Adonis “Superman” Stevenson (25-1, 21 KOs) returns to the ring Saturday, April 4 at Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City to defend his title against Sakio “The Scorpion” Bika (32-6-3, 21 KOs). The April 4 event marks the debut of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on CBS, at 3pm Eastern.
“I am excited to be the headliner for first PBC event on CBS,” Stevenson said. “I know Bika will stop at nothing, so the fight will be spectacular and extremely offensive-minded. I predict that Bika will lose by knockout for the first time in his career.”
“After all these years fighting at 168 pounds, it was becoming increasingly difficult to make weight and that was a major factor in my defeats,” Bika said. “I see no problem making the jump to light heavyweight to face Stevenson and I do not feel I’ll be at a disadvantage because the champion made this transition successfully himself less than two years ago against Chad Dawson. I promise you that I will be the new champion on April 4.”
Stevenson, 37, won the world light heavyweight title in June of 2013 in Montreal, via a sensational 76-second, first-round knockout just over the then-undisputed king of the division, Dawson. In his first defense the following Sept. 28, former world champion Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud was meant to be a major test for the new champion, but the powerful southpaw forced Cloud to retire at the end of the seventh round.
Two months later, “Superman” concluded the year with an unequivocal victory over Tony “Bomber” Bellew of Great Britain, who was unable to complete the sixth round. In May 2015 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Polish challenger Andrzei Fonfara proved to be a tough challenger and fans were treated to a memorable bout as Stevenson knocked Fonfara down twice in the early rounds only to visit the canvas himself in the ninth round. In his last outing, Dec. 19, 2014 on SHOWTIME from the Pepsi Coliseum, “Superman” made short work of Russian veteran Dmitry “The Hunter” Sukhotskiy, stopping him in the fifth.
Bika, fighting out of Australia by way of his native Cameroon, which he represented at the 2000 Olympics, has earned the reputation as a tough, rough brawling warrior who has fought the best. He has been in six world title fights, holding one of the 168-pound division crowns in 2013-14. He has never been knocked out in 41 professional bouts.
“The Scorpion” demonstrated his world-class toughness and determination in fights with Markus Beyer and Joe Calzaghe in 2006, Lucian Bute in 2007 and Andre Ward in 2010. Resilience and hard work finally paid off for Bika when he won the coveted 168-pound title, defeating Marco Antonio Periban by decision in 2013 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. He successfully defended his title six months later by fighting to a 12- round draw with Anthony Dirrell on SHOWTIME in 2013. Bika eventually lost his belt in a rematch with Dirrell on SHOWTIME last August.
PBC on CBS, headlined by the light heavyweight world championship fight between Stevenson and Bika, is promoted by Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM). Tickets go on sale Saturday, Feb. 28 at 10 a.m. at the Pepsi Coliseum box office in Quebec, and online at www.billetech.com, and range from $25 to $250 on the floor.
