Lucian Bute's Team Steamed Over Tournament Overlook

[BattlingNelson]

Lucian Bute has not beaten anyone that Dirrell and Ward could not beat.

Couldas, wouldas, shouldas doesn't really count.

[Titing Kabayo]

Margo just want to tell everyone again that Cotto left nothing after he KOed him... he is trying to descridit Pac before this fight...

[nujabes77]

Margo just want to tell everyone again that Cotto left nothing after he KOed him... he is trying to descridit Pac before this fight...

another illiterate post... ohhh the irony

[Rosseboi]

Sounds like smoke and mirrors from Bute's team to excuse why they aren't taking part.

Both Rick Reeno and Dan Rafael are reporting that their sources had Bute's people not willing to commit to the tournament format.

It's a shame really because he deserves to be in it as much as anyone.

**** yes!!!!!! Well said mate!!! That statement deserves some greens alone!!!!!!!!!!

[dstew]

the point is to get the guys deemed worthy, not the cooperative hasbeens and prospects.

JT has not won a big fight in years.
Team America Dirrel and Ward have fought nobody period.

Bute is the real deal, and is a key to this tourney to be taken seriously.

A real list would look somthing like this,
Kessler
Froch
Bute
AA
Andrade
Bika / Green (hell have em fight for the the wild card spot).

Unbelievable that you would put Bika and Green in above Taylor, Dirrell, and Ward.

Bika's most notable performances are his losses to Calzaghe and Bute, where he was outclassed both times, and his best win is Peter Manfredo, a blown up JMW, and a mediocre one at that.

Green hasn't beaten ANYONE relevant, has a loss to Edison Miranda, and is better known for working his way out of big fights rather than into them. Not wanting to deal with Green's advisor, Greg Leon, is reason enough alone to leave him on the outside looking in.

[BattlingNelson]

Unbelievable that you would put Bika and Green in above Taylor, Dirrell, and Ward.

Bika's most notable performances are his losses to Calzaghe and Bute, where he was outclassed both times, and his best win is Peter Manfredo, a blown up JMW, and a mediocre one at that.

Green hasn't beaten ANYONE relevant, has a loss to Edison Miranda, and is better known for working his way out of big fights rather than into them. Not wanting to deal with Green's advisor, Greg Leon, is reason enough alone to leave him on the outside looking in.

I also think Balzay is being overlooked.

Dstew I actually fancy your man Taylor's chances against Abraham in Germany. AA hasn't fought elite fighters in a long time and it's definetely possible to outpoint him. Add also that he has shown some weakness in the chin department in his last 2 fights and you just might have a recipe for an upset.

[dstew]

I also think Balzay is being overlooked.

Dstew I actually fancy your man Taylor's chances against Abraham in Germany. AA hasn't fought elite fighters in a long time and it's definetely possible to outpoint him. Add also that he has shown some weakness in the chin department in his last 2 fights and you just might have a recipe for an upset.

I agree, it would be nice to see Balzsay included too. I would say those that get left out can fight each other, like Balzsay and Bute, but I see little chance of that happening. Maybe at least Bika and Green can slug it out.

AA is definitely not as indestructible as many of his fanboys think. Taylor just has to watch out for those heavy hands, especially late in the fight, and find a way around his high guard. Winky had a similar guard that Taylor was able to punch right through, but AA's forearms are like tree trunks and I don't think anything is getting between them. The only time he opens up is when he's punching, so Taylor's counterpunching skills will be a key factor if he's going to score on him. After seeing both Simon and Oral's punches trouble him, I'm confident that JT's power can give him plenty to think about.

It has the makings of a good boxing match, but AA should realistically be favored to win by KO. I'm holding out hope for Taylor though, especially if he comes across as serious and humble leading into it, and hopefully adds to his corner.

[j69madrox]

Pumped for this tournament

If this tournament actually goes down it will be awesome. Awesome for boxing, the fans, and Shotime. I for one will believe it when I see it but I truly hope it does. Everyone is crying about the participants in this tournament but lets face it, these are six of the best in the division. Maybe not the best six, but six of the best.

I don't believe Andre Dirrell has any business in this tournament but oh well. He's in it. You can say what has he proven?, and really against top competition he hasn't proven anything. You can also say the same thing about Arthur Abraham. He holds a KO win over Edison Miranda at 168, but so does Andre Ward (not by ko). And lets not forget, It took Abraham two fights to convincingly beat Miranda. Jermaine Taylor is 0-2 at 168. Lost to Pavlik, the middlewieght champ, and was knocked out by Froch in the 12th, in a fight he was definetly winning on the cards.

So you can argue four of these guys shouldn't be in this tournament. But they are, and atleast one is likely to pull an upset or two. No matter who is in it we can look foward to atleast 12 fights between a combination of six of these fighters in 2010. That is awesome!

As for Lucian Bute, he may just be the best at 168. This tournament isn't to decide the best, but if he remains standing against the rest( Bika, Andrade, Green, Balszay... who knows, maybe even Pavlik, Williams, Dawson, or Pascal) then he can fight the winner in a match by that time will just be of epic proportions in the super middleweight division.

[cyutetrick]

there are several fighters who fight or can fight at super middleweight that would be attractive in the tournament, man i hope paul williams jumps in and andrade whoever he fights even if he loses the first fight would get this tournament going...

[dstew]

If this tournament actually goes down it will be awesome. Awesome for boxing, the fans, and Shotime. I for one will believe it when I see it but I truly hope it does. Everyone is crying about the participants in this tournament but lets face it, these are six of the best in the division. Maybe not the best six, but six of the best.

I don't believe Andre Dirrell has any business in this tournament but oh well. He's in it. You can say what has he proven?, and really against top competition he hasn't proven anything. You can also say the same thing about Arthur Abraham. He holds a KO win over Edison Miranda at 168, but so does Andre Ward (not by ko). And lets not forget, It took Abraham two fights to convincingly beat Miranda. Jermaine Taylor is 0-2 at 168. Lost to Pavlik, the middlewieght champ, and was knocked out by Froch in the 12th, in a fight he was definetly winning on the cards.

So you can argue four of these guys shouldn't be in this tournament. But they are, and atleast one is likely to pull an upset or two. No matter who is in it we can look foward to atleast 12 fights between a combination of six of these fighters in 2010. That is awesome!

As for Lucian Bute, he may just be the best at 168. This tournament isn't to decide the best, but if he remains standing against the rest( Bika, Andrade, Green, Balszay... who knows, maybe even Pavlik, Williams, Dawson, or Pascal) then he can fight the winner in a match by that time will just be of epic proportions in the super middleweight division.

Taylor is 1-2 at SMW, shutting out Lacy, dropping a close decision to Pavlik and losing to Froch in the last 15 seconds.

I agree with your point though; you can argue that a couple of these guys don't deserve to be there as much as the others, or as much as one or two guys who have been left out, but they are 6 of the best and anyone who wants to call themselves the division's champ should be forced to prove themselves against all of the guys involved.

If Bute's team bypasses the tourney there are still enough good matchups out there to keep him busy in the meantime.