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By Jake Donovan - Quebec City, Quebec, Canada - Adonis Stevenson made the fifth successful defense of his World light heavyweight crown, although forced to go 12 rounds in topping Sakio Bika by unanimous decision Saturday afternoon in Quebec City, Canada.
Scores were 115-110, 115-111 and 116-110 in favor of Stevenson. Bika down in rounds six and nine.
Despite moving up for his first fight against a true light heavyweight, Bika struggled to make weight during Friday's weigh-in. The former super middleweight titlist required two tries to get within the 175 lb. limit. While technically the bigger man at the scales and in actual height, Bika's lack of power at the new weight was apparent, as Stevenson landed the more telling blows throughout the night once he managed to settle in.
A knockdown appeared to have come from a sequence in round five, when Stevenson stunned Bika with a left hand and then scored two more power shots upstairs. Bika was wobbled to the point of clutching onto Stevenson's thigh before falling to the canvas, pulling down the defending champion with him.
The referee ruled it was a tangling of the legs that led to the fall, but the first official knockdown would come one round later when Stevenson connected with a straight left late in round six.
Bika managed to beat the count and surprisingly hold his own in rounds six and seven. According to the close cards, his performance was good enough to make an impression on the ringside judges in an otherwise one-sided affair.
Stevenson took his foot off the gas just enough to allow his wounded challenger back into the fight, perhaps reserving his energy for later in the fight and not make the same mistakes as the last time he was forced to go 12 rounds. That moment came last May in Montreal, flooring Andrzej Fonfara early but stunned and dropped himself late in the fight before taking a unanimous decision. [Click Here To Read More]
Scores were 115-110, 115-111 and 116-110 in favor of Stevenson. Bika down in rounds six and nine.
Despite moving up for his first fight against a true light heavyweight, Bika struggled to make weight during Friday's weigh-in. The former super middleweight titlist required two tries to get within the 175 lb. limit. While technically the bigger man at the scales and in actual height, Bika's lack of power at the new weight was apparent, as Stevenson landed the more telling blows throughout the night once he managed to settle in.
A knockdown appeared to have come from a sequence in round five, when Stevenson stunned Bika with a left hand and then scored two more power shots upstairs. Bika was wobbled to the point of clutching onto Stevenson's thigh before falling to the canvas, pulling down the defending champion with him.
The referee ruled it was a tangling of the legs that led to the fall, but the first official knockdown would come one round later when Stevenson connected with a straight left late in round six.
Bika managed to beat the count and surprisingly hold his own in rounds six and seven. According to the close cards, his performance was good enough to make an impression on the ringside judges in an otherwise one-sided affair.
Stevenson took his foot off the gas just enough to allow his wounded challenger back into the fight, perhaps reserving his energy for later in the fight and not make the same mistakes as the last time he was forced to go 12 rounds. That moment came last May in Montreal, flooring Andrzej Fonfara early but stunned and dropped himself late in the fight before taking a unanimous decision. [Click Here To Read More]
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