Sakio Bika vs. Jaidon Codrington

Build-up

Jaidon Codrington, a 23-year-old from Queens, New York, came into the tournament with 16 wins, 13 of them knockouts. His lone loss was a devastating one: Allan Green knocked him out in the first 18 seconds of the opening round. Codrington had also been the New York State Super Middleweight champion. Sakio Bika was the older fighter by five years.

Originally from Cameroon, he represented his country at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and later made Australia his home. Bika became the Australian super middleweight champion and eventually challenged for the WBO, IBF, and WBC world titles against Joe Calzaghe, Lucien Bute, and Marcus Beyer. In October 2002, he lost a split decision over 10 rounds to Sam Soliman for the IBF Pan Pacific title; Soliman later appeared on season 3 of The Contender.

Both men had fought twice earlier in the tournament. Codrington stopped Brian Vera in the second round and Wayne Johnson in the first. Bika went the distance both times, beating Donny McCrary over five rounds and then defeating his previous conqueror Sam Soliman over eight. The tournament gave both fighters a shot at greater recognition, following previous Contender winners Sergio Mora and Grady Brewer.

The fight

The fight began with both boxers being knocked down in the first round. Bika scored the first knockdown with a big hitting early charge, but Codrington recovered and later dropped the African with a left hook, leaving him unsteady for the remainder of the round.

Both fighters continued to absorb heavy shots, with Bika throwing wide, sweeping hooks that wore down the less experienced man. ESPN's Joe Tessitore called the action 'truly great' and remarked at the end of the fifth round, 'If you don't like this, you don't have a pulse.' The bout, scheduled for 10 rounds, was stopped at 2 minutes 18 seconds of round 8, with Codrington spent and Bika's experience and stamina decisive. Sugar Ray Leonard praised both fighters' heart and determination, and promoter Lou Dibella compared the action to something out of a Rocky movie.

Aftermath

Codrington took a year out of the ring, returning in November 2008 to defeat journeyman William Gill over 8 rounds. Bika returned to Australia and won the vacant IBF super middleweight Pan Pacific title, the same title he had failed to win against Soliman in 2002. On the same day Codrington made his comeback in November 2008, Sakio stopped Peter Manfredo, the runner-up from season one of The Contender, in the third round to claim the IBO super middleweight title.