Calzaghe survives dirty brawl

Joe Calzaghe was forced to dispense with his usual polish and get the better of a dirty brawl with Sakio Bika to retain his WBO and IBF super-middleweight titles on points at Manchester's MEN Arena.

Calzaghe clinched 117-110 (twice) 116-111 verdicts from the three ringside judges to bring an end to a wild affair in which he had to shrug off a badly-cut left eye from the fourth round onwards.

The Cameroonian's kamikaze approach paid plenty of dividends as he continually knocked the Welshman out of his stride and ensured a much tougher night than his win over Jeff Lacy seven months ago.

That night Calzaghe had been able to dazzle against the previously unbeaten American - but tonight's hard graft will probably earn the 34-year-old just as much satisfaction.

Calzaghe had constantly warned against complacency in the build-up to this fight and his fans were made to sweat before he finally wrapped up a 19th successful defence to draw him level with the great Bernard Hopkins.

Calzaghe was pushed back frequently by his opponent's jolting right hands, had blood spurting from a cut from a head-butt in round four, and battered with a low blow in an equally wild final round.

But he had come to expect that kind of night from Bika, who had given WBC champion Markus Beyer plenty of problems before another butt forced a technical draw in their bout in Germany in May.

That performance alone suggested Bika - who arrived with a record of 20 wins and one defeat from his 23 fights - would be unfazed by his big test and give Calzaghe plenty to think about.

Without doubt Calzaghe began as the major drawcard in a bout beamed back to the United States, and he was even afforded the honour of the rare ringside presence of former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

But Lewis will have been impressed with the tenacity of Bika as much as Calzaghe's trademark hand speed as the challenger warmed to his task right from the off.

Calzaghe was temporarily caught off-balance by a short left while Bika threw no end of uppercuts at point-blank range in an attempt to keep the champion out of his stride.

Awkward Bika also knocked Calzaghe back with a right in round two while Calzaghe responded with two cracking left hands in a wild end to the round in which both fighters continued punching well after the bell.

Bika even ended up being pushed to the canvas before referee Mickey Vann could intervene - and he gave the pair a long and stern lecture at the beginning of round three.

Keeping his hands low and tempting Bika to attack, the Welshman began to find his range in round three but it was proving anything but the straightforward affair many had anticipated.

The pair continued to exchange close-up blows in a fourth round which ended ominously for the champion, who emerged from an exchange in the corner with blood flowing from a cut around his left eye.

The unheralded 27-year-old African reopened Calzaghe's wound in the fifth round but was immediately docked a point by referee Vann for illegal use of the head.

But Bika was also landing legally, drilling Calzaghe's head with two fine right hands while the champion responded with a cracking straight left of his own.

Calzaghe looked a little drained in the late rounds as his punches continued to have little effect on his opponent, who simply shrugged them off with a grin and fired back.

Two low blows brought an almost fitting end to a rough and ready contest but the statistic that mattered at the end was that Calzaghe still reigned as unbeaten champion.