This content is protected He was rated at some point #1 in the division by the 2 most prestigious boxing sites in this matter, The Ring Magazine and Boxrec .
Andrade was ranked #3 In the SMW division the first time Bute fought him. And Ward never left America. And the location of his fights it's kind of stupid reason not to be ranked high.
opinions are like assholes . . . everyone has one! lol I think your assessment of Bute is a bit harsh. First, he was a HBO fighter and was frozen out of the Super 6. Second, He has beaten most of the top contender outside of the super 6 (which he should done). Third, boxing is how these guys make a living, he makes more money fighting in QC than anywheres else so why not continue fighting there? If he can make better money elsewhere and doesn't accept, then you would have a cae. Fourth, Kessler and Pavlik priced themselves out of fighting him because they are the weak b side of the equation and could not except that. Finally, he knew that the fight versus Andrade was contreversial and did the manly thing and granted him an immediate re-match, Where beat him badly. I rank him second in the division but he could be ranked anywhere in the top 5 and I would not disagree that strongly.
Boxrec? Come on. But yes I recall he was ranked #1 by The Ring at some point. After his second fight with Andrade maybe?
The fighters would be ranked like this in order of the Belts. CHAMPS 1. Froch- WBC 2. Ward- WBA 3. Stieglitz- WBO 4. BUTE- IBF THEN 1. Kessler 2. Dirrell 3. PAvlik 4. Johnson 5. BIKA My Order would be 1. Froch 2.Ward 3. Kessler 4. Dirrell 5. Bute 6. Pavlik 7. Johnson 8. Stieglitz 9. Bika 10. Aaron Pryor Jr. BUTE hasn't fought anybody but 2 Pavlik Leftovers (Miranda, Zungia) Andrade, BIKA. So honestly we really dont know what type of fighter he is when he steps up another level. IMO he beats Johnson, but its gonna be a tough fight!
I think his style is a tough matchup for alot of fighters at 168, and could easily slap his way to a UD like Joe "Slap Happy" Calzaghe
bute beat the count against andrade. i used to think otherwise but i've rewatched it several times and while andrade took his sweet ass time getting to the neutral corner, bute did beat the count. but still, he hasnt really fought anyone. i'm glad johnson is getting this opportunity and think pavlik is a ****ing moron for ruining the shot he had.
So, for Bute you look at what he has done, and for Dirrell you look at what he could do. That's a completely different perspective, don't you think?
Yes his style could Be hard for all the boxers at 168lbs but same goes for Bute. Bute got a better Resume then Direll though. And i'm not sure i could put Direll in my SMW top 10 because of his innactivity.