PBC on CBS results: Adonis Stevenson successfully defends title with win over Bika

Adonis Stevenson is still the light heavyweight champion of the world, but is he really the best light heavyweight in boxing? Stevenson's win today over Sakio Bika likely did little to change any pro-Sergey Kovalev minds, but the WBC and lineal champion once again got the job done with a unanimous decision win in Quebec City.

Stevenson (26-1, 21 KO) won on scores of 115-110, 116-110, and 115-111, a bit closer than most observers on social media seemed to have the fight, and a little closer than we had it, too. BLH scored it 117-109 for Stevenson, who scored two knockdowns (one legit, one more of a slip) and was able to dictate the tempo of the fight for the most part.

Stevenson's main weapon, as always, was his straight left hand, and he used a little body work to set it up at times, too. He was clearly just a better fighter than Bika (32-7-3, 21 KO), which was expected going in. Bika's only real chance was to land something big, or to rough up Stevenson and drain his gas tank. He tried both approaches, and did land some solid shots, a couple that seemed to shake Stevenson, but the tale of Adonis' weak chin has probably been overstated at this point. Though Bika is not a particularly big puncher, he did land some good, clean shots in this fight, and Stevenson took them well.

Stevenson scored a questionable knockdown in round six, but a totally legitimate knockdown in round nine, which was a clean shot that had Bika hurt. Had the knockdown not come late in the round, it could have been a total game-changer. As it was, Bika was able to hang in there for the distance yet again, and still has never been stopped in his 14-year-plus pro career.

What did you think of Adonis' performance today? Did anything change in how you see a potential matchup with Sergey Kovalev?