By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com has been advised by numerous sources that super middleweights Edison Miranda and Jesse Brinkley are the two names being mentioned as the frontrunners to fight IBF champion Lucian Bute on April 17 on HBO. Bute's title defense, in Canada, will be a split-feed show with Kelly Pavlik defending his middleweight titles in the main event from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
I reported last week that Friday's Jesse Brinkley-Curtis Stevens winner would be in position to possibly land that fight. I heard unbeaten Marcus Johnson was approached to fight Bute. His team turned it down because Johnson is already committed to a future Showtime date.
Between the two leading candidates, Brinkley is more deserving of the opportunity. He built up a nice string of wins over the last three years and he always comes to fight. He could have taken a much safer position with Stevens by keeping his distance and boxing, but instead he made it a fight. At the same time we have to look at the reality of the situation. Miranda is the bigger name, the better fighter, more experienced in big fights and certainly has the better chance to win.
