Bute Plans October Defence, Still Outside of the Super Six
In some notable ways, the Showtime Super Six Super Middleweight classics have exceeded expectations. A tournament that was initially pegged as lacking competitiveness has proven well-balanced, in equal parts due to Dane Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham underachieving, and others being able to step up and give the boxing world some pleasant surprises.
It has also delivered and produced a new pound-for-pound contestant, Andre Ward, who dominated his tournament opponent by shutting out Tulsa’s Allan Green to become the only contestant without a loss into Stage 3 in September.
And with perhaps execution aside, the concept for the Showtime Super Six can be considered ground-breaking, if not revolutionary, in an industry suffering from the long-time stranglehold of oft-absurd sanctioning bodies and self-serving promotional giants.
All that said, the Super Six has one conspicuous absence that results in its undoing: the fact that it’s sixth man was not Lucian Bute.
Many wondered about the legitimacy of an aged Jermaine Taylor being presented as the sixth man, having lost three of his last four matches and fresh off a knock-out loss to Froch. Cynics speculated that Taylor’s inclusion had everything to do with name and marketability, and nothing to do with merit. That was in fact confirmed when his second straight 12th round K.O. loss to Abraham in the first stage resulted in his conscious exit from the tournament.
After Green entered the tournament in his absence, he was forced to pick up Taylor’s schedule, which meant taking on the best in Ward or Kesslor. As expected, he lost to Ward in a match that surprised few.
Most agree the lack of a ‘super sixth’ contestant wouldn’t negatively affect Showtime boxing if alternatives were exciting or fan favourites, but pickings tend to be few. All seems to lead back to Bute, but what most can’t understand is why he was left out of the tournament in the first place. The consensus is that it was due to his promoter, Interbox, which isn’t affiliated with HBO. The discord marks one of the ongoing problems in boxing today, namely that fighters are paired strictly with respect to business possibilities as opposed to genuine merit.
In the meantime, Lucian Bute has confirmed that he will put his undefeated record and title belt on the line in Montreal on Oct. 15th, his promoter announced on Thursday. Interbox said that Bute will defend his International Boxing Federation super-middleweight title against American Jesse Brinkley at the Bell Centre.
Bute hasn’t fought many rounds in his last three fights, not going past the fourth in any. He used a right uppercut in the third round of his last bout to dispose of Edison Miranda in mid-April at the same venue.
There was speculation that a tune-up match for the 30-year-old Bute would take place in Romania, where he was born. The Montrealer, a southpaw, hasn’t been there for over five years.
Jesse Brinkley (35-5-22 K.O.s) is coming off a nine-fight win streak. Nevertheless a supreme underdog, he will hope to spoil the champion’s hopes of making a successful title defence. Brinkley is best known for his appearance on the boxing reality TV show The Contender. He earned a title shot with an upset win over Curtis Stevens in January.
On the upcoming match, Bute said: "At this level it is very dangerous to take any opponent lightly. Brinkley surprised many experts during his last bout. He fought bravely in the ring and I expect him to be fully prepared."
The match will be Lucian Bute’s sixth defence of his super-middleweight title.
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