| From MOP Squad Sports Boxing : The Contender Recaps
The Blue Team hit the board last week after Wayne Johnson scored “the biggest win of my career,” and for the first time the power of choice was with Pepe Correa. With four fighters left, Correa and his men were given the last two picks in round one of the tournament. Paul Smith of the Blue Team had picked whom he wanted to face almost from the beginning. That would be David Banks. Smith did not appreciate the cocky attitude of Banks, and his big talking ways. That fight will be shown next week.
This week though, gave us Donny McCrary facing off against Sakio Bika. No one wanted to fight Bika, a man who has faced the likes of Joe Calzaghe and Markus Beyer. Incredibly strong, Bika came in with a record of 22-3-2, and, as far as competitors are concerned, is the most experienced of the 10 fighters that started the tournament. Interestingly enough, Sam Soliman, who is on season three and won his first round fight earlier on, had a victory over Sakio, back in 2002. And since he had faced him before, Soliman was quick to help McCrary and give him some pointers about Bika.
McCrary was more than willing to fight Sakio. He was aware that nobody else really wanted to step up, and Donny came ready to go to battle. And so he did. In one of the most exciting fights since The Contender began three seasons ago - in my opinion - McCrary and Bika left everything in the ring.
The first three rounds saw both men going full tilt, with the two of them exchanging punches throughout. Sakio connected more often, but Donny was showing no back up, and continued to keep coming at Bika. A cut over McCrary’s left eye in the third did not slow him down, either.
The fourth round gave an opportunity for the McCrary fans to get excited when Donny showed a flurry of punches and rocked Bika. But ultimately it was the strength and power of Sakio that told the tale, and at the end of the scheduled five it was a unanimous decision for Bika, 49-46, 50-45, and 50-45.
McCrary did not win over the judges, but he scored huge with the fans. True, that does nothing to help his boxing resumé, but he showed a determination and toughness that had to make believers over those who might have doubted him. Sugar Ray Leonard sung his praises after the fight, as did the Blue Teams’ trainer, Correa. Pepe said he did not think Donny would bring such a fight to Bika, but “you never know what’s in a man’s heart, do you?”
Donny was afraid that he let down those who had supported him. There is no way that could have happened. He fought like a gladiator, never gave up, and showed all who were watching just what he is made of. This was one of those fights where it was really too bad there had to be a winner and a loser.
I had hoped to talk with Donny, but I was never able to catch up with him. I am going to try to get an interview, and when I do I will write an additional article giving his thoughts on the fight.
With his strong win, Sakio Bika moves right behind Jaidon Codrington into the second spot with 13 points. (In case you have forgotten how the points work, you take the judges scores, in this case the 49-46, 50-45, and 50-45, subtract the difference between each judges score and add those three numbers together.) Soliman is in third with his 12 points, and Wayne Johnson is in fourth with 11 points. It is up to Banks and Smith to either score a knockout or get more than 11 points to move into the top four that will compete in the semi finals.
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb. |