By Sam Gregory: On Friday March 13th, undefeated super middleweight contender Lucian Bute 23-0 with 18 KO’s will return to the ring in his hometown of Montreal to defend his IBF title for the fourth time after winning the title in Montreal on June 15th, 2007 from Sakio Bika. All of Bute’s title defenses have been fought at the same venue in Montreal using the same referee Marlon Wright; this time he will be taking on Columbian power-puncher Fulgencio Zuniga 22-3 with 19 KO’s on a special World Championship edition of ShoBox, The New Generation from Belle Centre in Montreal, Quebec.
Lucian Bute
Bute Interview; Flores-Harrera, Latimore Waiting on Spinks – Boxing News
“I’m tired of this waiting, I’m a prize fighter not some dude working in a restaurant serving food” said Deandre “THE BULL” Latimore after a morning run in Las Vegas.
“Every day I’m in the gym here in Vegas and when we finally get in the ring I’m going to take out all my anger over this waiting out on Cory Spinks, he’s going to pay for these delays” said the St. Louis native.
Bute vs. Zuniga on March 13th
By Sean McDaniel: After winning a his last fight by a controversial fashion, International Boxing Federation super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (23-0, 18 KOs) will be making his return on March 13th, defending his title against the IBF #10 contender Fulgencio Zuniga (22-3-1, 19 KOs) at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Bute, 28, had been in the planning stages to fight contender Mads Larsen, but he opted to fight WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler instead.
Bute-Larsen: Lucian Makes a Voluntary Defense
By Jim Dower: International Boxing Federation super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (23-0, 18 KOs) is looking to make a voluntary defense of his title against German based challenger Mads Larsen (51-2, 38 KOs) in the coming months. As of yet, the fight hasn’t been signed nor has there been a date yet set for the fight but it appears this will be Bute’s next bout on the horizon.
Froch Eyeing Bouts Against Bute, Kessler and Taylor
By Eric Thomas: In an article in the TimesOnline, unbeaten super middleweight Carl Froch (24-0, 19 KOs) said that he’s interested in taking on the best in the super middleweight division, saying “I’m happy to fight the likes of Jermain Taylor or Lucian Bute or Mikkel Kessler. I don’t believe in having easy fights.” Missing from those names, however, is Joe Calzaghe, who Froch has been pursuing without success for some time.
Bute: Should There Be An Asterisk On His Resume For The Andrade Fight?
IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (23-0, 18 KOs) got his win over Librado Andrade (27-2, 21 KOs) all right, but in the manner he gained it, I’m afraid to say that only his most diehard supporters are see it as an actual victory rather than what it appeared to be – a 12th round TKO loss. For those who may not have seen the fight and are not clear on what this is all about, let me enlighten you on the details of the bout. Bute, 28, was making his 2nd defense of his IBF title, fighting in front of his home audience in Montreal, Canada, and making a huge step up from the mostly soft opposition he had fought in his career.
He looked good early on, but began tiring by the 8th due to all of the running he was doing in the fight. He clinched often in every round, receiving no warnings from the referee. Nor Bute receive warnings for twice grabbing Andrade’s leg while he was attacking him and picking it up off the ground in a kind of wrestling move. I’ve personally never seen a fighter do that before to try and stop an attack, but it certainly should have led to a warning to Bute by the referee. It didn’t.
Bute Defeats Andrade
By Chris Williams: IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (23-0, 18 KOs) can sure dish out the punishment, but he can’t take it for anything. Challenger Librado Andrade (27-2, 21 KOs) rallied from behind in the 12th round, and dropped Bute in the final seconds of the fight with a perfect right hand to the head. The referee somehow got confused with everything that was going on in the ring, and got a late start in giving Bute the count, probably giving him enough time to have stayed down and rested sufficiently for three full ten counts from the looks of it.
As badly hurt as Bute was, he needed it. He got up finally after what appeared to be ions, and was still unable to stand up without leaning back against the ropes for support. The fight ran out after the standing eight count, and Bute held onto his IBF title. However, there’s going to be a lot of controversy stirring from this bout in the coming days, because the referee looked like he didn’t handle the situation in the best manner possible and may have given Bute a little too much time to recover before starting the count. The fight was in Montreal, Canada, Bute’s new adopted city, so I would expect him to be given a little more time to recover if he was hurt. There’s nothing really wrong with that, because it’s done everywhere.
Bute Defeats Andrade on Long Count – Latest Boxing News
By Scott Gilfoid: In a fight that was eerily similar to Jack Dempsey’s historic 1926 long count fight with Gene Tunney in 1926, IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (23-0, 18 KOs) survived a 12th round knockout, one in which the referee hesitated for a lengthy amount of time before finally starting the count after Bute was knocked down in the round, to defeat challenger Librado Andrade (27-2, 21 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Bute, 28, had dominated most of the fight up until the 11th round when Andrade hurt a weary Bute with a big left hand, causing him to clinch.
However, just when Andrade was going for the kill, the referee for some strange reason jumped in between them, interrupting the action and giving Andrade a warning because he had roughly peeled Bute, who was clinching for dear life, off of him in order to finish him off. The time spent warning Andrade allowed the badly hurt Bute to survive what possibly could have been the end of the fight in the 11th. In the 12th round, Andrade unloaded on Bute with two hard left hands while Bute was all over him, clinching and trying to run out the clock. The two left hands hurt Bute, who then began staggering around the ring taking big shots from Andrade the entire time.
Latest Boxing News – Bute Defends IBF Title Against Andrade On Saturday
By Tim Nielson: Undefeated IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (22-0, 18 KOs) will be defending his title on Saturday against Librado Andrade (27-1, 21 KOs) in what will surely be Bute’s toughest fight to date at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This will be Bute’s second defense of his title that he won against Alejandro Berrio a year ago in October 2007, with an 11th round TKO over the Columbian Berrio. Bute, 28, has unfortunately been only able to defend the title once with a 10th round stoppage victory over veteran William Joppy in February.
Following that win, however, Bute injured one of his knees in training and has been forced to rehabilitate the knee. However, when Bute is well, he’s one of the top super middleweights in the division, possibly the number #2 overall fighter in the division after Mikkel Kessler. With Joe Calzaghe no longer actively taking on fights in the division, Kessler and Bute have risen up to the top spots at super middleweight, with only Andrade and Carl Froch approaching them in talent.
Shawn Estrada, Luis Ramos, Bute-Andrade – Latest Boxing News
Unbeaten IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute will put his title on the line on Saturday night against the human punching machine Librado Andrade at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The fight in many ways mirrors Andrade’s losing effort against WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler in March 2007, a fight in which Andrade lost every round and was never in the fight. Bute, formerly from Romania, fights in a similar style as Kessler, moving well on the outside, retreating when attacked and very sound offensively.