By Camille Sylvain Thompson
A possible candidate for “Fight of the Year” was one of many like rumblings heard around the ring crowd of 6,000 spectators, as veteran super contender Sakio Bika, raised his arms in victory, following a 2:18 TKO victory in the 8th round over Jaidon Codrington.
It started with two 1st round knock-downs; no, not as you’d predict by the hands of one man, but by the hands of two men, two warriors, both determined to win, and if fate had losing on its menu, than neither fighter planned to go down without a fight. Bika came out swinging hard, and landing with precision, tagging the quicker, more agile Codrington, as he tried persistently to evade his punches. In what appeared to be more of a slip, when replayed in slow-motion, Codrington had been knocked down on his side and without referee Dick Flaherty stepping in or bells and whistles to stop him, Bika continued to throw punches to the head of the downed and slow moving Codrington. Although he appeared finished, Codrington popped up and was ready to go within seconds, elevating the crowd noise to a frenzy. Wide swings from Bika, however, allowed Codrington to step inside and drop the native of Cameroon to his knees with a sharp left hook to the jaw. The first round, which had Bika and Codrington trading blow-for-blow, each scoring a solid knockdown, was reminiscent of the legendary Gatti versus Ward trilogy. Fittingly enough, Irish Mickey Ward, sat ringside, watching what I’m sure to him, seemed like a familiar battle scene, on very familiar Boston grounds (a Lowell-native). Following the first round which had the crowd roaring and on their feet, the second round kicked in at a relatively slower pace, with both fighters having seemingly punched themselves out early, trying to regain their needed rounds of strength and momentum. However Bika continued to dominate with combination after combination of punishing solid punches. As legendary trainer and ESPN commentator Teddy Atlas commented, Codrington needed to put down the “earmuffs,” referring to his constant defensive position of covering the side of his head with his gloves, thereby opening him up to more body and jaw punishment; a novice mistake, but a natural reaction. The third round brought more of the same, with both fighters alternating from what appeared to be fatigue, desperation and full-on adrenaline. Bika maintained the advantage throughout the fight having fought 13 rounds during the Contender, while Codrington had only boxed 3. Bika also carried 10 more fights under his belt than Codrington, and several more years of professional experience, not to take away from former amateur star’s proven natural talent and ability to score a 1st round KO in his last Contender fight. The rounds continued with time ticking slowly, and the punishment brutal and immeasurable. Bika remained in control and Codrington largely on defense, but as the ESPN announcers pointed out, the fight could change with one perfect punch from Codrington, but it never came. The 8th round displayed a wobbly, disoriented Codrington, whose eyes looked dazed and fists were solely poised in defense. Between the 4-8th rounds, Codrington had his share of solid punches but none effective enough to damage the more dominate Bika. At one point, Bika had Codrington on the ropes and the man from Cameroon peered over to his wife behind his damaged opponent, you couldn’t make out her words, but her expression read, “You’ve got this, now finish him.” In the 8th, Bika did just that, dancing with his fleeing partner, spinning him around, while blasting him to the ropes. Bika continued to fire shots driving his opponent from one side of the ring to the other, until there was nothing left in either boxer and Codrington could barely lift his arms up high enough to use the “earmuffs.” The referee Dick Flattery finally stepped in and a TKO was awarded to the deserved Bika, crowning “The Scorpion,” the coveted Contender Champion. Codrington was too damaged to stand for the announcement but managed to give credit to the series winner by stating “Well, we all know Sakio Bika is a warrior.” A decidedly winning season for the Contender Series which continues to gain popularity, and lends a hand to the professional sport of boxing by, putting young talent in the spotlight and giving them a shot at making it big. This season seems impossible to beat, but hey, that’s what they said about Jaidon “The Don” Codrington. Until Season 4, adieu! Source: A Surprise Ending to an Explosive Season: Bika Defeats Codrington
November 6, 2007 Los Angeles, California (Contender Arena)–
Camille Sylvain Thompson A winner-take-all purse of $750,000 was to join Bika, his wife and young boy on the journey back to his adopted home in Sydney, Australia. However, first, an observational trip to the hospital was in order, as a result of the most action-packed, warrior-like fight of the 3-season series, The Contender.
