Moments ago, at Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec, Canada, WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson successfully defended his title, defeating former super middleweight champion Sakio Bika via unanimous decision. Surprisingly, both fighters came out somewhat cautious to start the fight, pawing with their punches as they looked to gauge distance. It was Stevenson who struck first, however, landing a solid left hand to punctuate the first round. It didn't take long for the action to heat up though. As Bika tried to make it a rough fight in close, Stevenson began finding a home for his left hand in the second round.
It looked like Bika began to find a little success in the third round as he pressed forward looking to make it a phycial, toe-to-toe battle. The naturally bigger Stevenson, however, continued to counter him with left hands. In the 5th round, Stevenson started landing some big shots that appeared to hurt Bika at times. A tangle of feet combined with a grazing left hand from Stevenson would send Bika to the canvas for an official knockdown in the 6th round. Clearly down on the scorecards, Bika began to throw caution to the wind and let his hands go in rounds 7 and 8, but another hard left hand counter from Stevenson would send Bika to the canvas for a legitimate knockdown in the 9th round.
Stevenson came out energized in the 10th, landing a series of punches both upstairs and downstairs. Bika, however, continued to wing wild shots that at times would find their mark. As Stevenson began showboating down the stretch, Bika would land a few more looping shots, but it was too little, too late. In the end, the judges scored the bout 115-111, 116-110, and 115-110, all in favor of Stevenson.
Also on the card, Artur Beterbiev kept his undefeated record intact with an impressive 4th round knockout of Gabriel Campillo. After dropping Campillo early in the first round, Beterbiev continued to patiently dominate the fight. Round after round, he began letting his hands go more and more until he landed a devastating right hand down the middle following be a left hook that send Campillo crashing to the canvas.
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