'SuperBoxer' and 'The Scorpion' return to Sydney - 30.07.09!

[Contendo]

‘SuperBoxer’, the ground-breaking series returning championship boxing to ‘free-to-air’ TV in Australia returns to Sydney next Thursday – 30th July, 2009 on its multi-state journey which has covered Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

Following last night’s massive third instalment of SuperBoxer in Canberra featuring the much-anticipated re-match between John ‘Hoppa’ Hopoate and ‘Big Bob’ Mirovic and resulting in a well-earned, to the final bell victory to by John Hopoate, The ‘Orion’ Entertainment Centre in Campsie, Sydney will mark the final stop to the initial series and witnesses the return to the ring for 2009 of the IBO World-Champion and former US ‘Contender’ series winner – Sakio ‘The Scorpion’ Bika!

The return of the excitement machine that is ‘The Scorpion’, a supreme world-class boxer who boasts a 27 (18 / 3 / 2 record and is current IBO Super-Middleweight champion. Bika, the former winner of the US ‘Contender’ series has fought champions such as Joe Calzaghe and Lucian Bute and Australia’s very own, Sam ‘The King’ Soliman.

SuperBoxer has brought entertainment, action and thrilling non-stop bouts throughout the series and any bout with Sakio promises and delivers on those points in spades!

Quoted by legend Joe Calzaghe as the toughest and hardest-punching opponent he ever faced in his glittering career, Bika takes on the tough Argentinean and outstanding international opponent with championship pedigree - Ramon Pedro Moyano, son of the great Carlos Monzon who in 1974 defeated Australia’s champion Tony Mundine in Argentina for the World Super-Middleweight title and comes to SuperBoxer with a 27 (15) / 8 (2) / 3 record and a promise to take the ‘sting’ out of the ‘Scorpions’ tail!


Bika had this to say when asked about the upcoming bout –

“I simply cannot wait for this fight! My record shows I fight the best and I want to show the Australian public what I am about and what the Amercian fans saw of me through ‘The Contender’ series.”

“I won my world-title last here in Sydney and I am proud to have this opportunity to showcase my talents on SuperBoxer.”

“Anthony Mundine has avoided me for far too long and maybe this is a way for the Australian public to see my punching power and the excitement I bring to the ring and call for Anthony to face me in the future!”

“Thank you to the Empire for affording me this opportunity to show Australia how much sting ‘The Scorpion’ has got!”

"My opponent may be the son of the legendary Carlos Monzon, but guess what, that won’t help him on the night when he feels the full force of my power!”


A smashing undercard features the likes of the Australian Light-Welterweight title going on the line between defending champion Solomon Egberime – 19 (10) / 2 (1) and Bobby ‘The Greek Warrior’ Antonakos – 11 (3) / 2 (1) / 1 and scheduled for an exciting 10 rounds of boxing!

Zac ‘Shaker’ Awad, the promising youngster from Sydney with a 12 / 0 record who has caught the eye of the likes of Danny Green with quality sparring previously comes to the SuperBoxer stage choc-full of confidence and ready to notch another win.

Promoted by ‘Empire Promotions’, SuperBoxer has breathed new life into the Australian boxing scene and allows the mainstream public the excitement of seeing these champion boxers, as well as future stars of tomorrow through ‘free-to-air’ TV on 1HD in a throwback to the ‘halcyon days’ of the 60’s and 70’s through ‘TV Ringside’.

Names such as Dib, Bell, Hopoate and Vea have shone through the SuperBoxer series and now it’s ‘The Scorpions’ turn, along with the supporting undercard to take their kudos on this exciting stage!


Promoter Fidel Tukel of Empire Promotions commented –

“I am very proud of SuperBoxer and the promotions we have showcased to the Australian public and with Sakio on our fourth show back here in Sydney, it’s just ices the cake for quality thus far...”

“Sakio, a ‘Contender’ series winner in the US and also the IBO Super Middle-Weight champion brings nothing but power and excitement to the ring and he was a priority for SuperBoxer from day one of planning!”

“The undercard featuring an Australian title on the line between Egberime and Antonakos will be a fantastic bout and not to mention the highly-promising Zac Awad who is bring his undefeated record of 12-0 to the table...”

“The feedback and embracement I’ve received from all circles following our shows has been nothing but tremendous and certainly appreciated by the Empire as it’s been a big team effort to bring this to fruition and I thank everyone concerned, especially the fans!”

[madball1982]

Another Argentinian comes to Australia - no offence to Bika, but why am I not surprised? Was there no Thai's or Indonesian's available?

I would love to know what sort of ratings Superboxer is getting and if there's any plans to do more.

[Marlin]

I would love to know what sort of ratings Superboxer is getting and if there's any plans to do more.

The average rating for the boxing last night was 91,000. It peaked at 162,000. It was ONE's highest rating show and out rated Fox Sports. ONE's show's mainly rate around the 50,000 mark...

[Contendo]

I would love to know what sort of ratings Superboxer is getting and if there's any plans to do more.

The average rating for the boxing last night was 91,000. It peaked at 162,000. It was ONE's highest rating show and out rated Fox Sports. ONE's show's mainly rate around the 50,000 mark...

That is outstanding for a three-week old 'brand' and on HD which is still developing it's audience reach. Full HD will be mid-2010 when everyone has to switch over the HD TV's or set-top so these figures are outstanding.

[Marlin]

It does have an SD channel as well...

[madball1982]

I would love to know what sort of ratings Superboxer is getting and if there's any plans to do more.

The average rating for the boxing last night was 91,000. It peaked at 162,000. It was ONE's highest rating show and out rated Fox Sports. ONE's show's mainly rate around the 50,000 mark...

That's great news. Thanks for the info. Hope it continues.

[Soundkamp]

It does have an SD channel as well...

dont you sttill need a digital box for it thou?

[Marlin]

It does have an SD channel as well...

dont you sttill need a digital box for it thou?

Yeah, but I don't have a HD one just a SD one...

[Hounddawg]

Another Argentinian comes to Australia - no offence to Bika, but why am I not surprised? Was there no Thai's or Indonesian's available?

I would love to know what sort of ratings Superboxer is getting and if there's any plans to do more.

I agree, but i have no problem where they from just as long as they are at least in the top3 ratings in there own country, most of the guys we bring out here are noy even ranked in the top 10 of there own country.

It's also very good that the ratings are there as it's needed to negotiate more shows, but last nights main done absolutely nothing for the sport, it was a disgrace, and it wasn't on Hoppa's behalf.

If any more shows are to be aired, one suggestion I'd like to put forward is, can we at least showcase the best that we have here in Australia, people who will entertain the general public.

[gerry]

i heard channel 10 are very happy with the shows and are planning to put on more.
now hopefully and purely because of the workload i hope they employ more matchmakers and promoters but 4 fights in 4 weeks was always going to be tough.

can people please put down how much they think bika is worth in a fight with mundine.
did geale get 200k? and is bika worth any more
im not sure anyone in aus knows him any better than they do geale

[AntonS]

Promoters requested I remove Moyano from schedule as he's yet to be confirmed

[Hounddawg]

Promoters requested I remove Moyano from schedule as he's yet to be confirmed

Great so there's a chance that Bika will fight someone who can box?

[Brute]

Just as well. Moyano is 36 years old and from his recent record if he really is Carlos Monzon's son he hardly seems like a chip off the old block.

[Brute]

i heard channel 10 are very happy with the shows and are planning to put on more.
now hopefully and purely because of the workload i hope they employ more matchmakers and promoters but 4 fights in 4 weeks was always going to be tough.

can people please put down how much they think bika is worth in a fight with mundine.
did geale get 200k? and is bika worth any more
im not sure anyone in aus knows him any better than they do geale

A lot of people think Mundine dropped to middleweight to avoid Bika.

Bika is the sort of fighter Mundine does not like. A tall guy who can punch.

[The Raw Prawn]

Fairly dodgy not having a definite for Bika one week out from his fight. They've had 2 months to get this organised.
The possible opponent being mentioned is Argentenian boxer Raymon Moyano. He's 36 yrs old and had 3 fights since 2001.

In 2001 he lost by TKO to Jose Clavero [remember him ] wouldn't get off his stool for the fifth round in a bout with Paul Briggs.
Eighteen months later was KO'd by Mundine in the 4th round. Mundine will be dirty he didn't get onto Moyano first for a title
defence.
The rest of the card sounds ok but the matchmakers had better improve their act or HD1 Fight Nights are going to sink without trace.

[gerry]

brute that is what bika would like you to think
mundine has made offers to bika to fight but he thinks he is worth more money
i heard bikas head trippled in size after winning the contender and that is why he has been so inactive because he thinks he is worth millions of dollars per fight and demands it
he thinks he can sit around and wait for a big payday cause he won the contender
he has passed up some good pay days and is now fighting on a 1hd card for what 10k

[Hounddawg]

i heard channel 10 are very happy with the shows and are planning to put on more.
now hopefully and purely because of the workload i hope they employ more matchmakers and promoters but 4 fights in 4 weeks was always going to be tough.

can people please put down how much they think bika is worth in a fight with mundine.
did geale get 200k? and is bika worth any more
im not sure anyone in aus knows him any better than they do geale

A lot of people think Mundine dropped to middleweight to avoid Bika.

Bika is the sort of fighter Mundine does not like. A tall guy who can punch.

Can't believe I'm doing this, but what about Green?

[Hounddawg]

brute that is what bika would like you to think
mundine has made offers to bika to fight but he thinks he is worth more money
i heard bikas head trippled in size after winning the contender and that is why he has been so inactive because he thinks he is worth millions of dollars per fight and demands it
he thinks he can sit around and wait for a big payday cause he won the contender
he has passed up some good pay days and is now fighting on a 1hd card for what 10k

Well said, and i think thats a fair and acurate analysis, Bika hasn't a world title, has lost at 2 attempts and of late has good wins over fringe fighters Soliman,Manfredo Jnr and codrington, no world champs so why does he think a world champ pay check is in order.

Bika needs fights, i've seen this happen time and time again, a fighter becomes too inactive, then gets a shot and has had poor preperation leading up to the fight and of course find themselves on the end of a good old beat down.

The IBO isn't a world title, only those who hold it think that it's a world title, however outside the 4 majors it's the best belt to have.

[birchy]

Gerry,
I can assure you that Bika is a beast inside the ring. To say that his head has trippled in size since Contender etc shows that you don't know the man, he is a very humble person.
Like anyone else, Sakio wants to get paid what he is worth. Unless you've been privy to the details of what has been offered to Sakio I wouldn't be commenting on how much he is demanding to fight!
As for the fights Sakio has knocked back, one was on very short notice, the other was a fight that was a BIG risk for little reward. Sakio was happy to fight the opponent but not for the money being offered. Sakio would've made more money working part-time at McDonald's for 6 months than he would've to fight a tough opponent on a show promoted by the opponents promoter! Boxing is not only a sport but also a business, Sakio, like most Boxers, would love to fight for a million dollars every fight but he knows that's not going to happen at the moment.
The fight with Mundine will hopefully happen sometime in the near future & make both Boxers a good earn. Khoder is keen to make the fight happen, I trust Khoder (I've known him a long time as we went to school together), hopefully the people at Contender (Sakio's promoter) come to the party & this fight happens.
Sakio is ready to do a job on whoever ends up in the other side of the ring from him on Thursday night, he was disappointed that the fight wasn't a Title defence against a top opponent but it's not his call, the promoter has a buget to stick to.
Sakio wants to get his career back on track & fulfill his potential & Thursday is the first step.
Birchy
PS - Don't take too much notice of rumours you hear about people in Boxing, a lot of people don't let the truth get in the way of a good story to suit their own agenda so it's a good idea not to bag people too much based on what you've heard on the grapevine!

[MPG]

Sorry guys but does any 1 know the outcome of this fight from last night:

Kerey Palmer vs. Martin Gillick, 4rds - light heavyweight

Thanks.

[gerry]

Birchy,
my intensions are not to bag bika, he is a great fighter to watch, very exciting and that is why it is hard to believe he cant get fights. his style is very marketable and chuck in the fact he is the contender winner explain why he is so inactive.

i understand boxing is all about promoting a fight but bika has to stop lying and saying mundine is ducking him, that is why i made my comments to let the people on this forum know the facts.

i trust the information i hear on the grapevine especially when the words come straight from your mouth. :P

[Marlin]

Sorry guys but does any 1 know the outcome of this fight from last night:

Kerey Palmer vs. Martin Gillick, 4rds - light heavyweight

Thanks.

Palmer won by KO in the first...

[Hounddawg]

Next time MTG

[Brute]

brute that is what bika would like you to think
mundine has made offers to bika to fight but he thinks he is worth more money
i heard bikas head trippled in size after winning the contender and that is why he has been so inactive because he thinks he is worth millions of dollars per fight and demands it
he thinks he can sit around and wait for a big payday cause he won the contender
he has passed up some good pay days and is now fighting on a 1hd card for what 10k

So why did Mundine relinquish a WBA title to fight for one of these IBO titles you are all running down?

By the way, if IBO titles are worthless, who is going to tell Hatton and Pacquaio?

[amwsnw]

The IBO is quickly becoming a very good organisation. The majority of its champs are worthy title holders, inc Sakio.
Birchy, are the Contendor promotors making life a bit more difficult for Sakio than he would like ??