THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — It took one bad round for Lucian Bute to go from a guy no one wants to fight to one they’re lining up to get at.
But while WBC champion Carl Froch and former middleweight king Jermain Taylor are among those who have said they want a shot at him, it is hard-hitting Fulgencio Zuniga who will be the next opponent for the International Boxing Federation champion from Montreal.
Bute will make his third title defence against Zuniga on Feb. 13 — a Friday — at the Bell Centre.
“No, I’m not superstitious,” Bute (23-0, 18 knockouts) said of fighting on Friday the 13th. “It’s just another day.”
The 28-year-old native of Galati, Romania, should be feeling lucky after his narrow escape on Oct. 24, when he ran out of steam in the 12th and final round and was sent to the canvas for the first time in his career by the relentless Librado Andrade
Bute got up just in time for the bell to save the IBF belt he won from Alejandro Berrio in October 2007. Andrade’s corner was screaming at referee Marlon B. Wright over what they felt was a long count.
The champion’s face looked like it had been worked over with a baseball bat after the bout, so he went home to see his family in Romania for a few weeks, then returned to watch the tape with trainer Stephan Larouche to see what went wrong
“It was a good experience for me, my first time on the canvas, and I won’t make that mistake again,” said Bute. “I fought a nearly perfect fight.
“Just in the last round, I stayed in front of him. I wanted to put on a show for the crowd. It nearly cost me my belt.”
One would think he would have taken on an easier, more technical fighter for his next optional defence, just to rebuild his confidence.
Instead, he gets another dangerous puncher who likes to go on the attack in Zuniga (22-3-1, 19 KOs), a Colombian who lost previous title bids at light middleweight to Daniel Santos and at super-middleweight to former WBO champ Denis Inkin.
The 31-year-old, ranked 10th by the IBF, is coming off a third-round knockout of Diego Castillo on Nov. 12. He acted as sparring partner for Bute briefly in the run-up to the Andrade fight.
“Aggressiveness, power, courage, heavy hands, iron chin,” was how Larouche described Zuniga. “He’s a good, solid opponent.
“I would say not as busy as Andrade, but he’s between Berrio and Andrade.”
Larouche said Zuniga, who puts on a good show, was one of the suggested opponents deemed acceptable by the U.S. cable channel Showtime, which organizers hope will televise the bout.
Larouche sees no problem in pitting Bute against another puncher.
“Zuniga brings something to the table that Lucian has to practice and that’s what he’ll do on Friday the 13th,” he said.
Bute, a quick-handed, rangy left-hander who fires punches from awkward angles, lost his aura of invincibility when he went down against Adrade, but Larouche sees that as an opportunity to get high-profile fights with opponents who may have ducked him before.
He said promoter Lou DiBella has called about a match with Taylor and there have been talks with WBA champion Mikkel Kessler’s Danish promoter about a unification bout “in the near future.”
“He exposed himself a little bit, but that’s good,” added Larouche. “That’s one of the reasons the phone is ringing right now.
“They know we sell tickets, there’s a good atmosphere and they feel they can win. Normally, people don’t want to fight a slick, quality southpaw and I think it’s going to be beneficial for him in the long run.”
And what Bute should now have learned is “to be more aware of the way the fight progresses and that the fight isn’t over until it’s over,” his trainer added. “If you are winning the fight, why take risks if it’s not necessary?
“He paid a good price for this. He has been humbled a bit. But I think that will make him a better boxer.”
Froch (24-0) won the WBC title in December with a unanimous decision over Jean Pascal of Montreal and now is supposed to face top contender Taylor in a mandatory defence.
A purse bid for the fight is scheduled for Friday, but the brawler from Nottingham, England is worried that Taylor’s camp wants to get out of it, perhaps not wishing to settle for the challenger’s 30 per cent cut.
A statement from Froch issued through his promoter Mick Hennessy was clear on how he feels about it.
“Taylor calls himself Bad Intentions, but if you ask me, it should be No Intentions because I don’t think he has any intentions of fighting me,” Froch said. “At this rate, the only thing he’s going to win any time soon is the world hide-and-seek title.
“If anyone’s seen him lately, I’d be very interested to hear about his whereabouts. I’m guessing that he’s probably at home in bed with his head under the covers waiting until an easier fight comes along.”
The super-middleweight (168 pounds) division is perhaps the liveliest in boxing at the moment, along with the welterweights (147 pounds).
Larouche’s top five in the division are: 1. Kessler; 2. Bute; 3. Taylor; 4. new WBO champ Karoly Balzsay of Hungary; 5. Froch.
“Carl Froch is physically strong, not that good of a fighter, but a very strong person,” said Larouche.
The division also has Pascal, Andrade and hard-punching Edison Miranda, among others. Balzsay dethroned WBO champ Inkin on Jan. 10 in Germany.
Andrade, a Mexican-American who trains in Montreal under Howard Grant, expects to face Vitali Tsypko of Ukraine soon in an IBF elimination bout, with the winner becoming Bute’s next mandatory opponent.
Montreal-based light heavyweight Adrian Diaconu (25-0) is still awaiting word on a time and place for the first defence of his WBC title against 42-year-old Italian Silvio Branco (57-9-2).
Branco’s German promoter won a purse bid with an offer of US$377,777, with 60 per cent, or $227,000, going to Diaconu. They have until Jan. 26 to announce the fight.