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WBC and Lineal World light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson successfully defended his title with an at times hard fought unanimous decision over former super middleweight title holder Sakio Bika in Quebec.
Stevenson was credited with a knockdown in Round 6 and then scored a legitimate knockdown in Round 9 but Bika’s gameness, combined with Stevenson’s playful and lazy attitude at times, kept the fight entertaining. Scores were 115-111, 116-110 and 116-110 all for Stevenson, who makes the fifth defence of his titles.
‘Superman’ controlled the distance from the outset but Bika was slipping his dangerous left hand well and managed to back the champion up early in the first and third rounds, occasionally cornering Stevenson or trapping him on the ropes where he scored to the body.
Rounds 2 and 4 were dominated by Stevenson’s range and left hand and he looked to have buckled Bika briefly in the second and might have even scored a knockdown if he didn’t come down on top of him. Round 5 was all Stevenson, who turned up his pace and was scoring with a variety of left hands both straight down the middle and around Bika’s guard.
Cameroon-born Bika had success early in the sixth round employing the same tactics, but after taking a right hand towards the end of the round their feet became tangled and Bika went down. The knockdown looked fair enough from the original camera angle but replays suggested it was the feet more than the force of the punch.
Bika had solid rounds in the seventh and eighth, scoring to the body and coming over the top with his right hand, but Stevenson switched gears in the ninth, upping his work-rate, throwing more uppercuts and starting to work the body more.
After taking a lot of punishment in this round a straight left landed square on Bika’s chin and he went down. Bika rose at the count of five but was wobbly and was likely saved by the bell at the conclusion of the mandatory eight count.
Stevenson dominated the tenth with his range and his increased variety of left hands, continuing his tactics from Round 9, but Bika finished the stronger of the two men, taking the final two rounds. Round 11 saw Bika work Stevenson over on the ropes and the 12th was all Bika.
While Stevenson appeared to be toying with the Australian resident and Bika never looked close to reliving Jeff Harding’s 12th round heroics against Dennis Andries, these last two rounds were clearly Bika’s. I felt Stevenson won the bout in Round 3, 11 and 12.
This win for Stevenson hopefully sets up a mouth watering clash with WBA/WBO/IBF title holder Sergey Kovalev. While Stevenson has the claim to the lineal belt it’s hard to justify him as the number one until he faces Kovalev, considering the victories Sergey has scored.
For Bika it’s hard to see him back on the world stage without scoring another big win after his losses to Dirrell and Stevenson. While his efforts were solid in both, perhaps a return to Australia and fights with the likes of Blake Caparello or New Zealander Robert Berridge would be a solid and entertaining way for him to bounce back from his recent setbacks.
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