Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ, USA
#389:
- Sakio Bika (30 W 5 L 2 D 20 KOs) vs Nikola Sjekloca (25 W 0 L 0 D 7 KOS) - UD 12R WBC Super Middleweight Eliminator
- Adrien Broner (25 W 0 L 0 D 21 KOs) vs Gavin Rees (37 W 1 L 1 D 18 KOs) - TKO R5 WBC lightweight title
Sakio Bika outclasses Nikola Sjekloca in WBC eliminator
Sakio Bika was expected by most to win over Nikola
Sjekloca, an unbeaten fighter with a soft record coming into tonight's
fight in Atlantic City, but few expected it to be a 12-round showcase
performance from the Cameroonian veteran, who outpointed Sjekloca on
scores of 120-108, 119-109, and 118-112. BLH had it 120-108 for Bika.
The win gives Bika (31-5-2, 21 KO) a possible rematch with WBC super
middleweight champ Andre Ward. Ward beat Bika in 2010, but it was as
competitive and rough a night as Ward has had as a pro, and a rematch
wouldn't really be any worse than just about anything else Ward might do
if he stays at 168 pounds upon his return from shoulder surgery.Sjekloca (25-1, 7 KO) was overpowered by Bika, which most expected, but Sakio's work with trainer Kevin Cunningham has apparently been geared around settling his more savage instincts, as the crazed BIKA SMASH! parts of his game seem to be gone, replaced by a more technical approach. Or maybe, as HBO's Jim Lampley put it at one point, Sjekloca was so slow that he made Bika look like a technical puncher.
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Adrien Broner stops Gavin Rees in five, dominates after slow start
Adrien Broner did pretty much as expected tonight,
rolling through a determined Gavin Rees and scoring a fifth round corner
stoppage victory that came when Rees' trainer Gary Lockett waved the
towel as Broner hammered away on the underdog.
Broner (26-0, 22 KO) lost the first round for sure, and probably the
second, too, as Rees (37-2-1, 18 KO) had a nice game plan and attacked
well, landing frequent shots on Broner, but finding he was unable to do
any significant damage. Once Broner got his timing down and turned the
engine on, it was one-way traffic, as the Cincinnati fighter completely
took over the bout. Rees went down in the fourth round on a right
uppercut, and again in the fight on a left to the body.Lockett actually tried to stop the fight after the fourth, but Rees wouldn't allow it. Out for the fifth, the sailing was just as tough for Rees, who simply could no longer find any success. Broner was simply too big, too strong, and too good, as the script dictated he would be.
It's a solid win over a world-ranked fighter for Broner, but there will still be the calls for him to find someone challenging to fight. Yes, Broner was the obvious massive favorite over Rees, and it played out as was expected. But the question is, is there really anyone at 135 pounds who can actually challenge Broner? Antonio DeMarco couldn't. Gavin Rees couldn't. These were top five, top 10 guys in the weight class. Should we demand that a maturing 23-year-old fighter rocket up in weight as quickly as possible?
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