WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis "Superman" Stevenson successfully defended his belt for the fifth time Saturday afternoon by winning a 12 unanimous decision over rugged Sakio Bika at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Canada.
The scores were 115-111, 116-110 and 115-110.
Maxboxing and Doghouseboxing.com had Stevenson winning the fight by a 119-108 tally.
In round one, Stevenson, a southpaw, moved slightly and established his jab. He landed a hard left to the body.
Bika, known for his rough-house tactics, was short with most of his punches. During a clinch, he landed a an illegal forearm to the head. The referee said nothing.
Both fighters connected with hooks in round two. Stevenson (26-1, 21 KOs) wanted to land his money shot, the left hand. Midway through the round, he did just that.
Bika (32-7, 21 KOs) absorbed the blow.
He smiled at Stevenson.
Stevenson, with his right hand dangling on his hip, fired combinations in rounds three and four.
Bika connected with a counter right that knocked Stevenson off balance.
Stevenson was getting off first. He landed two hard lefts, but Bika, born with one of the strongest chins in the game, punched back.
In round five, Stevenson stepped in and landed a vicious left. Bika staggered, but was he hurt? Stevenson unloaded a number of wicked shots. Bika had no answer. His inability to maintain balance was making it very difficult to catch Stevenson with counter punches.
Stevenson clubbed Bika with more hard blows in round six.
With Stevenson on the ropes, Bika had some success.
Seconds later, a hard left knocked Bika to the canvas. He got up quickly and disputed the knockdown. A replay after the round showed that Bika was correct.
Stevenson, not known for being comfortable on the inside, landed two sharp lefts to the body in round seven. Bika kept pushing forward. He did manage to land a hard right hand at the end of the round.
Bika absorbed more blows in round eight. Stevenson pawed with his right. He tattooed Bika with shots. Bika landed two rights and a left that seemed to surprise Stevenson.
Stevenson came out in round nine like he wanted to end the show. He connected with a number of hard blows to the head and body.
Bika was playing catcher. A wicked left sent him to the canvas. This knockdown was legitimate. The former WBC super middleweight champion was lucky the end of the round was at hand. He got up, but was definitely hurt.
There was quit in Bika. Told by his corner that he was well behind on points, he stalked Stevenson in the next stanza.
Stevenson continued to pound him with hard punches in round 10. It was apparent that Stevenson wanted to be the first fighter to stop Bika.
The last two rounds were more of the same.
Stevenson landed, but Bika hung in. He threw a number of right hands from Australia.
One landed. Stevenson showed his left and let it fly. Bika fired back with looping blows at the bell.
"No kryptonite for Superman.," said Stevenson minutes after the fight. "I got a good chin. Superman is in the building baby."
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