Dan Rafael : The winner of the super 6 is NOT the SMW king unless he fights Bute

IMO, to be called "The King", you have to be the best at your weight without a doubt. The winner of the S6 will most likely be #1 and Bute #2, but we can't be sure even about it, because the way things happen is just as important.

Exemple: Ward beats Dirrel in the semi-final in a clear but competitive UD. Then he beats Abraham in the final. Around the same time, Bute KTFO Dirrell and embarrass him in the process. Who is the man? You can say Ward has the better resume so he should be #1, or that Bute was more convincing so he sould be #1. Either way, I don't think you can Identify "The King" by who wins the tourney, because there won't be unanimity.

 

Winner of the super 6 will be number 1 no doubt and will probably go on to beat Bute and any others.

 

of course the winner needs to fight Bute....they havent given the man a chance.

 

You can't call the winner or Bute the champ, the king, the top dog, etc. until they fight one another. One cannot be the top SMW without beating the other. If Ward wins the Super Six UNDEFEATED, then he should be rated above Bute, but still, a fight must happen. Bute has been forced to fight second-tier opposition and is higher ranked based on the length of his title reign and also in the dominant manner in which he's beaten common opponents as the Super Six contestants.

He obliterated Miranda, which places him above Ward and Green in the eyes of many, and at least on par with or higher than Abraham. He knocked out (and was knocked out by) Andrade, which places him at or slightly above Kessler's level, depending on how you look at it. It would be ridiculous to put Dirrell on the level of Bute resume-wise...So Froch is really the only one we don't know about, and he just lost to Kessler. So using the terribly-flawed 'A beat B but C knocked B out' methed, Bute has to be considered on or above their level at this point. If he fights the dropouts of the super six (particularly Dirrell or Froch, not Green) he'll establish himself as a rightful contender for the top--on an equal level as the super six winner.

But it's true that there can't be a champion until they fight. Rafael was probably just warning people ahead of time not to call Ward the champ if he sweeps the tournament, because you know if that happens then there will be widespread stuff like 'Well what has Bute ever done to deserve a shot at the winner..etc.') Also, Bute needs to take Steiglitz's belt in the meantime so that we can have a unified division with one undisputed champ.

 

This and only this (not vice versa).

 

Exactly, it's not like Bute won't get the chance anyway. Besides, "Who the real champ" is all just public perception figuratively speaking anyway.

 

:good

 

The Super 6 fight the best in each other.Bute continues to fight the "also rans".

 

:huh

 

I think everybody saw this kind of thing coming.

I think it's half-right; the winner should fight Bute.

But the winner WILL be the SMW King and it's up to Bute to see if he can overthrow them.

He doesn't get bonus points just for existing, as guys like Raphael seem to think...the other 6 have been busy fighting the best.

 

dont talk shite

 

While I agree with the spirit of what you're saying, the example is a bad one IMO.

I'm not drinking the DA Kool-Aid yet. Two wins ago he was still a "green prospect" on everybody's stat sheet. The Witter win, whatever, Junior quit after barely even showing up in the ring. So - one good win. No matter how impressive knocking out Urango is, it doesn't launch a kid from green prospect to "person that you need to beat to be #1 in the division".

Bradley is still miles ahead of him in both resume and demonstrated ability, IMO.

 

Super 6 is King. Bute just got big by avenging his knockout lost to Andrade in spectacular fashion. I don't care what the books say. I saw with my own 2 eyes how that corrupt ass ref cheated. ****ing disgusting.

Who ever wins the S6 has a much higher level of comp. Bute is 1-1 with Andrade and beat a Miranda that Ward already beat. S6 is king, if Bute remains undefeated then he is the number#1 contender. But what happens if Bute loses or there is a tight race for the S6 crown?

 

Even if Marlon Wright had done his job and Bute had officially lost the 1st time to Andrade - it would have been after pitching a virtual shutout. So to say he's 1-1 (even in an alternate reality where he gets the L) is kind of misleading, because he proved - twice - that he is several levels of class beyond Andrade.

Bute's competition may not be up to snuff at this point with whoever comes out of the Super Six having faced 4-5 top names in a row (Green doesn't count as a top name...) but you see with your own 2 eyes that in terms of talent he's up there with anybody in the tournament.

To put an exclamation point on it, the winner SHOULD fight Bute. You can make the case they don't have to, but why on earth WOULDN'T they - just to erase any doubt?