By Scott Gilfoid: A fight between unbeaten #7 WBC, #12 IBF Anthony Dirrell (26-0, 22 KO’s) and WBC super middleweight champion Sakio Bika (32-5-2, 21 KO’s) is possible for the December 7th Zab Judah vs. Paulie Malignaggi card at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
This is the 28-year-old Dirrell’s big chance for a title shot. He was set to get a shot against former WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward in 2012, but Dirrell was injured in a motorcycle accident in May of last year that removed any chances of him getting a crack at Ward’s strap.
Dirrell suffered a broken bone in his left left, and he also fractured an arm. It took him a while to heal from the injuries. He came back last May in defeating Don Mouton by an 8 round unanimous decision. In Dirrell’s last fight, he stopped Anthony Hanshaw by a 3rd round TKO win last July in an impressive performance.
Dan Rafael said on his twitter: “12/7 @SHOsports card might also include Sakio Bika’s 168 defense vs. Anthony Dirrell. #boxing.”
The Dirrell-Bika fight isn’t definite yet, but it’ll be a really nice addition to the Judah-Malignaggi fight card if this bout can be finalized. Dirrell is a very talented fighter with blazing hand speed, and excellent power. His brother Andre Dirrell may even more talented, as he’s the one that lost a controversial decision to Carl Froch in the Super Six tournament in 2009, and was later injured in the tourney after being punches in the head by Arthur Abraham after slipping on the wet canvas.
Anthony Dirrell will have a big speed advantage over Bika, but it’s still going to be a very tough fight for him because Bika has good power with both hands and he likes to throw a lot of looping power shots. He’s also a pretty handy inside fighter when he wants to.
Bika, 34, defeated Marco Antonio Periban by a 12 round majority decision last June to capture the WBC 168 lb. title. Periban started out strong, but Bika came on in the 2nd part of the fight to dominate to get the win. Before that fight, Bika defeated Nikola Sjekloca by a 12 round majority decision last February.
Comments are closed.