Promoters acted quickly after last week’s pullout of Andre Dirrell for his world title shot against WBA Super Middleweight champion Andre Ward as espn.com Dan Rafael is reporting that former world title challenger Sakio Bika will now step in for that November 27th opportunity.
“We’re working on that. Bika is definitely interested in doing the fight,” Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, Bika’s co-promoter, told ESPN.com on Tuesday. “It’s not done, but it’s being worked on.”
What has not been decided is whether Ward’s bout will be part of the tournament. He is the only fighter in the field to have already secured a semifinal berth heading into the Group Stage 3 bouts, the last of the round robin portion of the tournament. The tournament contract allows for fighters to fight outside of the tournament with Showtime’s approval.
“We’re working on that too,” Schaefer said.
