Super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute's next defense will come against power puncher Edison Miranda of Colombia on April 17 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, InterBox, Bute's promoter, announced Wednesday.
"It will certainly be a pleasure for me to box again at the Bell Centre and to defend my title for the fifth time in front of my fans," said Bute, a native of Romania based in Montreal. "I am taking Miranda very seriously. He demolished many good fighters and is a notorious puncher. I will have to keep my concentration level on high to stay champion."
HBO will carry live coverage of the bout in the United States and hopes to pair it with Kelly Pavlik defending the middleweight championship against junior middleweight titleholder Sergio Martinez from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Pavlik-Martinez is still in negotiations.
Bute (25-0-0, 20 KO), Canada's most popular fighter, is making a habit of facing Colombians at the Bell Centre. He won his 168-pound belt there by knocking out Alejandro Berrio in the 11th round in October 2007 and made his third defense against Fulgencio Zuniga with a fourth-round knockout in March 2009.
In Miranda's only previous title bout, he lost a controversial decision to then-middleweight titlist Arthur Abraham in Germany in 2006. Two years later, Abraham knocked him out in the fourth round of a super middleweight bout. In Miranda's only other notable super middleweight bout, he dropped a decision in May 2009 to Andre Ward, who would go on to win a world title.
Miranda (33-4-0, 29 KO), the only man to defeat top contender Allan Green, won his only fight since the loss to Ward when he knocked out Francisco Sierra in the first round in October.
That was Miranda's first fight working with trainer Joe Goossen. Leon Margules, Miranda's co-promoter, believes Goossen will be significant for Miranda in the fight.
"This is another shot for Edison and with his new trainer, I think we'll do fine," Margules said. "We're excited about the fight. I think he can knock Bute out. Edison wants to show he belongs with the top 168-pounders and this is a great opportunity for him."
Stephan Larouche, Bute's trainer, said the styles of the two fighters -- Bute being the skillful boxer and Miranda the brawler -- should make for an entertaining fight.
"Styles make fights. I know this is a boxing cliché, but it's the truth," Larouche said. "Once again we have two world-class athletes with different styles that, when mixed together, have all the ingredients to explode. The fans are in for a treat."
April 17 is a huge night for the super middleweight division. While HBO will carry Bute-Miranda, Showtime will have two bouts in Group Stage 2 of its Super Six World Boxing Classic, a modified round-robin tournament that includes six top 168-pounders.
Showtime will have coverage of Ward's first defense against Green, the alternate who replaced Jermain Taylor, who dropped out, and England's Carl Froch defending his title against former titlist Mikkel Kessler in Denmark.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=4883791
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