With Taylor out, Green-Bika winner will fight Ward on 4/17
by Scott Christ on Jan 12, 2010 2:50 PM EST
in Boxing News Analysis
Email
Print
As reported earlier, Jermain Taylor has decided to drop out of the Super Six World Boxing Classic, which leaves an opening in the tournament. That opening will be filled by the winner of the February 5 fight between Sakio Bika and Allan Green, and promoter Lou DiBella tells BoxingScene.com that the winner will face Andre Ward on April 17, the original date scheduled for Ward-Taylor.
It would be a quick turnaround, and if the winner winds up taking any real punishment, there's still a decent chance the fight gets delayed. But for now, the plan appears to remain intact for April 17 with Andre Ward fighting.
Rick Reeno of Boxing Scene also reports that there are rumors abound that Taylor and adviser Al Haymon bluffed their willingness to continue in the tournament in order to receive a buyout from Showtime, getting Taylor out of a tournament no one feels he had any chance of winning. It's all speculation, but it doesn't sound too "out there" really. If Taylor did get a buyout from Showtime, good for him. And frankly, I'd also say good for Showtime ponying up to preserve the integrity of the tournament. There was really nothing good that came of Taylor continuing on.
28 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Dizam
Bika is a dangerous fight for anyone. The only sad part is that he inherits Taylor’s loss. If some mathematical adjustment could be made to reflect that in the points he scores, it would seem fair.
I am looking past Green, I think Bika gets past him easy.
Eh
The way the tournament is set up, you really only need one knockout win to advance.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Personally I think Bika is overrated based on his perceived performance against Calzaghe. Some people seem to have confused a dirty fight with a close one. Should he get passed Green, I don’t give him much of a chance at all in the Super 6.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
Bika-Kessler in the third fight might be interesting though, since Kessler was thrown off so badly by the head butts in the Ward fight. Of course, Ward is much better than Bika in other areas though.
Plus Kessler's been avoiding Bika
The offer was on the table from a couple of networks, and Kessler refused, claiming they were too good of friends. Bika says it’s because they used to be sparring partners and he used to kick Kessler’s butt. Who knows.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
It wasn't a close fight, per se
But it was as close as any Calzaghe fight other than Hopkins and Reid and mayyyybe Kessler. He’s also had as close of a fight as anyone’s had with Lucian Bute, outside of round 12 of Andrade I.
Also, it’s not like he doesn’t have other good fights…
- Drew Markus Beyer on German soil
- Obliterated Peter Manfredo worse than anyone else ever has
- Convincingly beat Jaidon Codrington
- Convincingly beat Sam Soliman
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
I loved the Manfredo fight
Because it featured such a great “Bika MAD!!” moment where even Manfredo was like “I am so f&$*ed” (plus, he was maybe ten seconds from KOing the ref — who definitely blew the knockdown call).
That was fucking raw
you could see it in his eyes like “I am going to destroy you Peter Manfredo” and then he did.
Sure, Bika is better than the Jaidon Codringtons and Peter Manfredos of the world. But Ward, Dirrell, and Abraham are an entirely different affair.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
Kessler too. I’ll say this though. He just might beat Carl “lumbers forward” Froch.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
After watching Kessler against two guys who aren’t straightforward dudes, I’d pick Bika over Mikkel every time these days. Wouldn’t have been that way before Ward-Kessler, but anyone that can throw curveballs at Mikkel seems like they should have a good chance at beating him.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Jan 13, 2010 3:11 AM EST up reply actions
I think it's the closest and most competitive of the possible Bika fights
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
Just makes this thing even better
That something like this isn’t going to derail the tournament in any way just makes me love it even more. In my dream world, all of the divisions would be operating this way.
by The Boxer Rebellion on Jan 12, 2010 4:29 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
If this tourney continues to be successful, I’m sure Showtime and its partners will look to make more.
It would probably be hard to make it happen at the lower weights, just because people seem to outgrow their weight classes much more routinely down there.
I guess the formula is to have a division with a lot of evenly distributed quality and no HBO-favored cash cows. If Pavlik and Williams decide not to stick around 160, maybe they could make it happen there once all those prospects develop.
just another reason why the super 6 was the best thing to happen to boxing recently
Bruce Seldon > Ali
Also, because the only reason it financially works
Is that there are good competitiors from here and from other countries with lots of TV money. It would be tough to do one for a lower weight class, where the competitors don’t come from places with as much TV money, unless there are only one or two promoters involved.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Let me be the first to say it -
it’s not going to matter. Ward would beat them both simultaneously. Ward UD-12. But I got Bika in the first fight, so I have Ward beating Bika in April.
Allan Green might knock out Ward
He tucks in his chin well and defends it, but someone strong who’s quick enough to catch it could knock him out. He was put on queer street by Darnell Boone, who’s a middleweight not known for his huge punching power.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Eh Ward took a couple good shots from Kessler. Seemed to handle it quite well. I think he took a couple fights to fight smarter and not get hit like that.
by Waldo Rastel on Jan 13, 2010 2:29 AM EST up reply actions
Ward is from Oakland and the fight is in Oakland
I would pick Ward over the entirety of the Harlem Globe Trotters.
I sort of think Allan Green is being overlooked here
Say what you will about the man, but he has serious power, and it’s not like Bika is George Chuvalo or anything. I could see him catching Bika. I still think Bika is the favorite, but it seems like people are just assuming that it’s going to be Bika-Ward. I don’t see how either of them beat Ward though,
they don't
and I agree Green is a live dog in that fight
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
me too
Depending on if Green shows up mentally or not. If he doesn’t, Bika will kick his ass.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Jan 13, 2010 6:03 AM EST up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
