Contender III Final

[Galatians 2:20]

So I missed the fight shown last night but see that Bika beat Soliman by SD.

Jay do you have an update on how the fight looked?

Based on how Codrington has looked against much lesser compitition it would be hard not to think that he has the skills to win this thing. However, can Bika pressure him enough to seriously test that chin? I really haven't seen Bika yet so I don't know but he has been in with some quality opponents before so it should be interesting. I DVR'd last nights episode so I guess I will have to watch how it played out but nobody ever looks good against Soliman anyway. Good thing it is a crap tv night tonight.

I heard that Smith and Banks II is on the undercard and think that may just be the fight of the night. Not sure how the telecast will work. I guess I'll have to look into that today sometime.

[BtownJay]

I swear they announced the decision as a UD for Bika. You'll have to let me know after watching it. How anyone could give that fight to Soliman is beyond me. He had some decent rounds, but Bika pretty much controlled the fight. Very akward fight (as per usual with Soliman fighting)... seemed like a ton of wild punches that kept missing.

Codrington should SMOKE Bika. Bika lacks the power to hurt Jaidon's suspect chin, and Jaidon is far too good for Bika. He may not knock him out, but I don't expect this one to be close.

Full Card for tuesday...

Codrington vs. Bika
Johnson vs. Soliman
Vera vs. Alexander
Hernandez vs. McCrary
Smith vs. Banks

No clue how many of them they are going to show.

[Galatians 2:20]

Fightnews said one judge had it 78/77 for Soliman. I'll let you know what I hear after I watch it.

I'm still not sold on Codrington's head, he surely has all the skill needed but his focus and chin still need some testing from what I have seen of him so far. I'm hoping that Bika can find a way to test him but like I said I really don't know that much about him and really haven't seen him at all other than parts of his first fight on the show.

I'd enjoy watching this card...

Codrington vs. Bika
Smith vs. Banks
Vera vs. Alexander

I couldn't really care about either of the other two fights.

[BtownJay]

You know they are going to show the Soliman/Johnson fight as a "3rd place fight". I really doubt we are going to get to see Smith vs. Banks again, but i'd love it if they do. Its on for 2 hours next week, so i could see them showing 3 fights.

[Galatians 2:20]

I know, I was just playing what if I was the promoter.

I have absolutely no desire to watch Johnson and Soliman, that fight will be just plain ugly.

[Galatians 2:20]

Jay, you were correct it appeared to be a UD on the telecast. They announced that it was 77/75 & 78/74 twice all for the winner Sakio Bika. Yet I saw at least two different reports that said it was a split decision. Someone screwed up and I'm sure it wasn't that wonderful ring announcer that they have.

I thought Bika looked pretty good in the first half of the fight and if he could sustain that strong jab he could keep Codrington from controlling the fight. Jaidon should win this thing but hopefully Bika comes fully conditioned to make it through the whole fight and keeps this competative.

As far as the undercard, it looks like Paul Smith is no longer part of it. After the fight for the championship this card pretty much flat out sucks. I have some mild interest in seeing Alexander and Banks each fight but I'm not really impressed with their opponents at all.

Here is the press release...

Super Middleweights Jaidon Codrington And Sakio Bika Set To Fight In Championship Bout On Live Finale Of ESPN's "The Contender" - November 6th - In Boston

The third season of ESPN’s critically acclaimed boxing reality series hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard, The Contender, which premiered September 4, will duke out its final episode and crown the new Contender Champion on Tuesday, November 6 LIVE at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, MA. The series is produced by Mark Burnett Productions and Dreamworks Television under the ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) banner.

The Contender which chronicles the lives, fears and hopes of 10 boxers as they compete for the chance to become Contender champion, airs every Tuesday night at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

New York native Jaidon “The Don” Codrington will battle African born turned Australian resident, Sakio “The Scorpion” Bika, for the Contender Champion bragging rights and $750,000 in ten rounds of boxing between two of the tournament’s fiercest competitors. Former Olympian, Bika, has exceptional speed and agility to go along with his impressive resume, including stepping into the ring with some of boxing’s current champions. Codrington, the youngest fighter in the tournament, has proven he is a force to reckon with, knocking out Wayne Johnsen in just seventy-five seconds.

In the battle for the Bronze, Sam “King” Soliman and Wayne Johnsen, two of the best conditioned fighters in this year’s Contender Tournament, will showdown for six rounds of Middleweight boxing action. An Australian native, Soliman was formerly ranked by the International Boxing Federation as the number one Middleweight fighter in the world. Johnsen a standout college athlete from Lyndhurst, New Jersey impressed Sugar Ray Leonard early with his athletic ability, ranking at the top of the SPARQ fitness test.

Opening the night of exciting boxing action, fan favorite Miguel Hernandez will take on Moscow’s Aslanbek Kodzoev in the first undercard matchup. Next super middleweights Brian Vera and Max Alexander will face-off for six rounds. And rounding out the undercard fights, Missouri’s Donny McCrary and Seattle’s own self proclaimed pretty boy David Banks will battle it out in a six-round middleweight brawl.

Contender Co-Executive Producer, Jeff Wald said “This is the most exciting and rewarding season so far. We have ten great young men, with tremendous skills and fascinating stories. It’s very exciting to have this Season’s Finale in Boston.”

Tickets for The Contender finale are on sale now at TD Banknorth Garden Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations (Ticketmaster) or by calling 617-931-2000. Ticket prices range from $47.50 to $302.50 for premium seats. Last year’s Season 2 Contender Finale at Staples Center in Los Angeles was sold out. Doors open at 6pm, with the first undercard fight starting at 7pm and main event begining at 9pm.

Super Middleweights Jaidon Codrington And Sakio Bika Set To Fight In Championship Bout On Live Finale Of ESPN's "The Contender" - November 6th - In Boston - Pound4Pound.com - P4P Number 1

[BtownJay]

lol, you mean the great "middleweight BOOOOXXXIINNNG ACTION" guy? SO annoying!

I bet it was a split decision but of course they screwed it up, they did that quite often during the 1st season i hear. I still think Jaidon is going to beat on Bika. I think he's far too accurate for Bika to make him miss enough. Jaidon may not be able to finish him, but i'm predicting a pretty easy UD. I said before it all started that I thought Codrington was the best fighter of the group. I have to give him a pass for the Green fight because he got caught early and didn't get a chance.

You are right though, the rest of the card stinks out loud.

[Galatians 2:20]

Wow, this was a very entertaining fight, better than I even imagined it could be. This title fight may have been just what the doctor ordered to truly save this show.

Jaidon looked a little unsure of himself and never seemed to be able to take control of this fight. He obviously has way more talent than Bika and should still do very well throughout his career and could very well still be a major title holder with a little more seasoning. Unfortunately, Bika just wanted this fight a bit more and kept coming forward and hitting Jaidon with some real big shots, even though Codrington still hit him with some nasty shots of his own. I was somewhat amazed that Bika even survived that first round because he looked like he was on queer street a few times after that beautiful shot for the knockdown and Jaidon just couldn't finish him off before the round ended.

The title fight easily made up for the dreck they showed prior to it. I watched a little of David Banks and think he could be a decent fighter if he commits to working on a few things. He is a pretty decent counterpuncher and hit McCrary with some real good shots. I'm curious to see where he takes his career in the next few years. Soliman vs. Johnson was a complete mismatch and I fast forwarded my way through most of the fight.

[BtownJay]

Of COURSE this fight was awesome. I didn't get to see it... What other way could it go?

I'm pretty suprised to see that Bika won, he hasn't exactly done so well when he stepped up in class. But maybe Coddrington isn't a step up? I'll have to try to find a replay so i can actually see how it went.

[Galatians 2:20]

Originally Posted by BtownJay

Of COURSE this fight was awesome. I didn't get to see it... What other way could it go?

I'm pretty suprised to see that Bika won, he hasn't exactly done so well when he stepped up in class. But maybe Coddrington isn't a step up? I'll have to try to find a replay so i can actually see how it went.

Jaidon sure didn't fight Bika like he was a step up at least right now, but he sure did hit him with more than a few good shots. With a little more experience he should be able to catch Bika way more often with his wide throwing bombs and easily finish him off if they ever get a chance to go at it again.

Here is the replay schedule that was posted on another site that I peruse...

Thursday, November 8th
ESPN2 - 10:30 pm ET/7:30 pm PT

Friday, November 9th
ESPN2 - 4:00 pm ET/1:00 pm PT

Monday, November 12th
ESPN Classic - 9:00 pm ET/6:00 pm PT

[BtownJay]

Sweet, thanks! I had to get up earlier than any person should ever have to get up yesterday so i feel asleep before this fight started. Stoopid trainings 2 hours away.