Lucian Bute

Lucian Bute (born February 28, 1980)[1] is a Romanian-Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2017. He held the IBF super-middleweight title from 2007 to 2012, successfully making nine consecutive defenses and reaching a peak ranking of number one in the division by The Ring magazine.[2]

Lucian Bute
Bute with the IBF title
Statistics
Nickname(s)Le Tombeur
Mister KO
Weight(s)
Height6 ft 1 1⁄2 in (187 cm)
Reach72 in (183 cm)
Nationality
  • Romanian
  • Canadian
Born (1980-02-28) February 28, 1980
Pechea, Galați, Romania
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights37
Wins32
Wins by KO25
Losses5
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Romania
World Championships
1999 Houston Welterweight
Jeux de la Francophonie
2001 Ottawa-Hull Welterweight

Personal life

Lucian Bute was born on February 28, 1980 in Pechea, Galaţi County, Romania. After fighting for the Romanian national team as an amateur, winning multiple titles in both his homeland and abroad, Bute relocated to Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[3]

He also holds Canadian citizenship as of 2012.[4]

He is the cousin of handball player Steluța Luca. She was also born in Pechea, Galați County.[5][6]

Amateur career

As an amateur, Bute won the bronze medal at the 1999 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Houston, Texas and the gold medal at the 2001 Francophone Games. Bute also represented Romania at the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Bangkok, Thailand as a middleweight, where he was defeated and eliminated from the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championship by the current middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin with a superb knockout at round 4. Before KO Golovkin, who won 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championship, was outpointing Bute with 13 points.[7]

1999 World Amateur Championship results
  • Defeated Nurhan Süleymanoğlu (Turkey) 9-5
  • Defeated Mihály Kótai (Hungary) 8-4
  • Defeated Kejstutis Sandanavicius (Lithuania) 18-5
  • Lost to Timur Gaydalov (Russia) 7-10

2003 World Amateur Championship results
  • Lost to Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan) KO-4

Bute claimed an amateur record of 235–15.

Professional career

Lucian Bute turned pro in 2003. On September 11, 2014, Bute announced that he would be trained by Fredie Roach. He was previously trained by Stéphan Larouche, who also trained former world champions Éric Lucas and Leonard Doroftei.

IBF super-middleweight champion

On June 15, 2007, Bute faced super middleweight contender and former Olympian Sakio Bika at the Bell Centre in Montreal in an elimination bout for the IBF title.[8] Bute beat Bika by unanimous decision (116-111, 118-109, 118-109) and, as a result, he got his shot at the IBF Super Middleweight Champion Alejandro Berrio on October 19, 2007. Bute beat Berrio via TKO in the 11th round. With this victory, Bute became the third professional boxing world champion of Romania in its short history after the fall of communism after Leonard Doroftei and Mihai Leu and also the third champion in InterBox's history after Eric Lucas and Dorin.[9]

Bute vs. Andrade and last-round controversy

On October 24, 2008, Bute defeated Mexico's Librado Andrade by unanimous decision but the end of the fight was marred with controversy.[10] Andrade became Bute's mandatory challenger by defeating Robert Stieglitz. While Bute dominated his opponent through most of the fight, he nearly lost the title when he was knocked down by Andrade with two seconds left in the 12th and final round. When the referee, Marlon B. Wright, reached the eight count, the bell sounding the end of the match rang. However, the referee stopped the count temporarily when he signaled Andrade to return to his corner.[11]

Bute vs. Zúñiga

Bute defeated three-time world title challenger Fulgencio Zúñiga on March 13, 2009. In round four, Bute knocked Zúñiga down with a left uppercut to the body. Zúñiga got up, but Bute continued the assault, eventually leading to a stoppage by the referee.[12][13][14]

Bute vs. Andrade II

On November 29, 2009, Lucian Bute fought Andrade in a rematch and won with a fourth-round KO at Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City, Canada.[15] Bute retained his IBF Super Middleweight title. The first three rounds saw Andrade as the aggressor and Bute played the role of counter-puncher, as had been the case in the first fight. HBO's unofficial scorecard had Bute up 30-27 after the 3rd round. In round 4, Bute slipped an overhand right from Andrade and landed a heavy left hand to the jaw sending him heavily to the canvas. Andrade beat the count but was soon caught by a left hook to the body that sent him down for the count at 2:57 of round 4.[16][17]

Bute vs. Miranda, Brinkley

On April 17, 2010, Bute stopped Edison Miranda at 1:22 of the third round to retain his IBF Super Middleweight title in Montreal in front of nearly 15,000 fans. Miranda lost the first two rounds and he was knocked out during the third round with a left uppercut to the jaw. Miranda got back on his feet but the referee decided to stop the fight seconds after, so the result was a technical knockout.[18]

On October 15, at the Bell Centre in Montréal, IBF Super Middleweight Champion Lucian Bute scored an impressive ninth round KO over mandatory challenger Jesse Brinkley. It was mostly a tactical fight until Bute dropped Brinkley with a left uppercut to the body in round five. Brinkley barely beat the count. Bute floored Brinkley for the second time in round eight and knocked him out with an uppercut in round nine. It was Bute's sixth title defense.[19]

Bute vs. Magee

Bute dominated and stopped European Super Middleweight Champion Brian Magee in the 10th round in a mostly one-sided fight at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Magee showed incredible heart throughout and had some good moments in the earlier rounds. However, Bute wore Magee down, knocking him down three times – once in the 6th, another time in the 7th and a final time in the 10th. Bute won the fight with an uppercut in the 10th round. The bout was stopped at 2:04 of the round. The fight took place on March 19, 2011. This was Bute's seventh successful defense in a row.[20]

Bute vs. Mendy

Bute successfully defended his IBF Super Middleweight title for the eighth time in a row in Romania on 9 July 2011 against the previously unbeaten Jean-Paul Mendy of France. The Frenchman was the IBF's number one contender and the mandatory challenger.[21] This was Bute's first defense in Romania and his second fight there since 2005. The event took place at Romexpo and Bute won in the fourth round by knockout.[22]

Bute vs. Johnson
Main article: Lucian Bute vs. Glen Johnson

Bute defeated Glen Johnson (51-15-2, 35 KOs) via unanimous decision at Québec City's Colisée Pepsi. The judges scorecards read 119-109 and 120-108 twice.[23]

Bute vs. Froch
Main article: Carl Froch vs. Lucian Bute

The IBF officially enforced Carl Froch (28-2, 20 KOs) as Bute's number one mandatory. The fight, billed as No Easy Way Out, took place on 26 May 2012 in Froch's hometown of Nottingham.[24] Despite being the overwhelming underdog with bookmakers, critics and fans around the world, Froch dominated Bute throughout the fight to become the IBF super-middleweight champion via TKO in round five.[25][26][27]

Light-heavyweight

Bute vs. Grachev

On November 3, 2012, in his first fight since his loss to Froch, Bute fought Denis Grachev for the latter's NABF light heavyweight title.[28] The bout took place in Montreal, Quebec. Despite strong opposition from Grachev, who was very aggressive throughout the fight, Bute was still able to not only narrowly out-box Grachev in a majority of the rounds (including a huge rally in the twelfth and final round that saw him land punches filled with loads of power over and over again on Grachev), but land the harder punches throughout the fight and was able to win the fight via unanimous decision. Unofficial ringside scorer, Russ Anber, scored the fight: 118-112, for Bute.[29]

Bute vs. Pascal, Di Luisa
Main article: Jean Pascal vs. Lucian Bute

It was announced that Bute would fight Jean Pascal on May 25, 2013, in Montreal, Quebec. Bute would be making his first defense of his NABF light heavyweight championship, and the winner of the fight would become the WBC Diamond champion in the class.[30] However, on May 8, 2013, Bute was forced to pull out of the fight due to an injury that required surgery to remove bone fragments from his left hand. The fight was rescheduled for January 18, 2014.[31] Pascal ended up winning the fight by unanimous decision 117-110, 117-111 and 116-112.[32]

On August 15, 2015, coming off a 19-month layoff due in part to a back injury, Lucian Bute displayed little signs of ring rust as he stopped Andrea Di Luisa in four one-sided rounds.[33]

Return to super-middleweight

Bute vs. DeGale

In mid-2015, it was announced that Bute would take part in a title fight against IBF super-middleweight champion James DeGale. The fight was DeGale's first defence of the IBF belt, and took place in Bute's adopted home-town of Quebec on 28 November 2015.[34] After 12 rounds, the fight went to the judge's scorecards, and DeGale was awarded a unanimous decision; 116-112, 117-111, 117-111.[35] Despite suffering the third loss of his career, Bute emerged with credit from what several commentators described as an exciting fight.[36][37]

Bute vs. Jack

On Labor Eve 2016, Bute was named as the replacement for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to challenge Badou Jack for the WBC Super Middleweight Championship. The bout was declared a majority draw and, as such, Bute failed to capture the title. This would also mean Bute's first draw in his entire boxing career.[38]

On May 27, 2016 Bute tested positive for a banned substance ostarine, which is not an anabolic steroid but is said to increase stamina and recovery ability and produce similar results. It has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency banned list since 2008.[39] His B sample came back on August 12, just like his A sample showed in late May, it was positive again for the banned substance.[40]

Bute denied having knowingly taken a banned substance. The Washington commission, following its investigation, went along with Bute's assertion that he ingested the substance due to contamination of nutritional supplements prescribed by Bute's conditioning trainer and created by a laboratory in California.[41]

Subsequently, Bute was allowed to resume his career after a six-month suspension and a $50,000 fine. In-depth analyses has demonstrated beyond all doubt that the positive result of the drug test was due to contamination of nutritional supplements.[41] On April 24, 2017, the DC commission changed the outcome of the fight to a disqualification win in favour of Jack.

Return to light-heavyweight

Bute vs. Álvarez

Following the two super middleweight world title challenges, Bute announced he would move back up to the light heavyweight division. On December 8, 2016 promoter Yvon Michel announced a deal had been agreed for Bute to fight undefeated light heavyweight contender and WBC #1 ranked fighter Eleider Álvarez on February 24, 2017 at the Centre Videotron in Quebec, Canada. At the time the fight was made, Álvarez had a scheduled fight with Norbert Dabrowski on December 10, which he won and a win over Bute would put him in line for a WBC title match against Adonis Stevenson in 2017.[42] Bute lost the fight via 5th round stoppage in a fairly competitive fight.[43][44]

Retirement

After months of pondering whether or not to retire,[45] on March 21, 2019 Bute officially announced his retirement from professional boxing, having not fought in over two years. He retired with a record of 32 wins, with 25 coming inside the distance and 5 losses.[46]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
37 fights 32 wins 5 losses
By knockout 25 2
By decision 7 2
By disqualification 0 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
37 Loss 32–5 Eleider Álvarez TKO 5 (12), 2:22 Feb 24, 2017 Videotron Centre, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada For WBC Silver light-heavyweight title
36 Loss 32–4 Badou Jack DQ 12 Apr 30, 2016 D.C. Armory, Washington, D.C., U.S. For WBC super-middleweight title;
Originally an MD, later ruled a DQ after Bute failed a drug test
35 Loss 32–3 James DeGale UD 12 Nov 28, 2015 Videotron Centre, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada For IBF super-middleweight title
34 Win 32–2 Andrea Di Luisa TKO 4 (10), 1:53 Aug 15, 2015 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
33 Loss 31–2 Jean Pascal UD 12 Jan 18, 2014 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Lost NABF light-heavyweight title
32 Win 31–1 Denis Grachev UD 12 Nov 3, 2012 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Won NABF light-heavyweight title
31 Loss 30–1 Carl Froch TKO 5 (12), 1:05 May 26, 2012 Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England Lost IBF super-middleweight title
30 Win 30–0 Glen Johnson UD 12 Nov 5, 2011 Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada Retained IBF super-middleweight title
29 Win 29–0 Jean-Paul Mendy KO 4 (12), 2:48 Jul 9, 2011 Romexpo, Bucharest, Romania Retained IBF super-middleweight title
28 Win 28–0 Brian Magee TKO 10 (12), 2:04 Mar 19, 2011 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Retained IBF super-middleweight title
27 Win 27–0 Jesse Brinkley KO 9 (12), 2:48 Oct 15, 2010 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Retained IBF super-middleweight title
26 Win 26–0 Edison Miranda TKO 3 (12), 1:22 Apr 17, 2010 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Retained IBF super-middleweight title
25 Win 25–0 Librado Andrade KO 4 (12), 2:57 Nov 28, 2009 Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada Retained IBF super-middleweight title
24 Win 24–0 Fulgencio Zúñiga TKO 4 (12), 2:25 Mar 13, 2009 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Retained IBF super-middleweight title
23 Win 23–0 Librado Andrade UD 12 Oct 24, 2008 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Retained IBF super-middleweight title
22 Win 22–0 William Joppy TKO 10 (12), 1:08 Feb 29, 2008 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Retained IBF super-middleweight title
21 Win 21–0 Alejandro Berrio TKO 11 (12), 1:27 Oct 19, 2007 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Won IBF super-middleweight title
20 Win 20–0 Sakio Bika UD 12 Jun 15, 2007 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
19 Win 19–0 Sergey Tatevosyan UD 12 Jan 26, 2007 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Retained WBO Inter-Continental super-middleweight title
18 Win 18–0 James Obede Toney TKO 8 (12), 2:49 Sep 15, 2006 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Retained NABF, WBA–NABA and WBC Continental Americas super-middleweight titles
17 Win 17–0 Lolenga Mock UD 12 May 16, 2006 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Won WBO Inter-Continental super-middleweight title
16 Win 16–0 Andre Thysse UD 12 Mar 24, 2006 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Retained WBC Continental Americas super-middleweight title
15 Win 15–0 Donnell Wiggins KO 2 (12), 2:53 Dec 2, 2005 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Retained WBA–NABA super-middleweight title
14 Win 14–0 Kabary Salem TKO 8 (12), 3:00 Sep 16, 2005 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Won vacant NABF and WBC Continental Americas super-middleweight titles
13 Win 13–0 Jose Spearman KO 8 (12), 2:13 Jun 3, 2005 Maurice Richard Arena, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Retained WBA–NABA super-middleweight title
12 Win 12–0 Donny McCrary KO 4 (12), 2:10 Apr 21, 2005 Sports Hall, Galaţi, Romania Retained WBA–NABA super-middleweight title
11 Win 11–0 Christian Cruz TKO 12 (12), 2:18 Mar 18, 2005 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Won vacant WBA–NABA super-middleweight title
10 Win 10–0 Carl Handy TKO 4 (12), 2:09 Feb 19, 2005 Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada Won vacant NABF light-heavyweight title
9 Win 9–0 Dingaan Thobela TKO 4 (8), 1:22 Dec 3, 2004 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8 Win 8–0 Norman Johnson TKO 2 (6), 1:19 Nov 1, 2004 The Roxy, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
7 Win 7–0 Willard Lewis TKO 3 (8), 3:00 Oct 30, 2004 Le Medley, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
6 Win 6–0 Rico Cason TKO 2 (6), 2:43 Oct 16, 2004 Club Ovation, Boynton Beach, Florida, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Tyler Hughes TKO 3 (6), 2:46 Jul 24, 2004 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Zane Marks TKO 1 (4), 2:35 Apr 24, 2004 Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
3 Win 3–0 Jean Pascal Service KO 1 (4), 1:48 Mar 20, 2004 Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2 Win 2–0 Darin Johnson TKO 1 (4), 2:50 Dec 20, 2003 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
1 Win 1–0 Robert Muhammad TKO 2 (4), 2:05 Nov 22, 2003 Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
gollark: Nobody cared enough to stop me, basically.
gollark: But if there was no heavloophole it would have passed fine.
gollark: Okay, yes, ignoring that.
gollark: I waited two days and got two votes for versus one against, which means it could have passed "naturally".
gollark: I wouldn't even have had to use the loophole.

References
  1. "Lucian Bute". May 29, 2011.
  2. "Ring Ratings Update: Bute still No.1 at super middleweight". June 22, 2010.
  3. "Biography of Lucian Bute - Premier Boxing Champions website".
  4. "Bute adds 'Canadian' to title". slam.canoe.ca. March 26, 2012.
  5. "Lucian Bute şi Steluţa Luca arată lumii ce înseamnă "Stânga de Pechea"" [Lucian Bute and Steluţa Luca show the world what "Left of the Pechea" means] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 3 May 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  6. "Cum a petrecut Bute? Fructe de mare, vin alb și latino party!" [How did Bute party? Seafood, white wine and a Latino party!] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 1 December 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  7. "10.World Championships - Houston, USA - August 20-27 1999". amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. October 18, 2012.
  8. "LUCIAN BUTE v SAKIO BIKA overview". livefight.com. Live Fight. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  9. "Lucian Bute, campion la box". campioniiromaniei.ro (in Romanian). Campionii României. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  10. "ENTRENAMIENTO_WILFREDO_VAZQUEZ_JR._01".
  11. "404". TSN.
  12. Bute destroys Zuniga!. Retrieved on 2009-03-14.
  13. "Montreal's Bute stops Zuniga to retain IBF title | CBC Sports". CBC. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
  14. "Bute blasts Zuniga in four - The Ring". The Ring. 2009-03-13. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
  15. Blake, Brian O. "HBO Heads to Canada for Lucian Bute vs. Librado Andrade II". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
  16. HBO (2009-12-01), HBO Boxing: Lucian Bute vs. Librado Andrade II Highlights (HBO), retrieved 2018-01-01
  17. "Lucian Bute vs. Librado Andrade - Boxing.com". www.boxing.com. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
  18. "Boxing: Lucian Bute wins fight with a sensational uppercut".
  19. https://www.tsn.ca/boxing/story/?id=337546
  20. "Bute stops Magee in 10th". boxingnews24. March 19, 2011.
  21. "La réalisation d'un rêve pour Lucian Bute" (in French). interbox.ca. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  22. "Lucian Bute Retains, a Crushing Knockout of Mendy". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  23. "Bute vs Johnson Results: Lucian Bute Coasts to Uneventful Near-Shutout Decision". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
  24. "IBF make Carl Froch the number one mandatory to Bute". LiveFight. February 9, 2012. Archived from the original on January 17, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  25. "Carl Froch annihilates Lucian Bute to win IBF super-middleweight title before baying Nottingham crowd - Daily Mail Online". Mail Online. 27 May 2012.
  26. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-31. Retrieved 2012-05-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/may/27/carl-froch-lucian-bute-world-title?newsfeed=true
  28. "Bute-Grachev Slated for Nov. 3". ringtv.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-09.
  29. "Bute survives Grachev, moves on to Froch rematch". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
  30. http://www.boxingscene.com/bute-vs-pascal-announcement-expected-shortly--63294 Bute vs. Pascal Announcement is Expected Shortly
  31. "Pascal-Bute 'cast in stone'". ESPN.com.
  32. "404". TSN.
  33. "Bute vs Di Luisa". PBC Boxing. 14 August 2015.
  34. "James DeGale vs Lucian Bute RESULT: DeGale retains his title despite close-fought battle with former champion". Mail Online. 29 November 2015.
  35. "James DeGale beats Lucian Bute to retain IBF title in Quebec". BBC Sport.
  37. Brian Mazique. "James DeGale vs. Lucian Bute: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction". Bleacher Report.
  38. "Badou Jack on course for James DeGale after majority draw with Lucian Bute". Sky Sports.
  39. Bute tested positive for banned drugs after draw with Jack ESPN |Retrieved May 27, 2016
  40. "Bute's B sample positive for banned substance". Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  41. Lucian Bute fined $50K by D.C. commission, can resume fighting ESPN |Retrieved November 26, 2016
  42. "WBC #1 Alvarez to face Bute on Feb 24, Stevenson mandatory to follow". December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  43. "Eleider Alvarez Stops Lucian Bute in Five, Earns Stevenson Shot - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  44. "Eleider Alvarez impressive in fifth-round stoppage of Lucian Bute - The Ring". The Ring. 2017-02-25. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  45. "Lucian Bute Mulling Over Decision - Ring Return or Retirement". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  46. "Lucian Bute Makes His Retirement From Boxing Official". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Donnell Wiggins		 NABF light-heavyweight champion
February 19, 2005 – March 2005
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Eric Harding
Vacant
Title last held by
Librado Andrade		 WBA–NABA
super-middleweight champion
March 18, 2005 – June 2007
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Jean Pascal
Vacant
Title last held by
Scott Pemberton		 NABF super-middleweight champion
September 16, 2005 – June 2007
Vacated
Vacant
Title last held by
Éric Lucas		 WBC Continental Americas
super-middleweight champion
September 16, 2005 – June 2007
Vacated
Preceded by
Lolenga Mock		 WBO Inter-Continental
super-middleweight champion
May 16, 2006 – May 2007
Vacated		 Vacant
Title next held by
Jürgen Brähmer
Preceded by
Denis Grachev		 NABF light-heavyweight champion
November 3, 2012 – Jan 18, 2014		 Vacant
Title next held by
Jean Pascal
World boxing titles
Preceded by
Alejandro Berrio		 IBF super middleweight champion
October 19, 2007 – May 26, 2012		 Succeeded by
Carl Froch
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