By Brian Mazique
For the 11th straight time, WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis "Superman" Stevenson (25-1, 21 KO) will fight in his adopted home of Quebec, Canada. On Saturday night, Stevenson will defend his title against former super middleweight champion Sakio "The Scorpion" Bika (32-6-3, 21 KO) at the Pepsi Coliseum.
The bout will be the main event and the only televised scrap on the debut of the Premier Boxing Champions series on CBS. Here's how you can catch the action on television as well as via live stream.
Stevenson vs. Bika Viewing Information
Date and Time: Saturday, April 4 at 3 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Live Stream: CBS Online
Location: Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Canada
Fighting Bika and Public Perception
Bika is just one of the adversaries Stevenson faces in the sport of boxing.
While he is not a joke of a world champion, Stevenson is not the most respected titleholder. The first thing many people in the boxing community think of when Stevenson's name is mentioned is his perceived unwillingness to face WBA, WBO and IBF champion Sergey Kovalev.
Tweets like this one from TalkinBoxing are common:
With Kovalev having recently dispatched Jean Pascal, another Haitian-born Canadian in his last fight, the pull for Stevenson to face the Russian champ is even stronger.
It seemed the two were on a collision course when both fighters were performing under the HBO umbrella. However, Stevenson bolted to sign with Showtime and Al Haymon, thus complicating the chances of the champions unifying the belts.
Per Marco Villegas of Fight Hub and The Boxing Channel, the WBC has ordered a purse bid for an eventual Kovalev-Stevenson unification bout:
We'll see if it ever happens. Meanwhile, there's a fairly formidable foe on tap for Stevenson in a bout that could be a trap if the champion isn't focused on the task at hand. Stevenson is coming off a fifth-round KO win over Dmitry Sukhotsky in Dec. 2014. It was his fourth successful title defense since winning the championship by knocking out Chad Dawson in June 2013.
Another Chance to Make a Mark
The Scorpion has had plenty of chances to land a signature win over a big-name fighter, but he's failed up to this point in his career. Bika has faced and lost to the likes of Andre Ward, Lucian Bute, Joe Calzaghe and Anthony Dirrell. In fact, Bika hasn't fought since losing his world title to Dirrell in Aug. 2014 in a unanimous decision.
He had previously kept the title after escaping with a draw against Dirrell in their first meeting in Dec. 2013.
At 35 years old, Bika is attempting to come up in weight and challenge the 37-year-old Stevenson for what would be the Scorpion's second world title. To make matters tougher, Stevenson is a southpaw. Bika hasn't had the best luck against lefties in his career. Three of his six losses have come to southpaws.
Per Lem Satterfield of PremierBoxingChampions.com, Bika believes he's ready for the challenge: "I have learned a lot fighting the best southpaws in the world. I will fight my own fight Saturday and not be drawn into Adonis' game plan."
Prediction
There's a clear skill, length and athleticism advantage for the champion in this fight. Stevenson is quicker, has a six-inch reach advantage and has better footwork. However, Bika is probably the tougher fighter.
Stevenson cannot allow Bika to draw him into a brawl. The challenger can be wild and unorthodox. He seeks to muck up the action and likes to engage in rough-and-tumble bouts. Stevenson has to remain poised, use his jab and allow his edge in skills to carry him.
If he does that, he'll win an easy decision. There's also a chance he could become the first man to stop the rugged Cameroonian. Bika is not only stepping up in weight, but he's also doing it against one of the more devastating punchers in the sport. We don't know how well Bika will take the punch of a strong puncher at 175 pounds.
