By Ian S Palmer
Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) is back on the air on Saturday, August 15th when former world champion Lucian Bute of Romania takes on Italy’s Andrea di Luisa in a 10-round light heavyweight tilt at the Bell Centre in Montreal, which is now Bute’s adopted hometown. This will be Bute’s first fight in 19 months and it will be broadcast in North America via the NBCSN network. The fight will be held at a catch weight of 171 lbs. British fans can catch the action live on BoxNation. This contest also marks Di Luisa’s first fight outside of Italy.
Bute’s last high-profile fight came against fellow Quebecer and former champion Jean Pascal, originally of Haiti. However, things didn’t go to well for the 35-year-old southpaw as Bute came out on the wrong end of a 12-round unanimous decision in January of last year. It was Bute’s second loss in three fights after he started his career with a record of 30-0 with 24 Kos. His first loss came to Carl Froch of England who stopped Bute in the fifth round of their world super middleweight bout back in May of 2012. Therefore, Bute will enter the ring with a record of 31-2 along with 24 Kos.
The 33-year-old Di Luisa enters the fight with a record of 17-2 and has 13 Kos to his name. He’s not very well known to North American boxing fans, but carries some pop in his fists with a knockout ratio of 68 per cent. Bute may be considered a more dangerous puncher though with a 73 per cent Ko ratio. Bute will also have the height advantage as he’s just over 6-feet tall while Di Luisa stands just under 6-feet. When it comes to their reach, Bute has a wingspan of 72 inches and Di Luisa’s is unlisted.
Di Luisa has four straight victories under his belt after losing to Christopher Rebrasse by a seventh-round stoppage back in November 2012. Two of his last four wins have come by way of stoppage with his last outing being an 11th-round TKO over Roberto Cocco in December. Di Luisa turned pro in 2008 and has fought 88 rounds since then. His other loss came at the hands of Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye by way of 12th-round KO in 2011.
Bute has faced some pretty good opponents since turning pro in 2003 and has beaten the likes of former champions Sakio Bika, William Joppy and Glen Johnson as well as Edison Miranda, Jesse Brinkley, Jen-Paul Mendy, Librado Andrade, Fulgencio Zuniga, Alejandro Berrio and Denis Grachev. He has 222 pro rounds under his belt. Neither of these guys has the strongest of chins really as Di Luisa was stopped in both of his losses and Bute has been in trouble in several of his fights.
Prediction
Bute says he’s injury-free and in top condition for this fight, but he still may have some ring rust. He has a good chance of winning the bout if his chin holds up and he can manage to connect power shots to Di Luisa’s head and body. However, Di Luisa also has some power and a questionable chin and this could result in a knockdown or two along the way and an exciting fight. If Bute fights to his potential and can handle the incoming punches then he should take this fight by decision or late stoppage.
