IBF super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute stopped Fulgencio Zuniga in the fourth round tonight in Montreal in front of yet another sellout crowd at the Bell Centre.

Bute (24-0, 19 KO) dominated the first three rounds against Zuniga, who appeared to have no rhythm whatsoever and didn't land one good punch. Bute decked Zuniga with a wicked shot to the solar plexus in the fourth, and stormed on him until the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

Bute will now await the winner of the April 4 fight between Librado Andrade and Vitali Tsypko. Most will be rooting for Andrade to win so that he can get a shot at revenge against Bute, though to be honest I think it takes a minor miracle for Librado to beat Bute, who keeps getting better. He was downright slick against Zuniga tonight.

We'll be back with round-by-round coverage again tomorrow afternoon at 4pm ET, when we'll do all three fights on the Khan-Barrera PPV card. Join us then!

ound-by-round starts tonight at 11pm ET. Pretty nice fight to kick off a two-card weekend. The referee, by the way, is Lindsey Page Jr.

There are two fight cards we'll be calling this weekend, neither taking place in the States, but four fights overall.

Again: If you don't know a fighter and just aren't comfortable making a pick, don't make a pick if you'd rather not. If you've never made picks before, now's as good a time as any to start!

Friday, March 13

Lucian Bute v. Fulgencio Zuniga (Super Middleweights, 12 Rounds - Bute's IBF title on the line)

Hey look! Another Friday the 13th.

Bute (23-0, 18 KO) and Zuniga (22-3-1, 19 KO) headline a "special" ShoBox from Montreal's Bell Centre, marking the 11th straight fight Bute has had there. He's become a big draw for the building and there's good money up there, so who can blame him in these economic times?

Zuniga, 31, is your typical Colombian fighter, a hard puncher who likes to fight. He's been through three weight divisions as a pro: 154, 160 and now 168. In every one of them, he's won until losing to the first big challenge. Daniel Santos beat him at 154, Kelly Pavlik knocked him out at 160, and Denis Inkin beat him last September at 168. Zuniga's last fight was a KO win in Colombia in November. Since Zuniga started at 154, you might guess he's rather small for the division, and he is. At 5'10", he's four inches shorter than Bute, though they both have a 70" reach.

Bute is probably a better fighter than Inkin, and there's really no reason he doesn't dominate this fight. He's got way more skill than Zuniga. It's a fact. But Zuniga can throw some bombs, and Bute will mix it up. We saw Librado Andrade buzz the hell out of Bute last October, but most guys wouldn't have gotten through the first 11 rounds that robot chin Andrade did, either. In this fight, I have to brake for monster Bute. He will dominate. Bute TKO-9

Saturday, March 14

Amir Khan v. Marco Antonio Barrera (Lightweights, 12 Rounds)

Now this is a pick'em fight. It's not the most compelling fight ever, nor is it the biggest fight in the world. It's a young star looking to rebound from a devastating defeat with a win over a faded legend that might not quite be faded enough.

Khan (19-1, 15 KO) has all the offensive gifts in the world. I like watching him fight. I always will. But his chin is not just bad. It's the stuff of tall tales. "The Boxer Who Couldn't Be Punched." Barrera's not a really heavy puncher, and he certainly isn't going to be one at 135 pounds. But Willie Limond knocked Khan down, and Breidis Prescott annihilated him. We recently saw Breidis Prescott have his struggles with Humberto Toledo, who has certainly been stopped before.

Usually when I talk about a fighter's flaws, it goes without saying that they're certainly better at whatever than I am. But with Khan's chin, it's not like that. Khan would have a bad chin for a drunk guy in a drunk 1am barroom brawl.

I think there is a chance that Khan overwhelms Barrera early on and can stop him. Barrera's tougher than nails, even aged, and it took 11 rounds of severe beating from Manny Pacquiao to give him his only stoppage loss, and Barrera's been fighting for 20 years.

But I can't pick Khan. I can't pick a guy whose chin is that bad. I really like Khan, I think he seems like a super kid, never has seemed to act "spoiled" as others have said, and boy do I think a lot of offensive talent could be down the tubes because of a bad chin. But I can't pick him over Barrera. Still, I'm very intrigued. Barrera TKO-6

Nicky Cook v. Roman Martinez (Junior Lightweights, 12 Rounds - Cook's WBO title on the line)

Cookie's a fine fighter, solid guy that has moved up to 130 from 126 and won a title last September over Alex Arthur, which sent Arthur into a bit of a tantrum in the press afterward. He even feigned surprise that he'd lost. Cook clearly won that bout, which was underneath Prescott waxing Khan something awful.

Now he returns beneath Khan again, this time against Puerto Rican Roman "Rocky" Martinez. Martinez, 26, has fought a few times in the States but mostly in Puerto Rico. He's beaten some C+/B- fighters along the way (Francisco Lorenzo, Daniel Jimenez, Jose Luis Soto Karass, Walter Estrada, etc.) and now he gets a crack at a world title on someone else's turf.

Cook himself may really be no more than a B- fighter, and this is a nice-looking matchup and could be the most competitive of these four bouts. Cook's only loss came to Steven Luevano in 2007, and the only blemish on Rocky's record is a six-round draw early in his career. I'm pretty much winging this one, and going with the guy who has home court. Cook UD-12

Enzo Maccarinelli v. Ola Afolabi (Cruiserweights, 12 Rounds - Vacant WBO interim title on the line)

It's a mismatch brought to you by the good folks in Frank Warren's brain. Macca may not be the best fighter in the world, but he's beaten better foes than Afolabi before, whose KO percentage doesn't suggest he'll be able to take advantage of Enzo's iffy chin. Maccarinelli TKO-5

Promoters for super middleweight contender Fulgencio Zuniga are threatening to back out of their Friday night bout with 168-pound titlist Lucian Bute if Montreal's Marlon B. Wright referees the contest.

From the Montreal Gazette:

“If it’s Marlon Wright, it could be a big problem,” said Marchio, Zuniga’s promoter. “If he’s the ref, there could be (no fight). We would have to look at that option. They know the world’s looking at this fight.”

Wright, a Montreal native and former boxer, was third man in the ring last October, when Bute retained his 168-pound title against Librado Andrade in controversial fashion. Bute won a unanimous decision, but not before being knocked down in the waning seconds of the final round. Things became chaotic from there, but many have argued Bute benefited from a long count, thereby retaining his belt. It has been suggested Wright could, and should, have stopped the bout.

“I believe the fight should have been stopped,” Marchio said. “We want to make sure we get a fair fight. We want a fair ref. We don’t believe what happened last time was fair. We felt Andrade won the fight. I don’t believe the ref should be Wright. He’s worked Bute’s last five fights, and we don’t want him to work a sixth.

“That’s ridiculous. We can’t have the same ref. We have two options – pull out or fight. We’re here to fight and it’s hard to (make that decision) now. But (if Wright’s the ref) it probably would be the breaking point.”

I think Wright is a crummy referee not because of the outcome of Bute-Andrade but because he showed a complete lack of control in the closing moments of the fight. He acted like it was his first time. I don't think it's a matter of corruption but more a matter of ineptitude, which is my feeling on most things of this nature. Many don't give officials (referees, judges, etc.) enough credit for just not being very good, in my opinion.

But, still, to bring this up three days before the fight is pretty amateur from the Zuniga camp. They had to have been aware that Wright was likely the leading candidate to ref this fight, and it's been signed for a while now. This could and should have been addressed before now. They're attempting to pull a power play. Even if they're right that maybe Marlon B. shouldn't be in there, it's sketchy timing to say the least.

Still, the Bute camp isn't disagreeing at all. Stephen LaRouche, who trains Bute and serves as the director of operations for InterBox, said this:

“But I think their request is legitimate and (the ref) should come from outside. I think they’re right. I think it would be a smart decision. Lucian also hopes the ref is from outside. The credibility of Montreal boxing, InterBox and the credibility, most of all, of Lucian Bute is at stake here.”

The Montreal boxing scene is outstanding. There have been some weird things up there lately (including the five-minute round in Ngoudjo-Urango), and it seems like the head honchos at InterBox are taking it seriously. They don't want a reputation as an undesirable place to fight, which is good because the fans are incredible and it could become a serious boxing hub, if it hasn't already.