Boxing Preview: Lucian Bute vs. Edison Miranda

ByJose Espinoza

Boxing fans, get ready for a treat as HBO boxing brings to you two great fights tonight. The main event will feature the bout between Kelly Pavlik and Sergio Martinez live from Atlantic City, but before that much anticipated fight takes place; HBO will be broadcasting live from Montreal the bout between Lucian Bute and Edison Miranda.

This will be Bute’s fifth title defence of the IBF Super Middleweight Title. This is the second time that HBO will be headlining Bute, a boxer with much anticipated potential.

Bute is a Romanian born boxer that fights out of Montreal. He holds an impressive record of 25 wins and no losses, with 20 knockouts. What makes Bute a special fighter is his technical skills and although he is a southpaw, he can come at you with heavy artillery from both hands.

Recently, Bute has faced some criticism after he appeared to be knocked out in the 12th round against challenger Librado Andrade in a fight which took place in Montreal and saw the hometown hero get extra time to get back to his feet.

Although the fight was controversial, the result stood. A year later, Andrade was given another title contention, and this time Andrade was quickly knocked out by Bute in the fourth round.

Miranda is a Colombian fighter who is currently ranked # 7 by the WBC in the super middleweight division, and # 6 by the IBF. Miranda’s best attribute is his power but his biggest downfall is his lack of hand speed and mobility in the ring.

The Colombian fighter is now in Montreal and he has declared that he will be victorious against the hometown favourite. According to Miranda, he is well prepared and has confidence that he will be able to exploit Bute’s weaknesses.

For Bute, this is an important fight which he must win convincingly. On the line is a shot against one of the biggest stars in his division that are currently tied up by the Super Six tournament.

Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch, Andre Dirrell, Allan Green, Mikkel Kessler, and Andre Ward are all currently competing in the tournament. There is speculation that Bute will be asked to face the winner of the Super Six Tournament should he win against Miranda.

HBO has dubbed the event Kelly Pavlik’s road to redemption, but I submit to you the boxing reader that it should be titled: Bute’s road to redemption. This is going to be a great night of boxing for fans who want to see the future how bright the sport can be.