July 31 sees a spectacular night of boxing, headlined by Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz II, but the excitement neither begins nor ends there. The opening bout of the night sees a man who should have been part of the Super Six Boxing Classic, Sakio Bika, meet a super middleweight who has long hovered on the fringes of world class boxing, Jean Paul Mendy. The match is a fitting first act for an event full of superb match-ups, and will also determine the #1 contender for Lucian Bute’s IBF belt.
Sakio Bika (28-3-2 with 13 KOs)
6’0” with 71” reach, 31 years old
Cameroonian living in Australia
Sakio Bika has made his mark as one of the toughest customers in the 168 lbs. division. A 2000 Olympian for Cameroon, Bika made his first attempt at a world title against Markus Beyer in 2004. He was beating the snot out of Beyer when the fight was stopped under suspicious circumstances (doubly so, since the fight was in Beyer’s native Germany). That was followed by a hard-fought loss at the hands of the great Joe Calzaghe. He dropped another bout to IBF champ Lucian Bute. That was the end of Bika’s run of losses. In October 2007 he beat Sam Soliman, and in November 2008 Bika crushed Peter Manfredo, Jr. Sakio Bika is a tough-as-nails African boxer who comes to fight and brings a brawling style to the ring.
Jean Paul Mendy (28-0-1 with 16 KOs)
5’11” with 74” reach, southpaw, 36 years old
French
Mendy did not initially intend to fight as a professional. He went to the 1996 Olympics, where he met with defeat at the hands of German pastry Sven Ottke and had to settle for a bronze. Mendy did not turn pro until four years later, in December 2000. That explains his relatively late entry into the game, and why at age 36 he is only now in his first big fight. Bika truly is his first “name” opponent as well. The only other notable name on his record is Anthony Hamshaw, a fighter who was later out-pointed by the aged version of Roy Jones and crushed by Andre Dirrell. Mendy only managed a Draw with the man. Mendy is quick and has good defensive technique, but is inexperienced and unproven.
Preview and Prediction
Can you imagine Sakio Bika losing to Anthony Hamshaw? Me neither. The only reason Bika is not in the Super Six tournament is because he could not get his visa sorted out in time to fight Allan Green for the slot vacated by Jermain Taylor. If he had, there is little doubt in my mind he would have given Green a beat-down. Bika might be limited, but he can take a punch. For his part, Mendy lacks the power to keep a hardened brawler like Bika, who actually smiles as he is taking hard blows, away from him. Mendy has the speed and skill to befuddle Bika, but not the oomph to keep him away all night, and the Frenchman has no hope of beating Bika in a toe-to-toe brawl.
Sakio Bika by TKO 10
