December 7th’s Brooklyn fight night on Showtime has the sort of star power to make it a must-see event, but ironically its pair of title fights are also the lesser offerings of the night.
For the night’s opener, tough-as-nails Sakio Bika defends his hard-earned WBC Super Middleweight Title against Anthony Dirrell. Then just before the Judah vs. Malignaggi main event, Devon Alexander defends his IBF Welterweight Title against Shawn Porter.
What can we expect from these two fights?
Sakio Bika vs. Anthony Dirrell Fight Preview & Prediction
For super middleweight fans with a memory, Bika enjoys the reputation as being the most rugged fighter active in the division today, moreso even than divisional ironman Carl Froch. He might not be much of a technician, but Bika is rough, strong, durable, and busy, and that combination of elements allowed him to give even Andre Ward a challenging fight.
Until he captured the WBC title in June, Bika was arguably the best super middleweight of recent years who had never captured a title, and easily the single most avoided fighter in the division.
Anthony Dirrell is tough in his own right, although for different reasons. His career was interrupted for almost two years by a cancer diagnosis, and he had also toiled in the shadow of his more famous brother Andre. While not as fast as brother Andre, Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell is a switch-hitter with better power, and might very well be slicker. The thing is that Dirrell has never fought anyone remotely like Bika before.
My thinking on this fight is that if Dirrell is confident and doesn’t back down from Bika’s aggression, he can apply his greater boxing ability to earn the win. If he falters in the confidence department, we could be looking at another Froch vs. Dirrell-style fight, and that means a win for Bika.
Devon Alexander vs. Shawn Porter Fight Preview & Prediction
Porter, a former sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao, is supposed to be a talented, compact, and potent boxer-puncher, but at the same time this is a guy who struggled with Julio Diaz, a former lightweight champ who is now at least a few years past his best.
I just can’t see him beating the quick and slick Alexander, so this one is an easy pick: Devon Alexander UD12 Shawn Porter.
