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By Cliff Rold - I don’t know what’s in the water over at the “Worldwide Leader,” but ESPN2 should share. They are serving up yet another in what is becoming a trend of excellent match-ups Friday night, and it’s a fight that could have ramifications for the next couple of years. Casual viewers might not know it going in, but the 168 lb. battle between 27-year old Ring Magazine #6 contender Lucien Bute (19-0, 16 KO), a Romanian fighting out of Montreal, and #10 Sakio Bika (22-2-2, 14 KO), a Cameroon native by way of Sydney, Australia, is boxing at its best.
If last week’s epic welterweight bout between Miguel Cotto and Zab Judah was about the young lion staking his claim against a former leader of the pack, this bout is about the right to be in the pack and one would expect the proper ferocity to ensue.
Bika, 28, has lost only once in the last four years. That loss, against divisional World champion Joe Calzaghe last October, was competitive and rough for all of its twelve rounds. Bika showed that night, and in a March 2006 technical draw with then-alphabet titlist Markus Beyer, that he can hang with the best. Against Bute, he will have the opportunity to show that he might be one of the best.
Ultimately, that’s because this fight is about the Canadian ticket seller. Bute has shown to be a budding regional draw with his last six bouts hosted at the raucous Montreal Bell Center. This, his seventh straight appearance, could herald the birth of a future superstar. Bute has looked the part of potential champion but he still needs a validating win that announces his arrival. [details]
If last week’s epic welterweight bout between Miguel Cotto and Zab Judah was about the young lion staking his claim against a former leader of the pack, this bout is about the right to be in the pack and one would expect the proper ferocity to ensue.
Bika, 28, has lost only once in the last four years. That loss, against divisional World champion Joe Calzaghe last October, was competitive and rough for all of its twelve rounds. Bika showed that night, and in a March 2006 technical draw with then-alphabet titlist Markus Beyer, that he can hang with the best. Against Bute, he will have the opportunity to show that he might be one of the best.
Ultimately, that’s because this fight is about the Canadian ticket seller. Bute has shown to be a budding regional draw with his last six bouts hosted at the raucous Montreal Bell Center. This, his seventh straight appearance, could herald the birth of a future superstar. Bute has looked the part of potential champion but he still needs a validating win that announces his arrival. [details]
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