Showtime delivers a Bute By Marty Mulcahey (Oct 24, 2008) Photo © Tom Casino/SHOWTIME Send this page to friend Give us your feedback The super middleweight division is in the process of staging a series of uncoordinated elimination bouts to find a replacement for Joe Calzaghe at the top of its hierarchy. Calzaghe, moving up in weight to hunt bigger game nearer his age, has left a void that does not lack qualified candidates to fill the position. In November, America will nominate the winner of the Jermain Taylor – Jeff Lacy fight to represent the Good Ol' USA. Across the Atlantic, Brit Carl Froch fights Canadian Jean Pascal in December to determine the representative from the Commonwealth. Tonight, the two continents cross paths, when Canadian-based Romanian Lucian Bute takes on battle-hardened Mexican Librado Andrade on Showtime. It is a tasty clash that will provide plenty of punches and late round thrills, given the duo’s respective bodies of work. The super middleweight division has been dominated by Europe for the last decade, with Americans Jeff Lacy and Byron Mitchell breaking their stranglehold for short periods. Denmark's Mikkel Kessler (who thoroughly dominated Librado Andrade, and who is fighting Danilo Haussler on Saturday) is considered by most as the favorite to take over Calzaghe's mantle and continue Western Europe's preeminence at 168 pounds. But now Eastern Europe is throwing a wild card into the game, introducing 28 year-old Lucian Bute into the mix. There is much to like about Bute, an aggressive southpaw with an impressive 81% kayo ratio. The Romanian-born pressure fighter has been on American TV once before, knocking out Alejandro Berrio on ESPN's Wednesday Night Fights in October of 2007. The hope is that an impressive showing tonight, against an established American TV fighter like Librado Andrade will prompt an encore performance against the winner of the Taylor – Lacy bout. Like many boxers from the former Soviet Bloc, this ardent student of fisticuffs has a solid amateur background. However, his amateur pedigree is by no means overwhelming when compared to other boxers from Eastern Europe who have graduated to professional titles. Aside from winning a bronze medal at the 1999 amateur world championships, Bute did not excel in the major tourneys he was entered in. He was competitive, but failed to get into the medal rounds of competitions or make it into Olympics. Obviously, his pressing style, which slowly overtakes and envelops foes, is more suited for fights that extend past four rounds. What I like most about Bute is that he picks his shots wisely, rarely lunging or overextending himself to land a looping punch on a retreating opponent, aware that his style and wit will afford him more opportunities as the rounds progress. Bute saw Canada as an option to launch his pro career after observing the success of fellow Romanian boxer Leonard Dorin, the WBA lightweight champion who emigrated to Canada in 1998 after winning the bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics. He was scouted by Canada's Interbox promotions when he won the gold medal at the 2001 Francophone Games in Ottawa, and did well in impromptu sparring sessions with former super middleweight world titlist Eric Lucas. Bute decided to follow in the footsteps of Dorin and signed with Interbox. He arrived in Montreal in 2003, at the age of 23, and in just under five years repaid Interbox's investment by battling his way to a world title. In only his ninth bout, Bute defeated the faded, but still sly, former world titlist Dingaan Thobela, and has handled the wide variety of styles and body types thrown at him with aplomb. He has done so with Dorin's former trainer Stéphane Larouche, who guided the previously mentioned Lucas to a world title too. Bute quickly established himself as a fan favorite, moving up in scale through the three main arenas of Montreal, and selling out each venue. His affable personality and charity work aided his ticket selling prowess, and he endeared himself to Montreal natives by learning French. But mostly, as with all fighters, fans seem to be drawn to a boxer because he scores knockouts. Canadian fans are already convinced that Bute is the goods, and only Montreal Canadiens hockey playoff games have received a higher viewership on television. Will America follow suit? Much depends on the outcome of tonight’s bout, but Showtime boxing analyst, and former Ring magazine editor, Steve Farhood is suitably impressed by what he sees. “He is among the most sound, technically proficient fighters in the game. Although he doesn’t have a flashy style or early-round knockout power, he is refreshing to watch because he's never off-balance, he doesn't fall in after punching, and he fights with calm and poise.” Bute enters the Andrade bout as the IBF super middleweight champion, winning the title by stopping Colombian knockout artist Alejandro Berrio in the eleventh round. It was Bute's only appearance on American TV (televised by ESPN), and he displayed a quiet artistry in that bout. Bute established control early, and adept counter punches kept Berrio from producing an effective offense. Bute invariably landed the last punch when the duo exchanged, and pushed Berrio to the ropes, where he could not get full leverage on his punches. A short left hand counter rocked Berrio badly in eleventh round, and sensing the opportunity for a stoppage, Bute attacked Berrio along the ropes. Referee Marlon Wright had no choice but to step between the fighters and stop the fight, after which Berrio's corner retrieved their fighter and carried him back to a stool in the corner. In his last bout, Bute defeated former middleweight titlist William Joppy, who was disgracefully elevated to a position where he was title eligible by posting wins over non-entities Virgil McClendon, Etienne Whitaker, and Jonathan Corn. Each of Joppy's last three foes had been winless in their previous seven bouts, and Joppy had not faced a top ten boxer since 2004. Of course, Joppy lost that fight, and promptly retired after Bute knocked him out in ten one-sided rounds. To Bute's credit, he did what is expected of a strong champion, and crushed the unqualified foe who was put before him. I count this fight against Andrade as Bute's first real title defense, since it comes against a time-tested, championship caliber foe. How Bute fares against Andrade will tell us just how good Bute really is, or can be. Andrade, an American-based Mexican, serves two purposes tonight. The first is obvious, as he is a top ten rated challenger who will not be beaten by anyone who does not bring their “A game” to the dance. Secondly, he is a measuring stick for which to evaluate Bute against Mikkel Kessler, since the Dane handled and countered Andrade's attacks with ease. With one caveat, Andrade seems to have bettered and matured since the Kessler fight in early 2007. Undefeated since the loss, Andrade has knocked out his last three opponents. Importantly, Andrade will have an eight inch reach advantage, despite both men standing 6'2” tall, and how Bute deals with this could be a major factor in the outcome. Bute's timing, and seemingly superior boxing acumen, must find a way to negate this handicap. Both men have excellent chins, and if there is to be a stoppage, it will likely come in the championship rounds. The matchmaking is of such quality that it does not need the, often fallacious, “bad blood” hype, which has been played up for so many other title bouts of late. The duo is appreciative of each other’s talents, and in the promotional events for the bout, they have traded smiles and compliments instead of harsh words. That all changes for 48 minutes after the opening bell, when the only thing being exchanged will be punches. Voluminous ones from Andrade, which will be greeted by thoughtful counters and pressing actions from Bute. The winner will be perceived as one of the three best super middleweights (along with Mikkel Kessler and the winner of the Lacy-Taylor bout) in the world, and with any luck that trio will be able to produce a successor to Calzaghe in 2009. Discuss these Topics - Go to the forums For Questions or Comments E-Mail Marty Mulcahey at mmulcahey@elpasotel.net