~~~The Lightning Lucian Bute Battleship~~~

What do you mean? That he wouldn't be able to make weight at 168 in 12-21 months' time?

 

Nah, he didn't have trouble making weight! Did he look drained to you? He was bang on! In any case, the weight is not so important, unless you think Bute would get KOed at 175. I don't.

 

Well, it wasn't me who suggested he might have to, if he wanted to fight Kessler...:hey

Kessler will want to prove he is the best SMW after Joe retires more than Bute would, I would guess; he would do his utmost to fight Bute at 168.

(You haven't answered my question yet)

 

Every review I read of this fight sounds the same; they're all having a good laugh at Bute for fighting shot, old Joppy.:-(

 

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I'll try to give a fair assessment of Bute's career. This is going to be long but you asked for it.

Bute style has changed quite a lot since he turned pro. He went from being pretty much an all aggression minded fighter to being a defensive counter puncher.

He was very spectacular early in his career against limited opposition and his trainer gradually turned him into a boxer-puncher.

Bute faced solid journeyman on his way up like Lolenga Mock, Kabary Salem and Andrade Thysse. He also fought decent journeyman guys like Spearman and Wiggins.

You have to look at his opposition and understand the development that was happening.

In his 10th fight he fought Carl Handy for the NABF Light Heavyweight Title. First minor title fight and first 12 rounder. With only 9 fights on his record. He stopped Handy faster then Berrio and just as fast as former undisputed cruiserweight champion, O'neil Bell. After that fight Carl Handy became Bute's main sparring partner. He moved to Montreal and he helps Bute and other Interbox fighters to get ready for their fights.

In his next fight (his first at 168lbs) he fought for the NABA 168lbs Title Against 9-1-1 Christian Cruz who was coming off KO win over 19-0-0 Enrique Ornelas and a decision win over 17-1 Dallas Vargas. Of course, Cruz didn't turn out to be a very good fighter but at the time it was a risky fight to take. Bute floored Cruz 4 times en route to a TKO12 win.

In his next fight he fought Donnie McCrary. He absolutely DESTROYED him and made him look like a guy from a toughman contest. He dominated every seconds of every rounds dropping McCrary everytime he was landing to the body. He could have stopped him in the first round but his trainer keep telling him to get some rounds in and give the Romanian fans something to watch. We're talking about the same McCrary who almost KTFO Allan Green and didn't do half bad on The Contender. Bute finally had enough in the 4th round and knocked out McCrary with a body shot to the liver.

Next fight was against veteran Journeyman Jose Spearman. In my opinion it was Bute's toughest fight to date. Not that Spearman was winning or anything but he caused Bute some problems with his jab and his reach. Also Bute had to deal with controversy and even the possibility of getting disqualified for hitting Spearman after the bell. He also lost 1 or 2 points for low blows. That was a tough fight for a young fighter. Especially one like Bute who was easily beating everyone in his path up to this point. He learned a lot in that fight and hasn't been the same fighter since then.

Bute was then 13-0-0 with 13ko. He had a pretty tough fight with Spearman so you would think they would give him and easy fight after that one. But no, next fight was against Kabary Salem. Who was coming off a decision lost to Joe Calzaghe. He even put Calzaghe down with a hard right hand in the 4th round. Pretty much everybody in Montreal thought this was a mistake after the tough fight Bute had with Spearman and the limited experience that he had at the time. It was the first time we saw the "new" Bute. The careful & strategic counter puncher. He did very good in that fight and ended up becoming the first and only man to stop Salem.

His next fight was against Donnell Wiggins. It was simply a show case of Bute's talent. Wiggins was coming off a decent effort against Montreal's Otis Grant a few months earlier. He also had a war with Jeff Lacy 2 years before that. People wanted to see if Bute could do better. After a calm first round. Bute turned up the heat in the second round and knocked out Wiggins with a wicked body shot.

After that Bute became pretty popular in Montreal. His next fight was against tough and durable journeyman, Andre Thysse. Thysse was coming off a decision lost to highly regarded German prospect, Juergen Braehmer. He even managed to win some of the later rounds. It was a very good fight for Bute who dominated every rounds. Throwing over 1000 punches. Bute went the distance for the first time in his career. A good 12 rounds of non stop punching that proved he had excellent stamina. Thysse proved he has one of the best chin of all time.

Next fight was against journeyman Lolenga Mock. I think it was the first fight intended to make Bute really move up in the rankings. I believe Mock was rated in the top10 of the IBF and WBO at the time. He was the WBO Inter-continental champion. A title he won when he knocked out Charles Brewer a year earlier. Mock is also known for sending current undisputed cruiserweight champion, David Haye, on ***** street. Bute fought a tactical fight against a very awkward opponent. He won almost every rounds and went the distance for the second time in a row.

Next up was James Obede Toney. We didn't know much about that guy before the fight other that he had a draw against #1 WBA middleweight contender, Randy Griffin. He was rated in the top10 somehow so that fight help Bute get into position for a title shot. Toney looked slow and limited against Bute who pretty much did everything he wanted in the ring. At some point in the 4th round he threw a +70 punch combinations in about 25 seconds while Toney was covering up against the ropes. Bute finally stopped toney a few rounds later. Note that Bute hurt his right hand in that fight and because of that he wasn't able to fight on the undercard of Kessler-Beyer as planned.

Next up was Tatevosyan, Bute was suppose to fight Markussen but the Dane got knocked out in his tune up fight against Tatevosyan on the undercard of Kessler-Beyer. So Bute ended up fighting the russian instead. It was a good learning experience for Bute who was fighting a southpaw for only the second time in his career. He controlled the fight and hurt Tatevosyan a few times but was not able to stop him. He won almost every rounds and put another top10 rated fighter on his record.

Next up was an IBF title eliminator against Sakio Bika. Bika was coming off two unsuccessful world title shots against Beyer and Calzaghe. Bute and Bika were both rated in the Ring Magazine top10 supermiddleweights at the time. Bute had some difficulties to figure Bika out in the early rounds. After the fifth round Bute started cruising and at the end he was dominating the tough fighter from Australia. Bute won a unanimous decision and got his shot against the champion. Bute was only 20-0-0 at this point.

Next fight was against IBF champion Alejandro Berrio. Berrio was considered the biggest puncher in the division and had an excellent record in the last two years with ko wins over guys like Syd Vanderpool, Yusek Mack and 29-0-0 Robert Steglitz. Still Bute was a 3-1 favorite coming into the fight. Bute fought his now typical careful and tactical style in the early rounds. Berrio was the aggressor for most of the fight with Bute backing up and counter punching Berrio. In the 11th Bute was way ahead on all three judges scorecards when he landed a big right hook. Berrio was hurt and he backed into a corner and tried to protect himself. Bute threw a few punches and suddenly he landed a huge left hand and Berrio was out on his feet. Bute landed two other left hand after that before the ref stepped in and stopped the fight. Bute became the new IBF Super Middleweight Champion in front of 13500 adoring fans at the Bell Center, +1.2 millions fans on national tv in Quebec and millions of fans watching the fight in Romania.

Having taken the short money against both Sakio Bika and Alejandro Berrio so the fights could happen in Montreal means that Bute and his team were looking for an easy and cheap opponent for his first title defense. They decided on William Joppy. A 3 time middleweight world champion who's best days are behind him. They hope Joppy will bring his experience in the ring and help Bute's development while securing a good payday before taking on bigger fishes this summer.

I hope this helps you understand and appreciate Bute's career.

Maxime

 

Fat Bute relaxing in Mexico...5 weeks before the fight...:-(

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Bute training hard:

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A quick snack before another session in the sun:

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Welcome to ESB, mate!:good

Let's see what Bute does this year; perhaps he will be ready for Kessler next year.

 

I am sure it will be shown in America. Bute's promoters are working overtime to sell him to the Americans - they picked Joppy - who is shot but lost to some big names and is well known and quite liked in the USA and they are trying to sell him to the Mexicans as well - see pics below - to talk up a fight agains Andrade in summer, (if he gets past Bika), somewhere on big undercard in Vegas. If Bute wins, he would fight his mandatory in autumn back home in Montreal. By this time, Kessler will have his hands on the WBO belt, I think. So, in 2009, they could meet. Bute could fight the new WBC Champ first, though (Froch v. Inkin winner - probably Froch). What a great couple of fights if everyone plays ball and if they stay unbeaten. Then - Kessler v. Bute at the end of 2009? Definitely in Vegas, even as a main event!