by James Slater – Referred to in many quarters as the best super-middleweight in the sport today, reigning IBF 168-pound champion Lucian Bute appears headed towards an October date with former “Contender” star Jesse Brinkley. According to word on the net (the fight is up as happening on Boxrec), the undefeated Bute will defend against the 35-5(22) contender in Montreal, Canada on October 15th.
30-year-old Bute, 26-0(21), is coming off an impressive, 3rd-round stoppage of the always-dangerous Edison Miranda. After the April win over “Pantera,” there was the possibility of Bute making a defence in Romania, the country of his birth, but that never came off and he now looks ahead to boxing once again in his adopted country of Canada; the scene of all but four of the southpaw ruler’s pro bouts..
Brinkley, three years the older man, is also on a good roll right now; having won his last nine fights, five inside the distance. And last time out, against an over-confident Curtis Stevens in January, Brinkley scored an upset to win their IBF eliminator on points. Not having tasted defeat since being closely out-pointed by Britain’s Robin Reid in March of 2007, Brinkley has shown his best stuff recently.
As gutsy and tough as they come, the man who has been halted just twice as a pro (by Joe Spina, a May 2006 11th-round TKO and, way back in his fifth pro outing, a 2nd-round TKO to Concepcion Gutierrez) will enter the ring against Bute as a considerable underdog, but his heart and courage have to be respected by the champion.
Best known for his series of fights in “The Contender,” when he was winning and losing to guys like Sergio Mora, Alfonso Gomez and Anthony Bonsante in 2004/05, Brinkley has earned himself a reputation as a fan-favourite and a crowd-pleaser. However, is the warrior from Nevada, who will be giving away quite a bit in height (6’2″ for Bute, 5’10” for Brinkley) in over his head skills-wise against the peaking Bute?
Seeing how he handled the southpaw stance of Mike Paschall well enough in his July 2009 points win over “The Persecutor,” it’s conceivable that Brinkley will have no problems with Bute’s stance when they meet. But, how will Brinkley, a guy who can be hit and hit quite often, cope with the power and accuracy of the IBF king? And even if Brinkley’s chin does hold up to Bute’s punches, how will the challenger cope if he’s tagged by a Bute body shot?
One of the best body punchers in the game, Bute has taken out teak-tough men such as Librado Andrade with his body attack – could Brinkley fall to the same fate?
Not having fought too much recently (just one fight this year, and two last year), Brinkley has had plenty of time to train for Bute and to also study him on tape, and the rest from ring wear-and-tear may have done the 33-year-old a power of good. No doubt, Brinkley will be in top shape for his big chance, and he could enter the ring feeling better than ever; but will it be enough for him to score the big upset?
Bute looks too classy, too versatile and too strong for Brinkley in my opinion. The always-brave challenger will give it a real go, and he may even win a couple of rounds along the way, but eventually Bute will tag him and stop him; very possibly with a shot to the midsection. I go for “Le Tombeur” to stop Brinkley in around six or seven-rounds.