WBC orders Bermane Stiverne vs Chris Arreola rematch for vacant heavyweight title

Days after moving the inactive Vitali Klitschko to "champion emeritus" status, the WBC has voted in favor of a rematch between Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola to fill its heavyweight title vacancy.

Stiverne (23-1-1, 20 KO) hasn't fought since he blasted Arreola (36-3, 31 KO) over 12 rounds in April, while Arreola returned in September and put the final knockout blow on the hype job that was Seth Mitchell. The two are currently ranked 1-2 by the WBC.

In normal terms, there's no particularly good reason for a rematch between the two, as Stiverne blew Arreola out of the water and dominated their fight. The Haitian-born Stiverne was waiting to set up a mandatory fight with Klitschko, but as the months went by, it became apparent that Klitschko's focus was on his political aspirations, and not his boxing career.

The argument against the fight is obvious, but however you slice it, they're the WBC's two top-ranked contenders, and by their rules that they ignore when convenient, that means this is the right fight to make.