Sakio Bika: 'I don't want to chase Anthony Dirrell'
Super middleweight champion Sakio Bika rematches Anthony Dirrell this Saturday on Showtime in a rematch of their controversial 2013 fight. In that bout, Bika managed to retain his title despite having a point deducted from his score and being knocked down.
That's why many observers are picking Dirrell to dethrone Bika this weekend in Carson, Calif. Bika, however, says that he hasn't changed much in his training to more convincingly beat Dirrell.
“I’m not going to change too much. I’m coming out to fight," he said in a recent Fight News interview.
"I don’t want to run around and chase him. I’m going to show Anthony that I’m ready to do exactly what I’ve always done: to make people happy to see me fight. If he wants to take my belt off of me he better come prepared.”
Clearly, the Aussie champ is subscribing to the, "the only guy I have to beat is myself," philosophy. Either that, or he's unwilling to publicly give Dirrell too much credit in advance of their rematch.
“The main thing I have to do is keep working hard every day and getting my rest when I can," Bika said when asked the keys to beating Dirrell.
"I’ll be ready for Anthony. I always come to fight. I’m sure that I’m doing everything the way that I’m supposed to. And I’m training hard with my team so that I can defend and retain my belt.”
Who are you picking to win? Let us know in the comments section!
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