al Haymon’s Premiere Boxing champions will present a 15 bout card on Saturday evening, December 12, 2015, featuring a 10 round heavyweight crossroads bout between Travis ‘My Time’ Kauffman and Chris ‘Nightmare’ Arreola. The card will go live at 8:30 P.M. ET, 5:30 P.M. PT.
Arreola, 36-4-1 with 31 knockouts, Escondido, California, is ranked 13th in the world by the World Boxing Council. Kauffman, 30-1 with 22 knockouts, Reading, Pennsylvania, is ranked 13th by the WBA NABA. Kauffman was in the WBA top 15 heavyweights but fell off that ranking due to inactivity between February 2014 and July 2015 due to surgery.
Kauffman is predicted to win by majority decision over ten rounds. The issue has to do not with Kauffman’s record. He lacks the titular bout experience Arreola has. However, in losses to Vitali Klitschko, Tomasz Adamek, Bermane Stiverne and a draw with Fred Kassi, Arreola has fallen short of the mark. A win over football player turned boxer Seth Mitchell proved nothing. Arreola could not stand up to the world class pounding Stiverne gave him, and at 34, Arreola has faded to journeyman status.
Kauffman has to do the work, and the right kind of work to win this bout. He cannot stand in front of Arreola, he must have low enough weight to move against Arreola, he must use height and reach to outbox Arreola, and he needs the sort of power shot power to break Arreola down and slow Arreola down. Kauffman can do it. However, anything less than this sort of maximum potential performance from Kauffman, and the hard punching Arreola will look to take Kauffman out if the target is there, and Arreola discovers he is not challenged significantly by his longtime sparring partner friend. Arreola may feel he knows Kauffman as the overweight sparring partner from years ago. However, Bernard Hopkins trainer Naazim Richardson has done a great deal of work with Kauffman in recent years.
Experts describe this bout as do or die for Arreola. This report disagrees, as Arreola is no longer at heavyweight challenger status. Arreola has become the gatekeeper of the heavyweight division, sort of a Jesus Soto Karass above 200 pounds. Arreola is a 1950’s style rock’em sock’em puncher. He can and will get you out of there is you try to stand and fight with him. Against technical type boxers like Fred Kassi and Manuel Quezada who knew how to move, Arreola chased for 10 and 12 rounds, without being able to take either man out.
Kauffman has his work cut out for him. Arreola believes this will be the televised fight of the year. Not quite, but it is the most interesting and significant bout on this action packed card, as the preliminary to the main event. If both fighters are afraid to hit each other and the bout turns into a weird defensive gem like Amir Mansour versus Joey Dawejko was, he who has the superior offensive output would get the decision. In any case, Arreola is not thinking decision, and well he should not, which means Kauffman cannot make mistakes.
In a battle of former world champions who apparently can no longer make weight where they belong, Antonio DeMarco is predicted to defeat Omar Figueroa Jr. in the main event by late round TKO, simply because the bout is going off at super welterweight 154 pounds, when both fighters are supposed to be fighting at 140 pounds super lightweight. Figueroa, 25-0-1 with 18 knockouts, Weslaco, Texas, has home field advantage in Texas, but is really a lightweight.
DeMarco, 31-5-1, 23 knockouts, a southpaw from Tijuana, Mexico, is coming off questionable decision losses to fighters with a combined record of 47-0. DeMarco punches hard, and has the unique ability to get inside fearlessly and wage war with Edwin Valero, Adrien Broner and other notables. To win DeMarco must take Figueroa out. A decision will heavily favor Figueroa if DeMarco cannot take him out. Neither fighter has a future at 154 pounds. It would be like trying to flight Floyd Mayweather Jr. at light heavyweight or heavyweight. It will never happen for either of the two fighters in the junior middleweight division. Make weight, before your career has it too late, my advice to these fighters.
Other Predictions
Terrell Gausha Win 10 Said El Harrak, Middleweights
Hugo Centeno Jr. TKO 9 Josue Ovando, Super Middleweights
Mario Barrios Win 8, Manuel Vides, Super Featherweights
Justin DeLoach TKO 6 Santos Benavides, Middleweights
Victor Ortiz KO 9 Gilberto Sanchez Leon, Super Welterweights
Lanell Bellows Win 8 Michael Gbenga, Light Heavyweights
Adam Lopez TKO 4 Eric Aiken, Featherweights
Semajay Thomas TKO 3 Farkhad Sharipov, Super Lightweights
Javier Rodriguez Win 4 Alejandro Moreno, Super Bantamweights
Steve Hall KO 3 Adam Eatoms, Super Welterweight
Rickey Edwards TKO 2 Ariel Paez, Super Lightweights
Brandon Figueroa Win 4 Francisco Muro, Super Bantamweights
Brandon Chaulker TKO 3 Rodolfo Zamora, Lightweights
In a Real Combat Media international exclusive, it was learned this morning the Travis Kauffman versus Chris Arreola heavyweight co-main event bout on NBC television has been upped to 12 rounds and will have a vacant Texas State heavyweight title belt at stake.
Kauffman corner man Jeff Negrelli provided the information by telephone from San Antonio, Texas. Negrelli stated the Kauffman corner was confident. Negrelli added the Kauffman versus Arreola heavyweight bout would be televised first on NBC, with the Antonio DeMarco versus Omar Figueroa Jr. super welterweight bout to follow. Given DeMarco and Figueroa are overblown lightweights, and former world champions, their overweight bout will be televised but is of lesser interest to boxing experts-as they are fighting by mutual agreement several boxing divisions above where they actually belong,
Kaufman weighed in yesterday at 236.5 pounds, Arreola 236.4 pounds. Both men stand 6’3” and has a 76 inch reach, making the 12 round bout a statistical dead heat. Kauffman, with 30 wins in 31 bouts, has everything to gain, and Arreola, who has failed to win the big fight five times and has everything to lose. Kauffman has the speed, Arreola the power. The edge will go to the busier fighter who can dominate both attributes.
The edge goes to Kauffman if he can outwork Arreola while not offering a stationary target, as Arreola’s stamina comes into question when he cannot chase his opponent.
The edge will go to Arreola if Kauffman gets caught not moving, like Tommy Morrison did against Ray Mercer, and Arreola did to Seth Mitchell. Trainer Naazim Richardson and Marshall Kauffman are aware of this and will enforce a stick and move game plan, in which Arreola will eventually get broken down. Arreola will go in headhunting for an early knockout and test what Kauffman has. If he cannot find him, Arreola will be in for a long night taking a pounding from Kauffman trying to chase him without a ‘Plan B’.
By 12 round history, Kauffman is in uncharted waters, but is a fresh fighter good to go for this heavyweight challenge. Arreola did not beat Tomasz Adamek or Vitali Klitschko in titular bouts of 12 rounds duration, so the edge in the longer fighter goes to Kauffman. The winner of Kauffman-Arreola could get a big bucks shot at WBC champion Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury, or the winner of the vacant IBF Heavyweight title bout between Vyacheslav Glaskov and Charles Martin. Whichever is the hungrier, Kauffman or Arreola, will have the edge and the victory tonight.
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