since dirrell is out and ward doesnt have anyone to fight, they should just fight each other. just read on espn that hershman said they would allow a fight outside the tournament, this would sort out alot in the division because it would unify 2 belts but more importantly it would crown a universally recognised number 1 in the division. before anyone says i know bute has scheduled fight with brinkley but im sure it can be postponed for a while.
bring it - and the winner fights winner of AA Froch. would be a great way to sort out the divison and forget about the likes of Green, Taylor and Dirrell who disapointed us so much.
I don't think it can be postponed .... Maby since Ward vs Dirrell is off 3-4 months from now... but Bute and Brinkley are at the end of their training camp, the guys are ready and it would be a waste of hard work and training to not go with the fight... Tv rights have been sold , tickets ,Bell Center booked etc etc . Bute had a gameplan for Brinkley ... he didn't trained for Ward. And Ward had no training camp
your right about that, they should just make ward bute for first quarter of 2011 then. let bute punch around brinkley for a bit then he can start training for ward.
They could do it for late January, but politics would prevent it anyways... If I was Bute, I'd even tell Ward that he doesn't have to put his belt on the line for their fight if he wishes. Flip a coin to decide where it takes place, Oakland or Montreal. Fans can only dream...
i think it would be possible to make for late january with both fighters having enough time to get ready. it's the best possible matchup of consequence in the division.
Showtime wants to resume the tournament. Ward will fight in November. His next fight will be the semi-final. The only way Ward-Bute can get done is if Showtime ends officially the tournament. They engaged themselves with every boxer in the tourney, so they can't do that, unless every participant agree. We'll see a substitute for Dirrell.
Ward is fighting in late November. Bute is fighting October 13. No way he'll go right back into training camp and fight the best opponent of his career on short notice and without a full training camp. Ward will probably end up fighting another Shelby Pudwill, and Showtime will have to pay him handsomely for it. It's not like there's really anyone legitimately available within this time frame though. The best fighters won't take the fight on short notice in Ward's backyard. A few more legitimate possibilities: - Oosthuizen-Chilemba gets postponed again, and one of those two very good prospects jumps at the chance for a legit belt instead of the IBO one they're fighting for. - Brian Magee jumps at the chance for a title shot, but he's close enough to being the WBO mandatory that he won't do it unless they pay him well, probably. - I could maybe see Khoren Gevor going for it, if Universum will let him fight in the US (other than Andrade-Stieglitz, which was a purse bid situation, I can't remember the last time a Universum fighter fought on US soil). - Any of Peter Quillin, Edwin Rodriguez or Marcus Johnson looks like a decent enough opponent on paper, but they're really too green for the fight. One of them might jump at a title shot though, most likely Quillin who seems to have stalled out. But in the end, I honestly suspect it won't even be someone at that level. Showtime's not particularly tough about approving fights, and there are very few legitimate options available.
Ward wants all of his fights in his home town. He would pull out of tournament if Bute were allowed to fight, esp. if it were not in his home town with his referee and judges.
Farmboxer, you have any integrity whatsoever, you will answer the following question straight-forward. In his last 15 fights, how many fights has Bute had outside his home town?
