Kelly Pavlik's decision to pull out of his fight with Darryl Cunningham last weekend sent shockwaves through the boxing community. Even now, people are trying to peice together why it happened and what it possibly means for Pavlik's career. Some are quick to condemn him for letting down his hometown fans and canceling his fifth fight in three years. Others come to his support against Bob Arum's underhanded tactics to devalue his fighters. Through all of this mess, nobody is talking about the guy that lost the most, a fighter who needed Pavlik to answer the questions the public asked of him and that is IBF Super Middleweight champion Lucian Bute.
Bute-Pavlik was originally planned last year by HBO, but after Pavlik lost to Sergio Martinez and subsequently pulled out of his fight with Bryan Vera later in the year, Bute jumped ship and landed back with Showtime in hopes to land a big fight. As Pavlik resurfaced on the undercard of Pacquiao-Mosley, looking sluggish in a majority win decision over Alphonso Lopez, it seemed that the next logical choice for Pavlik was Bute. This turn of events wouldn't be the first for Bute in a year that has been nothing but frustrating for him.
Originally there were heavy talks that Bute would face off against former champion Mikkel Kessler, who had just recovered from eye surgery and was out of the Super Six Tournament. Kessler was a guest commentator at Bute's 10th-round stoppage win over Brian Magee earlier this year and said that they could fight in Canada because he would "kick his (Bute's) ass." Not too long after that, Kessler signed to fight WBO champion Robert Stigelitz in Germany later this year.
Personally, I have long considered Bute to be the best fighter in the crowded Super Middleweight division because of his consistency and longevity as a champion. While his opposition is palpable, he has disposed of them easily like elite fighters are supposed to. With all of the other top fighters occupied for the better part of three years now, Bute has been both hyped as the best fighter not involved in the tournament and derided for his choice of opposition. Boxing is a hypocritcially cruel sport indeed.
While Pavlik would've been the most prolific fighter that Bute had ever fought, it was the general thought that the simple and almost robotic Pavlik would've been in for a long night against the heavy-handed southpaw, perhaps suffering the first stoppage loss of his career. When asked, I myself said that Bute would beat Pavlik back to the bottle and would stop him cold before the bell.
A victory over a recognized American fighter would've helped Bute's chances of building up a head of steam for a hopeful clash against the winner of the Carl Froch/Andre Ward Super Six finale, or at least bring him stateside to continue building his name. What happens now is damage control and a rush to find a fighter that'll face him in a fight that was born from yet another disappointment.
Names that have been thrown around as potential opponents have been Peter Quillin, Middleweight champion Dmitry Pirog, and the Dirrell brothers Andre and Anthony. The only name that could match the intrigue that Pavlik could bring would be Andre Dirrell, who himself competed in the Super Six tournament, but had to withdraw citing neurological injuries suffered at the hands of Arthur Abraham. Glen Johnson is also being considered, but the man has lost almost every fight against a named opponent he's gone up against in the past few years; not the kind of opponent Bute wants to fight.
It really is a shame that Bute is going to end his year with the same amount of questions unanswered as he had to begin with, a year that I hoped would be a breakout one for him, but that's no fault of his own. He'll bide his time and wait to see ultimately what falls into place as the Super Six tournament reaches the end this October, hoping that an opportunity comes along that'll change the question of "is Lucian Bute for real" to "Lucian Bute is for real."
Danny Howard can be reached via e-mail (dhoward@fighthype.com), Twitter (@DBHoward126) and is looking for friends on Facebook.