More than a year after becoming the WBC mandatory challenger for Adonis Stevenson’s belt, Eleider Alvarez will step into the ring this upcoming February against...Lucian Bute. The winner will then theoretically face Stevenson.
Part of the reason this is getting its own article is the raw absurdity of the situation. This Saturday, Alvarez (20-0, 10 KO) will be facing Norbert Dabrwoski (19-5-1, 7 KO), a man with a loss to a 4-0 fighter two fights ago, a draw with a 1-0 fighter three fights ago, and a loss to a 1-0-1 fighter five fights ago. He’s been Stevenson’s mandatory since edging out Isaac Chilemba in November of 2015.
Bute (32-3-1, 25 KO) is 1-2-1 in his last four, losing clear decisions to Jean Pascal and James DeGale while most recently "earning" a draw against Badou Jack, after which he tested positive for Ostarine.
That’s not the stupid part, though. The stupid part is that Stevenson (28-1, 23 KO) hasn’t fought a mandatory challenger since thrashing Tony Bellew in November of 2013. It’s not even like he’s been busy; he fought once this year, a win over the game-but-vulnerable Thomas Williams Jr.
Now, I may be just a simple country MMA analyst, but I don’t think these people know what "mandatory" means.
In any case, Bute gets yet another shot at redemption. Anyone tuning in?