By James Slater, Eastside Boxing
Shortly after his hugely impressive, 4th-round stoppage of the super-tough Librado Andrade in November, I wrote how IBF super-middleweight champion Lucian Bute should perhaps be looked at as THE best 168-pounder in the world. Not only had the Romanian-born southpaw managed to do what no other fighter ever had and stop the Mexican warrior, but he had also proved again his ever continuing improvement as a fighter.
Some fans agreed with me that the 30-year-old known as "La Tombeur" should be looked at as the premiere super-middleweight in the sport, while others still disagreed.. Well, what the Canadian-based talent with the 26-0(21) record did last night do Edison Miranda, in taking him out inside three-rounds, which is quicker than any other fighter ever has, certainly failed to make me alter my opinion any. Although Miranda has been exposed as a fighter who is not quite good enough to make it at world level, Bute's win was truly impressive in that he made it look so effortless. I really have to ask myself: with the power he is showing, the calmness he has, the variety (a great puncher to both body and head) and the sheer confidence his dominance has brought him, is there anyone out there at the weight who can defeat Bute?
Also, with his significant wins continuing to stack up (Sakio Bika, Andrade twice and the dangerous duo that is Fulgencio Zuniga and Miranda all being handed comprehensive defeats), the growing length of his title reign AND his continually growing skills; I have to also ask if Bute is a fighter now worthy of being ranked in the pound-for-pound charts?
I know no fighter should be ranked on potential, and it must be admitted that putting Bute among boxing's absolute best at a time when he has still to win his first mega-fight over a true great could be guilty of going too far; but should the past achievements of a fighter keep him in the pound-for-pound ratings? Look at Ring magazine's top-ten P4P and you will see Bernard Hopkins still in at #6. I'm not saying Bute should replace the future Hall of Famer who looked so faded last time out in winning on points over the also shop-worn Roy Jones, but shouldn't B-Hop, as great as he's been, drop out of the top-ten altogether? If he did, the fighters ranked behind him, in Miguel Cotto, Chad Dawson, Paul Williams and Celestino Caballero, would all go up a notch - leaving the #10 spot free.
Would you have any problem seeing the IBF 168-pound champ placed at the bottom of the pound-for-pound charts? We'll have to see if Ring magazine does choose to reward Bute (their #1 choice at among super-middleweights) for his win over Miranda (and all his other achievements) by juggling their P4P list somewhat. But, for what it's worth, I would rate Bute as a pound-for-pound operator right now.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Showing posts with label Librado Andrade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Librado Andrade. Show all posts
Monday, 19 April 2010
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Bute KOs Andrade to keep IBF super middleweight belt
AFP
QUEBEC CITY — Unbeaten Lucian Bute knocked out Librado Andrade in the fourth round here to retain his International Boxing Federation super middleweight world title.
The Romanian-born Bute, who has become a hero in his adopted Canada, dropped the Mexican challenger for the first time in the fourth with a short left to the chin - sending a crowd of 16,000 into a frenzy.
Bute then connected with a left to the midriff that sent Andrade down for the count at 2:57 of the fourth.
Bute improved to 25-0 with 20 knockouts, while Andrade fell to 28-3 with 21 wins inside the distance. Bute said the knockout was just what he had in mind.
"That's what I trained for," said Bute, who wanted to erase the memory of his first fight with Andrade in October of last year. Then, Bute dominated Andrade in Montreal until the final 90 seconds, before the challenger unleashed a desperate comeback that many thought Bute was lucky to escape.
"I haven't felt that good in two years," a joyful Bute said. "Tonight you saw the real Lucian Bute."
Andrade was trying to become the first world champion from Mexico in the super middleweight division.
Bute, meanwhile, demonstrated his strength despite being the only major champion in the division snubbed for the "Super Six" promotion featuring top US and European fighters.
"Tonight was my night," he said. "Everything went as planned."
On the undercard, South Africa's Ali Funeka punished former two-division world champion Joan Guzman but emerged with only a controversial majority draw in a fight for the vacant IBF lightweight title.
One ringside judge scored it 116-112 for Funeka, while the remaining two saw it 114-114 to leave the title still vacant.
Dominican Guzman remained unbeaten with a record of 29-0-1 with 17 wins inside the distance. Funeka moved to 30-2-2 with 25 knockouts.
It was a second North American disappointment for Funeka, who took on American Nate Campbell for the IBF and World Boxing Association lightweight belts in February.
Campbell failed to make weight and was forced to give up the belts. He then beat Funeka to deny the South African's bid to claim the vacant titles.
"I travelled a long way from South Africa to prove I'm the best in the lightweight division," a frustrated Funeka said. "What can I do? I don't even know what I can say."
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
Source: Google News
QUEBEC CITY — Unbeaten Lucian Bute knocked out Librado Andrade in the fourth round here to retain his International Boxing Federation super middleweight world title.
The Romanian-born Bute, who has become a hero in his adopted Canada, dropped the Mexican challenger for the first time in the fourth with a short left to the chin - sending a crowd of 16,000 into a frenzy.
Bute then connected with a left to the midriff that sent Andrade down for the count at 2:57 of the fourth.
Bute improved to 25-0 with 20 knockouts, while Andrade fell to 28-3 with 21 wins inside the distance. Bute said the knockout was just what he had in mind.
"That's what I trained for," said Bute, who wanted to erase the memory of his first fight with Andrade in October of last year. Then, Bute dominated Andrade in Montreal until the final 90 seconds, before the challenger unleashed a desperate comeback that many thought Bute was lucky to escape.
"I haven't felt that good in two years," a joyful Bute said. "Tonight you saw the real Lucian Bute."
Andrade was trying to become the first world champion from Mexico in the super middleweight division.
Bute, meanwhile, demonstrated his strength despite being the only major champion in the division snubbed for the "Super Six" promotion featuring top US and European fighters.
"Tonight was my night," he said. "Everything went as planned."
On the undercard, South Africa's Ali Funeka punished former two-division world champion Joan Guzman but emerged with only a controversial majority draw in a fight for the vacant IBF lightweight title.
One ringside judge scored it 116-112 for Funeka, while the remaining two saw it 114-114 to leave the title still vacant.
Dominican Guzman remained unbeaten with a record of 29-0-1 with 17 wins inside the distance. Funeka moved to 30-2-2 with 25 knockouts.
It was a second North American disappointment for Funeka, who took on American Nate Campbell for the IBF and World Boxing Association lightweight belts in February.
Campbell failed to make weight and was forced to give up the belts. He then beat Funeka to deny the South African's bid to claim the vacant titles.
"I travelled a long way from South Africa to prove I'm the best in the lightweight division," a frustrated Funeka said. "What can I do? I don't even know what I can say."
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
Source: Google News
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Friday, 27 November 2009
Opportunity beckons for Bute; Manny fans thinkskinned
By Chris Iorfida, CBC Sports
Quebec fighter Lucian Bute may have been left off the dancecard for the Showtime super middleweight tournament, but he'll have a chance to forge his own path if he's successful in a rematch Saturday night against Librado Andrade.
It's a moderate-sized if. Bute is the favourite, and should be, but was literally out on his feet at the end of the first bout between the two men in October 2008. He outboxed the rugged Mexican Andrade impressively for the first 11 rounds but found himself gassed in the final round. Had the bout gone another 20 seconds even, he would have been done.
Bute fell over once from exhaustion, and then was dropped by Andrade. Referee Marlon Wright made the very curious decision to choose that juncture to warn Andrade about being too far out of the neutral corner, buying Bute some crucial seconds. For an analogous situation, Julio Cesar Chavez was much further across the ring for his somewhat similar ending against Meldrick Taylor than Andrade, and was never warned.
For the good of boxing and the appearance of propreity, hopefully the Quebec commission will see fit to give Wright a rest in the rematch.
Bute will get a chance to defend his IBF title and show his skills to what will likely be the biggest TV audience to see him south of the border, with HBO coming to Canada for the first time in more than a quarter-century to broadcast the fight, along with a Joan Guzman-Ali Funeka undercard fight. Colisee Pepsi is just about sold out for the occasion, according to reports.
Even though he's on the outside of the 168-pound tournament, there are still several name opponents out there to prevent good paydays should Bute prevail. They include the winner of next month's Bell Centre rematch between provincial fighters Jean Pascal and Adrian Diaconu, Allen Green, the winner of a possible fight between Kelly Pavlik-Paul Williams, possibly one of the two octogenarians set to fight - Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones.
In a way, the first Andrade bout could help Bute in attracting big opponents. He's talented, with good movement and combination punching, but doesn't have huge one-punch power and certainly isn't intimidating. Of course, they said the same thing about Joe Calzaghe years back and he never lost.
Bute is nearing 30, so now is the time to make a bid for a larger imprint on the sport. He can start that with an asterisk-free rematch win over Andrade.
Manny fans thinkskinned
A few commenters to last week's blog didn't care for my description of Manny Pacquiao's TKO win over Miguel Cotto in boxing's biggest superfight this year. I wasn't giving Manny any credit, they said.
Let's recap. I chose him as my 2008 Fighter of the Year. I will again pick him for fighter of the year in a few weeks and the Cotto win will in all likelihood be my performance of the year nod. It was pretty much guaranteed in May that Pacquiao would be the winner of my - and everyone ele's - KO of the year (it never gets old to watch).
Guys, what gives? Do I need to declare absolute fealty to the Filipino superstar?
What raised their hackles? Although I said there was no asterisk to the win whatsoever I had the nerve to suggest that Cotto isn't the same fighter he was 2 years ago just after beating Shane Mosley (primarily - owing to the beatdown he took against Antonio Margarito, who may have loaded his gloves).
Apparently stating that fact - which is painfully obvious to any objective boxing fans - besmirched Manny's win in their eyes. Not at all. It doesn't mean Manny didn't impressively grind down a damned talented fighter in there. Even after the beating Pacquiao laid on him, Cotto could still beat a few contenders. Manny's responsibility is to mow down who's put in front of him and he did once again on Nov. 14 - against the toughest, biggest opponent he's ever faced.
Fighter of the Blog
Andre Ward dominated Mikkel Kessler to close out the first round of the Showtime super middleweight tournament last weekend. The American outboxed Kessler, switched stances and looks, pounded him to the head and body, and won a technical decision late when the Dane was cut by headbutts.
Ward got a little sloppy in the last couple rounds - he should have been penalized for the butts, they weren't intentional but were reckless. It was an even more impressive performance than when Calzaghe decisioned Kessler by about three or four points in 2007. It's one thing to have 50,000 crazy Welshmen yelling with every punch you throw, like Calzaghe did, but Ward absolutely punished Kessler, who had no plan B. Being totally charitable you could give him two out of 10 completed rounds.
Kessler disappointed with his performance and shamed himself after. He refused to give Ward any credit, instead choosing to focus on the butts and some moderate Ward holding that went on in the ring, which were minor factors but certainly not the game changer. Kessler was a step behind almost from the jump.
Kessler even said he'd have to consider if he wanted to continue in the tournament. He'll likely wake up one day soon and be motivated to make up for this turkey, and his next opponent, Briton Carl Froch is beatable. Froch has none of Ward's fluidity, has been knocked down or shaken in two of his last three fights, and throws wide punches that can be easily countered by a classic European-style boxer like Kessler.
But what he seems to have in spades over Kessler, judging by Saturday night's intractableness and whining afterward - is unbelievable mental toughness.
And in boxing, that goes a long way.
Source: cbc.ca
Quebec fighter Lucian Bute may have been left off the dancecard for the Showtime super middleweight tournament, but he'll have a chance to forge his own path if he's successful in a rematch Saturday night against Librado Andrade.
It's a moderate-sized if. Bute is the favourite, and should be, but was literally out on his feet at the end of the first bout between the two men in October 2008. He outboxed the rugged Mexican Andrade impressively for the first 11 rounds but found himself gassed in the final round. Had the bout gone another 20 seconds even, he would have been done.
Bute fell over once from exhaustion, and then was dropped by Andrade. Referee Marlon Wright made the very curious decision to choose that juncture to warn Andrade about being too far out of the neutral corner, buying Bute some crucial seconds. For an analogous situation, Julio Cesar Chavez was much further across the ring for his somewhat similar ending against Meldrick Taylor than Andrade, and was never warned.
For the good of boxing and the appearance of propreity, hopefully the Quebec commission will see fit to give Wright a rest in the rematch.
Bute will get a chance to defend his IBF title and show his skills to what will likely be the biggest TV audience to see him south of the border, with HBO coming to Canada for the first time in more than a quarter-century to broadcast the fight, along with a Joan Guzman-Ali Funeka undercard fight. Colisee Pepsi is just about sold out for the occasion, according to reports.
Even though he's on the outside of the 168-pound tournament, there are still several name opponents out there to prevent good paydays should Bute prevail. They include the winner of next month's Bell Centre rematch between provincial fighters Jean Pascal and Adrian Diaconu, Allen Green, the winner of a possible fight between Kelly Pavlik-Paul Williams, possibly one of the two octogenarians set to fight - Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones.
In a way, the first Andrade bout could help Bute in attracting big opponents. He's talented, with good movement and combination punching, but doesn't have huge one-punch power and certainly isn't intimidating. Of course, they said the same thing about Joe Calzaghe years back and he never lost.
Bute is nearing 30, so now is the time to make a bid for a larger imprint on the sport. He can start that with an asterisk-free rematch win over Andrade.
Manny fans thinkskinned
A few commenters to last week's blog didn't care for my description of Manny Pacquiao's TKO win over Miguel Cotto in boxing's biggest superfight this year. I wasn't giving Manny any credit, they said.
Let's recap. I chose him as my 2008 Fighter of the Year. I will again pick him for fighter of the year in a few weeks and the Cotto win will in all likelihood be my performance of the year nod. It was pretty much guaranteed in May that Pacquiao would be the winner of my - and everyone ele's - KO of the year (it never gets old to watch).
Guys, what gives? Do I need to declare absolute fealty to the Filipino superstar?
What raised their hackles? Although I said there was no asterisk to the win whatsoever I had the nerve to suggest that Cotto isn't the same fighter he was 2 years ago just after beating Shane Mosley (primarily - owing to the beatdown he took against Antonio Margarito, who may have loaded his gloves).
Apparently stating that fact - which is painfully obvious to any objective boxing fans - besmirched Manny's win in their eyes. Not at all. It doesn't mean Manny didn't impressively grind down a damned talented fighter in there. Even after the beating Pacquiao laid on him, Cotto could still beat a few contenders. Manny's responsibility is to mow down who's put in front of him and he did once again on Nov. 14 - against the toughest, biggest opponent he's ever faced.
Fighter of the Blog
Andre Ward dominated Mikkel Kessler to close out the first round of the Showtime super middleweight tournament last weekend. The American outboxed Kessler, switched stances and looks, pounded him to the head and body, and won a technical decision late when the Dane was cut by headbutts.
Ward got a little sloppy in the last couple rounds - he should have been penalized for the butts, they weren't intentional but were reckless. It was an even more impressive performance than when Calzaghe decisioned Kessler by about three or four points in 2007. It's one thing to have 50,000 crazy Welshmen yelling with every punch you throw, like Calzaghe did, but Ward absolutely punished Kessler, who had no plan B. Being totally charitable you could give him two out of 10 completed rounds.
Kessler disappointed with his performance and shamed himself after. He refused to give Ward any credit, instead choosing to focus on the butts and some moderate Ward holding that went on in the ring, which were minor factors but certainly not the game changer. Kessler was a step behind almost from the jump.
Kessler even said he'd have to consider if he wanted to continue in the tournament. He'll likely wake up one day soon and be motivated to make up for this turkey, and his next opponent, Briton Carl Froch is beatable. Froch has none of Ward's fluidity, has been knocked down or shaken in two of his last three fights, and throws wide punches that can be easily countered by a classic European-style boxer like Kessler.
But what he seems to have in spades over Kessler, judging by Saturday night's intractableness and whining afterward - is unbelievable mental toughness.
And in boxing, that goes a long way.
Source: cbc.ca
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