Markus Beyer faces Scorpion Bika May 13
Sakio
Sakio "The Scorpion" Bika
By Paul Upham: WBC super middleweight champion Markus Beyer will defend his world title against OPBF middleweight champion Sakio "The Scorpion" Bika on May 13 at the Stadthalle in Zwickau, Germany. 26 year-old Bika is a Cameroon native who is based in Australia. In his last fight in November, he stopped Japanese champion Yoshihiro Araki in Japan for the second time by 5th round knockout.
"I have seen Beyer's two fights with Danny Green," Bika told SecondsOut. "He is a good boxer, but the pressure I will put on him is something different. He likes to counterpunch, but I know what punches to use to hurt him."
Born and raised in the Atlantic Ocean port of Douala in the south of Cameroon, Bika competed at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 after being all-African amateur middleweight champion. He then found his way into the Team Fenech stable of Jeff Fenech and turned professional.
"I am so happy to get this chance," said Bika. "I have worked very hard for this fight. I have watched the other boxers training around me like Danny Green, Vic Darchinyan, Lovemore Ndou and the Hussein brothers all get world title shots. Now it is my chance."
Bika 20-1-1 (13) has overwhelmed most of his opponents with his amazing strength and a physique seemingly carved from stone. He appears tank like and has never been hurt or wobbled in the ring. His one draw against Harmen Ajadato in December 2002 was a technical decision after an accidental head clash. His only career loss being a disputed majority points decision in Melbourne in October 2002 to current middleweight title contender Sam Soliman, who gave the pound for pound rated Winky Wright all he could handle last December. It is a measure of Bika's talent.
Co-trainer Billy Hussein has been very pleased with Bika's improvement since he won the OPBF title in October 2004.
"Sakio has made a lot of subtle changes but unfortunately he hasn't been that active," he said. "He has matured as a fighter and you can see it in his training and sparring. His two wins in Japan were very impressive. Araki was a very good fighter, but he had nothing that could hurt him. Sakio is a crowd pleasing fighter and I believe the fans in Germany will love his style."
The 6' foot tall Bika will have a good height advantage over the 34 year-old Beyer 34-2 (13), who is listed at 5'10.
"I'm very confident going into this fight," said Bika. "I will be much stronger moving up from middleweight. I will be doing my normal running and I won't have to lose too much weight in the final two weeks before the fight. Beyer has been a good world champion, but now is the time of the scorpion!"
If Bika achieves his dream and becomes WBC super middleweight world champion, he knows exactly where he will be headed with the belt.
"Anthony Mundine and Danny Green will be fighting the following week in Sydney on May 19. I'll be showing them my WBC super middleweight world title and if they want a shot, they'll have to show me the money," he said, with a smile.
Paul Upham
Contributing Editor (
www.secondsout.com)
