The Super Middleweight division is one that features big names, big fighters and a complete cross section of styles. You have the pure boxing of Andre Ward, the warriors of Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler, the explosiveness of Georgre Groves and the crude toughness of Sakio Bika (32-5-2, 21).
Bike, the current WBC champion may not be everyone's cup of tea but he is a fighter who will give everyone a hard night. Tough as old boots, crude, unpredictable and generally rough Bika is throw back fighter to when the fight game was really the fight game. Boxing wise he's horrible, but with a fighters mentality, and head, he is type of caveman who can make life oddly difficult.
Watching Bika would lead one to believe that he was easy to out box. He does almost everything wrong. He walks in straight lines, he throws round house punches on a regular basis and even his jab, when he uses it, seems seems to go the long way round to the target. Yet for some reason he's been able to make even the best boxers in the world, such as Ward, struggle with him as he bores in swings wildly and gives people headaches.
It may be the way Bika uses his head as a third weapon, it may be his unrefined style but he's genuinely a pain in the ass to share a ring with.
The next man to find out just how frustrating Bika is will be the unbeaten Anthony Dirrell (26-0, 22) The brother of one time contender Andre Dirrell, Anthony is a man who was tipped for success though flattered to deceive so far into his career.
With speed, good skills and solid amateur fundamentals Dirrell does, at times, look the real deal. Unfortunately at others he looks a cheap imitation of a good fighter. His record would indicate a deadly puncher but in reality his KO rate has been blown up by fighting a lot of poor foes and his most notable victory has come against Renan St Juste, who injured his arm.
The limitations of Dirrell were clearly on show just 2 fights back when he struggled to a decision over Don Mouton. Mouton took the best that Dirrell had to offer but kept coming forward and genuinely gave Dirrell hell for 8 rounds. If Mouton can do that then there is no doubting that Bika can do the same.
With the trouble Mouton gave Dirrell I can see Bika doing just as well in what will turn out to be a very messy and rough bout
Prediction-Bika SD12
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