By Lem Satterfield
Unbeaten WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (22-0, 13 KOs) is getting ready to fight Australia's Sakio Bika (28-4-2, 19 KOs) on November 27 in Oakland The bout is being held outside of Showtime's Super Six Boxing Classic. In Bika's last fight in July, he was disqualified in the first round against Jean Paul Mendy of France. Bika hit and knocked Mendy out cold while the fighter was down in their IBF super middleweight eliminator bout.
Ward is very familiar with Bika and his aggressive style.
"I've been watching Sakio Bika for many years, and he's a tough guy and I think that he's a tough guy. I think that everybody in the boxing community knows what he's going to do. He's going to come full steam ahead and he's going to be throwing with both hands. So he's a tough guy, and he's very durable, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I want to put on a great performance on November 27," Ward said.
Bika is the replacement opponent for Ward's close friend Andre Dirrell, who withdrew from the Super Six tournament with neurological issues. There are widespread rumors, which began even before Dirrell's withdrawal, that the former Olympic buddies had never actually planned to fight each other, and Dirrell created an excuse to avoid the two of them fighting.
The fight was originally planned for September 25 and then postponed because the two sides could not agree on a venue. Showtime issued legal letters to both sides, advised them of their obligation to fight. The fight was later rescheduled to November 27, and Dirrell withdrew not long after the new date was announced.
"Basically, I think that things got blown out of proportion to be honest with you. I understand that the media and the fans and their frustration because nobody was talking and, you know, it didn't seem like things were going to come off in the first place," Ward said.
"I think in terms of the media and people taking our friendship and blowing out of proportion, that they were just taking it too far and making it seem like Andre Dirrell and I were not guys who did not want to do the fight.
"You know, it was like they were saying that we were working together and not trying to do the fight and taking a great fight off of the table from the public. You know, that wasn't at all the way that it was. That wasn't even close. I never tried to get out of the fight."
Ward had already been training to fight Dirrell. He didn't have a problem switching things up his mental focus and training strategy to prepare for the style of Bika. Because the opponent switch took place at the early stage of camp, Ward didn't experience any issues.
"After Andre Dirrell pulled out, it wasn't all that hard to shift my focus. It's the super middleweight division, and I've watched it for years. So, you know, it's tougher when your midway into camp and you get a call like that," Ward said.
"You know, you're in camp, physically training. But we were not in camp, so, it's not too hard or as hard as you might think. Because, you know, I have a pretty good scope on everybody in the division, so we have just set our sights on Sakio Bika, and that's what we're focused on."
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
