Lucian Bute (25-0) successfully defended his IBF super middleweight title with a fourth round stoppage of Librado Andrade (28-3) in Quebec City, Canada.

In a highly anticipated rematch of their controversial bout in October 2008, Bute quickly took control of the fight with a stinging jab and pinpoint power punches which had Andrade constantly on the defense.  Bute clearly dominated the first three rounds with Andrade stuggling to score.

During the fourth round, Andrade stepped up the pressure and became the aggressor.  Lunging in to land some power shots, but Bute was able to counter and slip a short left hook which dropped Andrade to his knees.  After the standing eight count, Andrade looked composed, but Bute went in for the kill anyways. Landing numerous shot, Bute slipped a solid left to the ribs that dropped Andrade to the canvas a second time.  The body blow knocked the wind out of Andrade, who was unable to respond and get off the canvas.

The fight provided answers to the controversial 2008 clash between the two fighter.  In the first meeting, Bute dictated the pace and scored numerous winning rounds.  During the 12th round, Andrade finally wore down Bute and scored a knockdown with 1 second left in the final round.  As chaos ensued in the ring, the referee took a total of 21 seconds to deliver the count, sparing Bute a shocking defeat in front of a hometown crowd.

Bute left nothing to be questioned on this evening, scoring with solid shots from the opening bell and never being at risk throughout the fight against a world-class challenger.

With this impressive victory, it brings questions to Showtime’s Super 6  World Boxing Classic tournament and whether the best fighters have been represented given Bute’s exclusion.   After the completion of the first round of the tournament, the buzz about Jermain Taylor’s inclusion and potential early departure from the tourney has been rampant.

Here’s hoping that Bute gets a shot at replacing Taylor should a replacement be needed.  If not, the winner of the tournament has his first match ready with an exceptionally talented Bute waiting in the wings.

Tags: boxing, ibf, librado andrade, lucian andrade, super 6 world boxing classic

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 10:28 pm and is filed under Middleweight, boxing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.