Moments ago, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, WBC super middleweight champion Sakio Bika barely retained his title after escaping with a split draw against undefeated super middleweight contender Anthony Dirrell. It was a rough and rugged affair. Dirrell jumped ahead on the scorecards early when he was able to score a knockdown in the 5th round. Bika, however, fought back and was able to seemingly keep it a close battle. A low blow landed by Bika appeared to seal his fate though after the referee deducted a point, but two of the official judges felt that Bika had won enough rounds to retain his title. Relive all the action in FightHype’s round-by-round results.
ROUND 1 Quick jab fired by Dirrell. Bika backs him up to the ropes. Big right hand lands for Dirrell followed by a left to the body. Bika gets in a right. Dirrell misses with a right and slips to the ground. The action resumes. Left hook lands for Dirrell. Bika answers with a right. Bika digs to the body. Another left hook lands for Dirrell. Bika attacks with a wild right. Left hook again lands for Dirrell. Round to Dirrell for landing the better shots.
Dirrell 10 Bika 9
ROUND 2 Quick combination lands for Dirrell. Bika lands a 1-2. Uppercut lands for Dirrell. Bika jabs to the body. Dirrell lands a right, but he eats a big counter from Bika. Dirrell lands a couple of jabs. Left hook and a right lands for Dirrell. Bika lands a left. Right to the body lands for Bika. Left hook lands for Bika. Nice counter rightlands for Dirrell. Nice combo lands for Dirrell to end the round. Round to Dirrell.
Dirrell 20 Bika 18
ROUND 3 Nice right and a left lands for Dirrell. Another BIG right for Dirrell has Bika rocked. Dirrell lands another right. Bika holds on. Dirrell lands some short shots on teh inside. Bika bulls forward with some sloppy punches. Another short right lands for Dirrell. Bika gets in a left. Straight right lands for Dirrell. Bika digs to the body. Bika lands some decents shots against the ropes. They trade on the inside. Round to Dirrell.
Dirrell 30 Bika 27
ROUND 4 They trade jabs. Bika digs to the body and gets in a right upstairs. They trade jabs. Bika gets in a short right. Another right lands for Bika. Dirrell lands a nice counter left hook. Bika swings wildly to the body. Right hand lands for Bika. Dirrell looking to counter. Big right lands for BIka. Another. Dirrell ties him up. They wrestle on the inside. Round to Bika.
Dirrell 39 Bika 37
ROUND 5 Bika continues to come forward. Left hook lands for Bika upstairs. Now Bika attacks the body. Dirrell lands a 1-2. Stiff jab lands for Dirrell. Bika lands a left. Quick 1-2 lands for Dirrell. Bika backs him up with a left. Left hook to the body lands for Bika. Short right lands for Dirrell. Another right lands for Dirrell…and another. HARD right hand lands for Dirrell and Bika is rocked. Some follow-up shots from Dirrell put Bika down. He’s up and takes the count. Dirrell jumps o him. Uppercut and a right hook lands for Dirrell. Bika retreats. Dirrell continues to lands shots on Bika. End of a big round for Dirrell.
Dirrell 49 Bika 45
ROUND 6 Bika presses on and attacks the body. HARD right hook lands for Bika and Dirrell covers up. Bika continues to dig hard shots to the body. Dirrell fires back. Both guys trading big shots on the inside; Bika is more active, but Dirrell landing some pinpoint shots. They continue to trade shots on the inside. Uppercut lands for Bika. Dirrell lands a combo. Bika answers with some more hard shots to the body. Double left and a right to the body lands for BIka. Uppercut lands for Bika. Dirrell lands a blistering fast combo. Bika continues to fire shots. BIG right lands for Bika again and Dirrell covers up. Dirrell fires back and lands a combo that backs Bika up now. Left hook lands for Dirrell. Close round, but I give it to Bika for his workrate.
Dirrell 58 Bika 55
ROUND 7 Dirrell lands a jab. Bika misses with a wild overhand right. Jab lands for Bika. Right hand gets in for Bika. Overhand right lands for Dirrell. Bika digs a hard right to the body. 1-2 lands for Dirrell. Bika digs to the body again. Dirrell continues to counter while Bika comes forward looking to land bombs. Close round, but I give it to Dirrell.
Dirrell 68 Bika 64
ROUND 8 They trade jabs. Left hook lands for Bika. They trade jabs again. Some roughhousing on the inside as both guys land rabbit shots. Bika digs a right to the body. Left hook gets in for Bika. They trade lefts. Bika works on the inside while Dirrell looks to tie him up. Dirrell lands a left. Bika lands a right. Quick flurry from Dirrell. Bika digs a right to the body. Round to Bika.
Dirrell 77 Bika 74
ROUND 9 Right hand lands for Dirrell. Bika doubles up on the jab. Left hook lands for Bika. 1-2 from Dirrell. Double jab from Bika. Right hand gets in for Bika. Dirrell wings a left hook. Bika outworking Dirrell so far in this round. 1-2 to the body lands for Dirrell. Right hand lands for Bika. Dirrell waiting a little too much to counter. Left hook lands for Dirrell. Bika lands a couple of jabs. Counter left lands for Dirrell. Bika gets in a left. 1-2 lands for Dirrell. They trade shots. Bika lands a nice right. Round to Bika.
Dirrell 86 Bika 84
ROUND 10 Left hook lands for Bika. Stiff jab lands for Dirrell. Right hand gets in for Bika. 1-2 from Bika is blocked. Short left lands for Dirrell. Another counter left lands for Dirrell. Overhand right lands for Bika. Left hook to the body lands for Bika. 1-2 lands for Dirrell. Left hook lands for Dirrell. Bika lands a sloppy shot. Round to Dirrell.
Dirrell 96 Bika 93
ROUND 11 Dirrell coming forward now. Right hand lands for Dirrell. Bika backs him up with a left hook. Bika digs to the body against the ropes. Quick combination lands for Dirrell. Another left hook lands for Dirrell. Dirrell slips and falls to the canvas and Bika uses the opportunity to get in a free shot while he’s on the ground. The ref gives him a quick warning. HARD left hook below the belt lands for Bika and Dirrell goes down. The ref is giving him 5 minutes to recover. The ref takes a point from Bika. The action resumes and Bika presses forward like a madman. Dirrell is cut over his eye; probably from a headbutt. Bika digs to the body. Dirrell counters. Round to Dirrell.
Dirrell 106 Bika 101
ROUND 12 Jab lands for both men. Bika digs to the body. Dirrell lands some uppercuts. Bika trying to dig to the body again. More roughhousing from Bika as a forearm to the throat puts Dirrell down. Dirrell lands a nice counter that backs Bika up. They trade shots on the inside. Nice body shots land for Bika. Dirrell lands some counters. Bika continues to dig to the body. They trade jabs. Right hand lands for Dirrell. Another combo lands for Dirrell. Bika gets in a right. Short left hook lands for Bika. Round to Dirrell, who dances and runs around the ring with his hands up during the last 10 seconds.
Dirrell 116 Bika 110
Official judges scorecards: 114-112 (Bika), 116-110 (Dirrell), 113-113 (Draw)
THE BOUT IS SCORED A SPLIT DRAW
