Lucian Bute Hopefully Facing the Last of the Patsies on Saturday
by Scott Christ on Jul 5, 2011 4:18 PM EDT
in Boxing Fight Previews
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This Saturday in Romania, super middleweight titleholder Lucian Bute will fight Jean Paul Mendy in a fight that only those who will be attending are truly anticipating.
That's because Bute (28-0, 23 KO) and Mendy (29-0-1, 16 KO) are at vastly different levels of talent and standing, despite their similar records. Mendy, 37, has made a career out of almost being noticed, but never quite becoming a serious contender. Back in 2006-07, Mendy was part of Don King and Showtime's first attempt at a super middleweight tournament, which didn't go over quite like the 2009-present Super Six World Boxing Classic. It featured lesser fighters and just didn't attract much attention, and the finals of the tournament saw Mendy draw Anthony Hanshaw over 12 rounds. After that, none of the tournament's participants went on to do a whole lot.
Mendy has gone 6-0 since that tournament, but none of the wins are of much quality. The Frenchman has split his time evenly between his home country and the U.S., beating five mediocre foes before a matchup last year with the dangerous, legit contender Sakio Bika. Here's the result of that fight:
Bika, clearly in control of the fight, just took an extra swing and hit Mendy while he was on his knees. It happens. Fighters are trained to fight until someone makes them stop, and frankly I didn't really agree with the DQ call that Joe Cortez made, even though it was certainly defensible and within the rules to make that call. I just didn't think it was an intentional foul.
And that fight, my friends, is the reason that Mendy is fighting Lucian Bute. The IBF had, for whatever reason, sanctioned that fight as an eliminator bout, back on July 31, 2010, and Mendy took his 78-second DQ victory and sat on it for a year, waiting for his chance to fight Bute. He now has that chance, but he really has no chance.
Bute, 31, is hopefully going to step up after this. While the super middleweight division has gotten hot thanks to the Super Six, Bute has been on the outside looking in, an obvious talent and a fun fighter to watch, regarded by some as the best in the world at 168, regarded by most as no worse than the second-best.
But his level of opposition has been questioned, and rightfully so. Since a controversial and debated 2008 decision win over Librado Andrade where many felt Bute would have been knocked out if not for referee Marlon Wright, Bute has stopped Fulgencio Zuniga, Andrade in a rematch, Edison Miranda, Jesse Brinkley and Brian Magee. Now, with Mendy, he's taken what many feel is a fight that once again features an opponent at least a class below him in terms of talent, though to be fair it's IBF-mandated and Bute kind of has to do it if he wants to keep his belt, which clearly he does.
There is talk of the Romanian-born Quebec star fighting former middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik in November should he win this Saturday, and should Pavlik survive an August 6 tune-up. Though Pavlik is a question mark in the ring right now, he is certainly a more noteworthy name, and a good Kelly Pavlik, with his "southpaw killer" straight right, could be a serious challenge for Bute. At least that's a "could be," instead of what we have with Mendy or some of the others.
Bute vs Mendy will not be televised in the United States, but last I knew Showtime was going to have highlights of the fight during the Rios vs Antillon card on Saturday night.
The Pick
Bute is the big favorite and it's not just because he's more well-known, younger, stronger, and a better boxer...OK, that's all exactly why. There's nothing Mendy does better than Bute and the Frenchman just isn't in Lucian's class. I expect Bute might carry the fight a little bit to give the Romanian fans some rounds, since he rarely fights in his native country anymore, but Mendy will never be in any danger of winning this thing. I'm looking for the Lucian Laser body shot to end this thing. Bute KO-9
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I had never seen the fight, just of course read and heard about it. What a HORRIBLE DQ call. But then again, we should expect nothing less from Joe Cortez.
It wasn't THAT bad
When I watche it live, I thought it was perfectly justifiable. That said, the fact that the IBF enforced the mandatory is a joke.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Jul 5, 2011 9:15 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Since Mendy couldn’t continue did Cortez have to make a decision on the fight? Or could he have simply said, it’s a no contest since it hadn’t even gone a round?
Also I don’t fault Bute for his opponents while the super 6 tournament has been going on. I wish he was part of the tournament but he isn’t so I think he’s fighting good enough opposition over the last two years. If when the tournament is over and he doesn’t face the winner, then I’ll be mad.
Tiago Splitter > Matt Bonner
Cortez’s call isn’t technically wrong. It’s just I don’t think that warranted a loss for Bika/win for Mendy. I wish he’d called a NC.
Also I don’t fault Bute for his opponents while the super 6 tournament has been going on.
Eh, I kind of do. He’s been as exceptionally content to fight mandatories and the like as Felix Sturm and Chris John, and they catch way more guff. But I did think the Magee fight was a pretty decent fight that got too much guff (before, during and after), and this one just has to be done if he wants to fight Pavlik this year.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
I didn’t intend to use guff twice, but I’m OK with it.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
I would have denied it happened and erased all proof.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
I disagree
In three of his last four fights, he’s fought the best available fighter that he hadn’t already beaten. Stieglitz wasn’t going to fight him, and that’s clear. Andrade was the top guy not in the S6 the last time they fought, and Brinkley and Magee were both the top guys not in the S6 not named Bika or Stieglitz.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Jul 5, 2011 9:19 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
That said
I had him at #1 when Ward beat Kessler, and since then I’ve passed Ward and Froch over him. Do have all three in my top 20.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Jul 5, 2011 9:22 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Also I have been thinking and wanted to ask you this, Scott:
Okay so say there is a fight that you don’t think warrants being aired via PPV. Do you think it would be a good thing to boycott the fight to send a message to the promoters? Say I posted a piece that urged BLH folk to not buy the fight, would you think that’s a good thing? Or do you think since boxing is constantly sort of fighting an uphill battle with getting recognition, that boxing fans should try and support it almost at every opportunity? Does this make sense?
Tiago Splitter > Matt Bonner
Here’s my thing with this subject, and I realize some people don’t feel this way and it might sound bad: I don’t give a shit about boxing getting recognition. I’m not here to sell boxing. I will try to convince people to watch a fight like Rios vs Antillon, but I’ve never once told people to buy, like, Pacquiao vs Mosley. I also don’t rail against it, really — I just present my view on the fight (any fight), and if it’s positive then great, if it’s negative then too bad, make a better fight. The way I figure it, if boxing promoters did more things right and had less obnoxious bullshit going on, they’d get the recognition they whine about not getting. None of them admit their own mistakes or failings, they just blame every other promoter, or the TV network, or the media, or the fans, or whatever.
Basically, if you don’t like something, forget this “health of boxing” stuff. The health of boxing is up to the people in boxing, not you.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
The health of boxing is up to the people in boxing, not you.
Okay well you have a little sway in the boxing world, I think. You don’t think if you railed really hard on a fight that was going to be on PPV that you could get enough people to boycott a fight where promoters would notice? I mean if they put a fight on PPV that has no business being on there but we still buy it why would the promoters ever stop?
Tiago Splitter > Matt Bonner
You can always try to rally for your position with a fan post if you disagree.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
Okay well you have a little sway in the boxing world, I think.
This would be news to me, in all honesty.
You don’t think if you railed really hard on a fight that was going to be on PPV that you could get enough people to boycott a fight where promoters would notice? I mean if they put a fight on PPV that has no business being on there but we still buy it why would the promoters ever stop?
Who’s to say it has no business being on PPV? Some fights are on PPV because no TV network is interested in buying them, but they’re good fights, like the Ivan Calderon vs Giovani Segura bouts. Some fights are on PPV because they make money at little cost, like many of JCC Jr’s fights. These are the two examples I feel most passionate about “defending,” actually, because frankly either you choose to buy the PPV, or you were never going to see that fight. Promoters can’t just call up the TV networks and ask for a date and get Calderon vs Segura or Chavez vs Vanda on TV because the networks don’t want those fights, or they’re too expensive for the budget of something like Friday Night Fights, or they only draw somewhere like Mexico, or whatever. Boxing has limited TV options in America. So some fights go to PPV even though they’re not big event fights, because that’s the only way they’re getting on TV. If you’re interested enough, then buy it, if you’re not, don’t.
Some fights are on PPV because HBO doesn’t have the budget remaining to get it in on regular TV, like Hopkins vs Dawson. Some fights are on PPV because a million people buy them every time, like every Pacquiao or Mayweather fight. I don’t know, I don’t get all emotional over this stuff. Fights are fights, and when I think they’re good, I say so, and when I think they’re not, I say so. I’m just not that invested in this sort of thing.
And for the record, no, I don’t think I or anyone else could really get enough people to boycott a fight to make any real difference. Who are the vast majority of people going to listen to: Me, if they stumble upon this site and read something, or what the TV commercial or “24/7” or “Fight Camp” yells at them? And then we’re getting into an issue with people in general, and that’s just a headache and a half.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
The health of boxing is up to the people in boxing, not you.
Disagree. That’s like saying the health of the government is up to the people in government, not the voters. And that the Fourth Estate might as well keep it to themselves about government corruption, mismanagement, etc., since there’s no point in anyone trying to do something about it.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
Huh? First of all, I don’t really put pay-per-view boxing and the health of a government in the same boat so to me it’s not anything like saying that. Also all I was saying is go boycott things and draw up online petitions and raise hell if you want to, and don’t worry about trying to artificially prop up boxing just for the sake of being nice to something you want to support, but don’t really feel compelled to support in certain instances. If you do that and then promoters have their tantrums and complain that everyone betrayed them by not shelling out money for their lousy fights that weren’t ever really promoted, then screw them. They should have done their jobs better all these years. Had they, there might be more people still watching boxing.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
i wasn’t in particular referencing ppv. And I don’t especially care if boxing gets recognition, it gets plenty, really, worldwide. But there’s stuff that sucks about it generally, especially bad decisions, that raising some hell about only seems right to do.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
Yeah I’m far more concerned about either the corruption or incompetence of judging than I am this sort of thing. To me that’s a way, way bigger issue, and all the bad, overhyped “superstar” main events in the world can’t discredit boxing more than the constant bad judging. I think of Scorsese’s Casino, when Ace Rothstein fires an idiot for either being too dumb to know he was being scammed, or in on the scam.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
Not that my opinion was asked
But I don’t think it makes a lick of difference. That they’re making Hopkins-Dawson a PPV proves it. The people at HBO are just too dumb.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Jul 5, 2011 9:24 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
This is spot on, you should do a whole article on the vain goal of protecting the sport's health
Pacquio versus Mayweather could sell 10 million pay per views and the “health of boxing” could arguably be better off with FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS being on ABC at Midnight.
I wonder where this misplaced sense of responsibility comes from with the boycott talk? How about watch you want let the market figure itself out?
If they're smart
They could get Pacquiao-Mayweather on terrestrial TV and make more dough than they would on PPV. Arum and Schafer aren’t ambitious enough to get a network exec to believe, but I honestly think that if they air it at 10 pm on a network with a Canelo undercard and market the he’ll out of it, they could pull a rating in the mid-20’s.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Jul 5, 2011 9:29 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Wasn't this thread about Bute v Patsies?
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
p.s. Where the f are the crowd in that clip?
That’s shameful for any professional sporting event I think, particularly when the majority in attendence are journos and hangers-on.
Boxing promoters have conditioned fans to not care about undercards. This is one area where UFC just kicks the living shit out of boxing promoters. UFC fans care about everything from the main event on down to the curtain jerkers, because UFC has given them a reason to do so, and has told them that those fights matter, too.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
It wasn't even on the televised undercard
At a big event, people don’t show up until close to the main. Nobody’s there for the 5th to last fight except me and a few hardcore fans. That’s just the way it is.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
by Brickhaus on Jul 5, 2011 9:31 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I like how it’s a “horrible” call when it’s agst Bika, but when Abraham hit Dirrell, he’s at fault and did it on purpose. I think the situations were exactly the same, and even though I’m still angry at Abraham for doing that, there shouldn’t be a double standard.
"According to all the laws of aerodynamics the bumble-bee should not fly, but the bumble-bee does not know this and so flies anyway."
I'm with you
The first thing you see 99% if fighters do when they KO somebody is immediately raise their arms high, in celebration partly, but also to make it clear that they aren’t going to punch again, or do anything that could be mistaken as such, and get them DQ’d.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
In other words, this was not an accident, and even if it had been, it’s an accident Bika’s responsible for, like when you roll over a human in your car because you very understandably didn’t happen to see them, and meant no harm.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
I hear where you are coming from, but to me there are a couple differences
First, I thought the AA hit was worse and more dangerous personally.
Second, the AA/Dirrell fight has gone on much longer when the blow landed—and Dirrell was clearly winning up to that point—making a no contest less plausible.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
worse and more dangerous
Sakio Bika’s fighting again, and Andre Dirrell still isn’t, so you’re probably right, it’s hard to say with no slo-mo. But in the moment, for any ref, hitting when the opponent is down is what it is, a fairly heinous foul, one which should be consistently and thoroughly discouraged. And Sakio Bika’s a notoriously dirty fighter, so this seems like more of the same, and the DQ doesn’t bother me at all.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
Andre Dirrell’s been in the gym for months and sparred George Groves to prepare Groves for the DeGale fight. He’s just waiting for something favorable to come up.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
Glad to hear that, but in any case i got no use for boxers’ hitting their opponents while they’re down. Even if no other harm is done.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
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