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
Showing posts with label WBC Super Middleweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WBC Super Middleweight. Show all posts
Thursday, 5 December 2013
Thursday, 20 June 2013
Sakio Bika v Marco Antonio Periban
One of this weekend's most promising, though most overlooked bouts, see's multi-time world title challenger Sakio Bika (31-5-2, 21) facing off against Mexican power puncher Marco Antonio Periban (20-0, 13) in a bout for the recently vacated WBC Super Middleweight title.
The division, one of boxing's best with the likes of Andre Ward, Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler and Robert Stieglitz has been one of the sports most interesting over the past few years and this bout, whilst a "low level world title bout" again has the feeling of "interesting" about it.
Of the two men Bika is by far the more well known fighter. In a 38 fight career he has faced a genuine who's who including (but by no means limited to) Sam Soliman (twice), Markus Bayer, Joe Calzaghe, Lucien Bute, Peter Manfredo Jr and Andre Ward. Although he's only beaten Soliman and Manfredo from that list no one has had an easy night with him (with Ward having one of his toughest fights against him).
The reason no one has an easy night with Bika is because he's teak tough, very wild, throws punches from bizarre angles and doesn't mind being dirty. He's crude, clumsy, hard hitting and built like a rock. In fact the only time I remember him ever being down was when Jaidon Codrington dropped him in an excellent opening round in the final of "The Contender" season 3.
Born in Cameroon though based in Australia, Bika is a man who really should be avoided by fighters wanting to make a name for themselves. He has impressively won 9 of his last 11 bouts and of 6 of those have come by stoppage. His 2 losses in that run have come against Ward and to Jean-Paul Mendy, with the loss to Mendy being a case of Bika getting himself disqualified with a stupid punch when Mendy was down.
Aged 34 however and with just a sole fight (a 12 round decision win over Nikola Sjekloca) in the last year, Bika certainly isn't a fighter in his peak. He has only fought 3 times in the last 30 months and whilst that may help his longevity there are questions about how much he has left in the tank. He did look to have been technically improved against Sjekloca but Sjekloca himself looked limited (but brave).
With Bika being a clear "world level" fighter this will be the first big step up for Mexican Marco Antonio Periban, a fighter many haven't really seen.
Periban is a rare Mexican Super Middleweight and one who does have genuine power (despite his record "only" showing a 65% stoppage rate). He's been slowly climbing the rankings since 2008 and although he has scored victories over several "known names" they aren't known on the world stage. In fact the best victory on his record is probably Francisco Sierra (who was stopped by George Groves) or Samuel Miller (who had been beaten by Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez and Alex Theran in his 2 of his 3 previous bouts).
Although Periban has got lights out power he's a very slow fighter who often waits too long to let his hands go, has poor footwork and pretty weak defense. He can certainly be outboxed very easily by a proper boxer and he has been hurt in the past by lesser punchers than Bika.
Despite being just 28 Periban seems to have stopped improving in recent bouts and this is a bit of a worry when he's not making the step up to world class.
With both men having power this will likely be an explosive contest. I'd expect the odd head clash though with Bika being a tough so-and-so it's hard to go against him. Bika will almost certainly be willing to force a war with Periban and if that does happen there's only one winner.
For Periban to win he needs to be able to hurt Bika and control the pace of the bout, it's hard to imagine him doing either of those. I'd imagine that Bika will walk through Periban's slow but hurtful shots whilst ping his own wild hurtful hooks around the side of the head of the Mexican and eventually force a stoppage.
Prediction- Bika by stoppage TKO7
The division, one of boxing's best with the likes of Andre Ward, Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler and Robert Stieglitz has been one of the sports most interesting over the past few years and this bout, whilst a "low level world title bout" again has the feeling of "interesting" about it.
Of the two men Bika is by far the more well known fighter. In a 38 fight career he has faced a genuine who's who including (but by no means limited to) Sam Soliman (twice), Markus Bayer, Joe Calzaghe, Lucien Bute, Peter Manfredo Jr and Andre Ward. Although he's only beaten Soliman and Manfredo from that list no one has had an easy night with him (with Ward having one of his toughest fights against him).
The reason no one has an easy night with Bika is because he's teak tough, very wild, throws punches from bizarre angles and doesn't mind being dirty. He's crude, clumsy, hard hitting and built like a rock. In fact the only time I remember him ever being down was when Jaidon Codrington dropped him in an excellent opening round in the final of "The Contender" season 3.
Born in Cameroon though based in Australia, Bika is a man who really should be avoided by fighters wanting to make a name for themselves. He has impressively won 9 of his last 11 bouts and of 6 of those have come by stoppage. His 2 losses in that run have come against Ward and to Jean-Paul Mendy, with the loss to Mendy being a case of Bika getting himself disqualified with a stupid punch when Mendy was down.
Aged 34 however and with just a sole fight (a 12 round decision win over Nikola Sjekloca) in the last year, Bika certainly isn't a fighter in his peak. He has only fought 3 times in the last 30 months and whilst that may help his longevity there are questions about how much he has left in the tank. He did look to have been technically improved against Sjekloca but Sjekloca himself looked limited (but brave).
With Bika being a clear "world level" fighter this will be the first big step up for Mexican Marco Antonio Periban, a fighter many haven't really seen.
Periban is a rare Mexican Super Middleweight and one who does have genuine power (despite his record "only" showing a 65% stoppage rate). He's been slowly climbing the rankings since 2008 and although he has scored victories over several "known names" they aren't known on the world stage. In fact the best victory on his record is probably Francisco Sierra (who was stopped by George Groves) or Samuel Miller (who had been beaten by Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez and Alex Theran in his 2 of his 3 previous bouts).
Although Periban has got lights out power he's a very slow fighter who often waits too long to let his hands go, has poor footwork and pretty weak defense. He can certainly be outboxed very easily by a proper boxer and he has been hurt in the past by lesser punchers than Bika.
Despite being just 28 Periban seems to have stopped improving in recent bouts and this is a bit of a worry when he's not making the step up to world class.
With both men having power this will likely be an explosive contest. I'd expect the odd head clash though with Bika being a tough so-and-so it's hard to go against him. Bika will almost certainly be willing to force a war with Periban and if that does happen there's only one winner.
For Periban to win he needs to be able to hurt Bika and control the pace of the bout, it's hard to imagine him doing either of those. I'd imagine that Bika will walk through Periban's slow but hurtful shots whilst ping his own wild hurtful hooks around the side of the head of the Mexican and eventually force a stoppage.
Prediction- Bika by stoppage TKO7
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
Andre Ward v Chad Dawson
Whilst many fights have excitement written all over them the upcoming Super Middleweight title bout between the WBC and WBA "super" champion Andre Ward (25-0, 13) and current WBC Light Heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (31-1-0-2, 17) really has "stinker" written all over it.
Despite being the current WBC Light Heavyweight champion Chad Dawson will be dropping 7lbs to challenge for the Super Middleweight titles, a decision that I personally feel he will regret, however it is an in-built excuse for a loss.
Dawson made his professional debut back in 2001 after having had a solid Amateur career which saw him defeating current WBA Light Heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov and claiming a number of amateur medals (notably a Bronze at the 2000 World Junior Championships). As a professional he showed a lot of early promise and quickly raced to the WBC Youth World Middleweight title in a little over 2 years.
Over the following years Dawson continued to rise through the rankings not only defending his WBC Youth title at Middleweight but also claiming the WBO NABO Super Middleweight title before finally moving to Light Heavyweight in 2006. It was at 175lbs that the athletically built Dawson really excelled and in early 2007 he claimed the first world title of his professional career as he out pointed the then unbeaten Tomaz Adamek for the WBC world title.
As the WBC champion Dawson made 3 title defenses with the highlight of them being a controversial decision win over veteran Glen Johnson. Instead of facing his mandatory challenger Dawson gave up his WBC title to instead face the IBF champion Antonio Tarver. Against Tarver we saw Dawson looking sensational as he claimed his second professional title and further secured his claim as one of the elite fighters at 175lbs. It seemed as if Dawson was on his way to becoming a major name in the sport but sadly he wasted the following year by rematching both Tarver and Johnson as his career started to stand still. What made those bouts worse for Dawson was that he merely looked to be going through the motions and doing just enough to bag enough rounds to win.
Things went from bad to worse for Dawson as he suffered his first (and so far only) professional loss just over 2 years ago losing to the Canadian based Haitian Jean Pascal. Sadly Dawson again attempted to do just enough to steal rounds, this time however it failed and after a clash of heads in round 11 left Dawson with a nasty gash the bout was taken to the cards early with the decision favouring Pascal. It was hoped by many that the loss to Pascal would ignite the fire under Dawson however just 9 months later on Dawson's return he again looked like a fighter who didn't really want to fight.
Dawson eventually re-claimed the WBC Light Heavyweight by defeating the legendary Bernard Hopkins (who had dethroned Pascal) on the second of trying after their first bout ended in a bizarre no contest.
In terms of style Dawson is a true frustration to watch. He's quick, he's powerful, he moves very well and throws some of the most wonderful combinations seen in the higher weights sadly however he's incredibly lazy in the ring and often fights down to his opponents level rather than attempting to impose himself on the fight and dominate his opponent with his strengths. If a trainer to could force Dawson to listen to him and follow instructions then Dawson has the potential to be something very special. As well a being naturally blessed with amazing speed Dawson is also blessed with a huge wingspan and a 76" reach, something that he can, when he's switched on, use amazingly well with his straight shots, though again it's a case of actually getting him to throw punches.
Whilst Dawson has made his name at Light Heavyweight and will be coming down, Andre Ward has made his reputation in the Super Middleweight division where he stands as the divisions kingpin. Not only is Ward the WBA "super" and WBC champion at 168lbs but he was also the winner of the inaugural "Super 6 Boxing Classic", a competition that saw him defeating Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham and Mikkel Kessler.
Like Dawson, Ward first made his name in the amateur ranks, however as an Amateur Ward was much, much more decorated. Not only did he run up a record of 114-5, he was also undefeated in several years, a multi-time national champion and most notably an Olympic Gold Medal winner.
Having won Gold at the Athens Olympics Ward soon turned professional and debuted at the end of 2004 by fighting as a Middleweight. Over the first few years of his career Ward slowly climbed the rankings, often defeating more experienced professionals with out too much trouble, though he did struggle with journeyman Darnell Boone.
Since 2009 Ward has become a fixture at the top of the Super Middleweight division having scored notable wins over Edison Miranda, Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green, Sakio Bika, Arthur Abraham (who won the WBO Super Middleweight title just a few weeks ago) and Carl Froch. It was the win over Kessler, in November 2009 that really put Ward on the boxing map as he out fought, out slicked and thoroughly out-boxed the highly regarded Dane to claim the WBA "super" title. The win over Carl Froch in December 2011 saw Ward then adding the WBC title to his collection and further proving he was the top dog.
Ward is a very skilled operator who despite his poor KO record is incredibly strong, very quick (with his hands, feet and body movement), slippery both inside and outside and has an uncanny knack of rarely being caught clean. At distance his jab is excellent and disrupts the rhythm opponents whilst up close Ward works hard to both the body and head of opponents whilst neutralising opponents excellently. Whilst he's a hugely gifted boxer he can be rather dull to watch due to many of his bouts becoming mauls, however he does have the ability to dominate fights with ease.
Going into the fight the biggest question is how will the weight effect Dawson? He's looked massive at Light Heavyweight and many feel he has had to drain himself to make 175lbs the extra 7lbs may make a huge difference to Dawson's durability and stamina. If he can make the weight with out damaging himself he could be a serious threat with his speed and combinations. If he can't make the weight with out issues he could find himself in an incredibly difficult bout.
For Dawson to win he needs to hope that not only he can cope with the lower weight but that he get up for this fight and actually keep up a solid pace. His usual style of working in short bursts with his electric hand speed simply won't work here as Ward will be on him. Dawson will not only need to be busier than usual but will also have to use his reach advantage (around 5") to try and neutralise Ward's excellent jab and keep him at range. If (and that' a big "if") he can put his foot on the gas for more than 45 seconds a round and use his jab he could surprise Ward and make this a competitive bout. If however the weight issue effects Dawson's stamina negatively this could be a long and hard night for him.
For Ward the key is to get inside the reach of Dawson and whilst he may have a very good jab himself, Wards reach disadvantage will be very noticeable. Thankfully for Ward he often finds a way to slip punches as he tries to get inside an opponent and bully them up close where he is sensational. When he gets inside of Dawson the inside work will seriously pay dividends and I imagine Ward will work the body well up close which should not only test the stamina of Dawson but also help slow the fast hands of the taller man.
If Dawson can stay active with his jab and keep Ward at range this could be a very even bout, however I can't help but think that Ward, with his excellent defense and work up close will do enough secure a decision. This could be the toughest bout of Ward's career if (and only if) Dawson can actually let his hands go with some regularity, though it's much more likely that Dawson will do little more than flurry once or twice a round whilst Ward smothers and lands up close in an unexciting 12 maul.
Prediction-Ward by decision in a rather mundane affair that has promise but never really springs to life.
For gamblers-
Ward is the a favourite at around 4/11 whilst Dawson is priced as high as 3/1.
Despite being the current WBC Light Heavyweight champion Chad Dawson will be dropping 7lbs to challenge for the Super Middleweight titles, a decision that I personally feel he will regret, however it is an in-built excuse for a loss.
Dawson made his professional debut back in 2001 after having had a solid Amateur career which saw him defeating current WBA Light Heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov and claiming a number of amateur medals (notably a Bronze at the 2000 World Junior Championships). As a professional he showed a lot of early promise and quickly raced to the WBC Youth World Middleweight title in a little over 2 years.
Over the following years Dawson continued to rise through the rankings not only defending his WBC Youth title at Middleweight but also claiming the WBO NABO Super Middleweight title before finally moving to Light Heavyweight in 2006. It was at 175lbs that the athletically built Dawson really excelled and in early 2007 he claimed the first world title of his professional career as he out pointed the then unbeaten Tomaz Adamek for the WBC world title.
As the WBC champion Dawson made 3 title defenses with the highlight of them being a controversial decision win over veteran Glen Johnson. Instead of facing his mandatory challenger Dawson gave up his WBC title to instead face the IBF champion Antonio Tarver. Against Tarver we saw Dawson looking sensational as he claimed his second professional title and further secured his claim as one of the elite fighters at 175lbs. It seemed as if Dawson was on his way to becoming a major name in the sport but sadly he wasted the following year by rematching both Tarver and Johnson as his career started to stand still. What made those bouts worse for Dawson was that he merely looked to be going through the motions and doing just enough to bag enough rounds to win.
Things went from bad to worse for Dawson as he suffered his first (and so far only) professional loss just over 2 years ago losing to the Canadian based Haitian Jean Pascal. Sadly Dawson again attempted to do just enough to steal rounds, this time however it failed and after a clash of heads in round 11 left Dawson with a nasty gash the bout was taken to the cards early with the decision favouring Pascal. It was hoped by many that the loss to Pascal would ignite the fire under Dawson however just 9 months later on Dawson's return he again looked like a fighter who didn't really want to fight.
Dawson eventually re-claimed the WBC Light Heavyweight by defeating the legendary Bernard Hopkins (who had dethroned Pascal) on the second of trying after their first bout ended in a bizarre no contest.
In terms of style Dawson is a true frustration to watch. He's quick, he's powerful, he moves very well and throws some of the most wonderful combinations seen in the higher weights sadly however he's incredibly lazy in the ring and often fights down to his opponents level rather than attempting to impose himself on the fight and dominate his opponent with his strengths. If a trainer to could force Dawson to listen to him and follow instructions then Dawson has the potential to be something very special. As well a being naturally blessed with amazing speed Dawson is also blessed with a huge wingspan and a 76" reach, something that he can, when he's switched on, use amazingly well with his straight shots, though again it's a case of actually getting him to throw punches.
Whilst Dawson has made his name at Light Heavyweight and will be coming down, Andre Ward has made his reputation in the Super Middleweight division where he stands as the divisions kingpin. Not only is Ward the WBA "super" and WBC champion at 168lbs but he was also the winner of the inaugural "Super 6 Boxing Classic", a competition that saw him defeating Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham and Mikkel Kessler.
Like Dawson, Ward first made his name in the amateur ranks, however as an Amateur Ward was much, much more decorated. Not only did he run up a record of 114-5, he was also undefeated in several years, a multi-time national champion and most notably an Olympic Gold Medal winner.
Having won Gold at the Athens Olympics Ward soon turned professional and debuted at the end of 2004 by fighting as a Middleweight. Over the first few years of his career Ward slowly climbed the rankings, often defeating more experienced professionals with out too much trouble, though he did struggle with journeyman Darnell Boone.
Since 2009 Ward has become a fixture at the top of the Super Middleweight division having scored notable wins over Edison Miranda, Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green, Sakio Bika, Arthur Abraham (who won the WBO Super Middleweight title just a few weeks ago) and Carl Froch. It was the win over Kessler, in November 2009 that really put Ward on the boxing map as he out fought, out slicked and thoroughly out-boxed the highly regarded Dane to claim the WBA "super" title. The win over Carl Froch in December 2011 saw Ward then adding the WBC title to his collection and further proving he was the top dog.
Ward is a very skilled operator who despite his poor KO record is incredibly strong, very quick (with his hands, feet and body movement), slippery both inside and outside and has an uncanny knack of rarely being caught clean. At distance his jab is excellent and disrupts the rhythm opponents whilst up close Ward works hard to both the body and head of opponents whilst neutralising opponents excellently. Whilst he's a hugely gifted boxer he can be rather dull to watch due to many of his bouts becoming mauls, however he does have the ability to dominate fights with ease.
Going into the fight the biggest question is how will the weight effect Dawson? He's looked massive at Light Heavyweight and many feel he has had to drain himself to make 175lbs the extra 7lbs may make a huge difference to Dawson's durability and stamina. If he can make the weight with out damaging himself he could be a serious threat with his speed and combinations. If he can't make the weight with out issues he could find himself in an incredibly difficult bout.
For Dawson to win he needs to hope that not only he can cope with the lower weight but that he get up for this fight and actually keep up a solid pace. His usual style of working in short bursts with his electric hand speed simply won't work here as Ward will be on him. Dawson will not only need to be busier than usual but will also have to use his reach advantage (around 5") to try and neutralise Ward's excellent jab and keep him at range. If (and that' a big "if") he can put his foot on the gas for more than 45 seconds a round and use his jab he could surprise Ward and make this a competitive bout. If however the weight issue effects Dawson's stamina negatively this could be a long and hard night for him.
For Ward the key is to get inside the reach of Dawson and whilst he may have a very good jab himself, Wards reach disadvantage will be very noticeable. Thankfully for Ward he often finds a way to slip punches as he tries to get inside an opponent and bully them up close where he is sensational. When he gets inside of Dawson the inside work will seriously pay dividends and I imagine Ward will work the body well up close which should not only test the stamina of Dawson but also help slow the fast hands of the taller man.
If Dawson can stay active with his jab and keep Ward at range this could be a very even bout, however I can't help but think that Ward, with his excellent defense and work up close will do enough secure a decision. This could be the toughest bout of Ward's career if (and only if) Dawson can actually let his hands go with some regularity, though it's much more likely that Dawson will do little more than flurry once or twice a round whilst Ward smothers and lands up close in an unexciting 12 maul.
Prediction-Ward by decision in a rather mundane affair that has promise but never really springs to life.
For gamblers-
Ward is the a favourite at around 4/11 whilst Dawson is priced as high as 3/1.
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