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Home » Sakio Bika wins battle of aged ex-world champions versus Sam Soliman

Sakio Bika wins battle of aged ex-world champions versus Sam Soliman

Sakio Bika won the clash of the former world champion Golden Oldies as he comfortably outpointed Sam Soliman at their middleweight to super middleweight catchweight.

Bika out-landed the tricky Soliman over the first two rounds. Soliman did better at the start of the third, connecting with a good right, but Bika opened up at the end of the round.

Soliman was in a spot bother before the bell. A clash of heads in the fifth saw both fighters cut but with Bika’s cut, the more severe.

Soliman edged the sixth, but as Solomon tired, Bika dominated the seventh landing body punches and uppercuts.

Soliman only made it to the final bell, with Scores 80-73, 79-73and 78-74 for Bika.

Former WBC super middle title holder Bika, now 41, was fighting for the first time since October 2017.

Soliman, 37, former holder of the IBF middleweight title, had been a little more active, having two fights in 2018.

He won the vacant World Boxing Federation middleweight title in April 2019.

Tapia vs. Quinlan

Cesar Tapia scores a second win over former IBO champion Renald Quinlan.

This one was entertaining whilst it lasted as Quinlan tried to match Tapia punch for punch. It did not work, and he shook him a couple of times as Tapia took the first three rounds.

Quinlan was still trying to come forward in the fourth, but as he fired a left hook, Tapia came over the top of it with a booming right that sent Quinlan down heavily.

He made it to his feet, but Tapia drove him to a corner and raked him with punches until the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.

“El Tijanero” Tapia, 22, was born in Mexico but moved to Australia.

He won several titles as an amateur before turning pro there and is the current Australian champion, a title he won by outpointing Quinlan in 2019.

Quinlan was stopped in ten rounds by Chris Eubank Jr in a challenge for the IBO title in 2017 and has now lost six in a row.

Fleming vs. Lantry

Southpaw Paul Fleming gets win No 18 by KO/TKO despite fighting for three rounds with an injured hand.

Fleming set a frantic pace pumping out punches with Tyson Lantry struggling to stay in the fight.

In the fifth, Fleming winced as he landed a left and only used the hand sparingly.

He boxed his way through the sixth but landed enough rights to have Lantry drained of any resistance, and in the seventh, Lantry’s corner threw in the towel.

Now 32, Fleming won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games and represented Australia at the 2008 Olympics.

But as a pro after twelve years, apart from staying unbeaten, he has gone nowhere, and it isn’t easy to see where he is going with his career.

Lantry was coming off an upset points win over former WBO interim title challenger Luke Jackson.

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