Around the Net: Lucian Bute vs Jesse Brinkley Edition

Lucian Bute returns to the Bell Centre tonight for what should be a rather routine title (the 168lb IBF strap, if you're concerned about such details) defense against mandatory challenger Jesse Brinkley.

Quick feet, quick hands, one shot power, ring smarts - Bute is as talented as they come in the sport today and his fights are an event in Montreal.  But despite the terrific atmosphere that always accompanies Bute's performances, the one sided nature of his bouts does not lend itself to compelling viewing for the neutral fan and tonight's clash promises to be more of the same.  Brinkley will come to fight, but he's a couple levels below the Montreal star and will be hard pressed to win more than a round, let alone have his hand raised at the end.

Bute will step up in competition soon.  The Super Six will be over next year providing options at 168lbs, and there's some excellent talent including local star Jean Pascal at light-heavy.  A lot of very interesting match-ups await.  But until then, it's hard to get overly excited over the Montreal southpaw's dominating exploits.

Let's take a look at some of the pre-fight buzz from around the net...

Bad Left Hook Quick Picks: Bute-Brinkley, Klitschko-Briggs, Tarver-Aguilera - Bad Left Hook

So I'm not trying to bash Bute, but it's hard to defend his resume, and Brinkley isn't going to add much to it. He will beat Brinkley, and probably knock him out. But there's some of the rub, and why I think Bute has gained so many fans not just at home, but in hardcore fan circles, too. A lot of top guys in Bute's position -- with limited prospects for opponents for the time being -- tend to box up and down to the ability of their opponents. Bute doesn't do that. He always comes out looking like he's prepared to face the absolute best competition he possibly could, even if it's just someone like Fulgencio Zuniga or washed-up Joppy. Expect nothing less against Brinkley. Bute TKO-5

Safe Side of the Ropes - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Who Has The Easiest Weekend In Prospect -Vitali Klitschko, Lucian Bute Or Adrian Diaconu?

Brinkley (35-5, 22 kayos) comes into this bout as mandatory challenger for Bute’s alphabet strap. A game trier, he has a fair dig on him, a decent work ethic and enters the contest on a nine fight winning streak dating back to 2007 (where he dropped a couple of L’s to Robin Reid and Joey Spina). In all likelihood, he’s going to catch an extended whupping here until the referee shows mercy and cuts short the barrage.

The Queensbury Rules - Previews And Predictions For Vitali Klitschko Vs. Shannon Briggs And Lucian Bute Vs. Jesse Brinkley

Brinkley might give Bute some resistance early, but he probably won’t last too long, despite evidently having a good chin himself. He might last the distance, but then, nobody Brinkley has fought is within several light years of Bute’s ability. With Bute knocking his last three opponents out by the 4th round, I’ll add an extra two rounds worth of toughness to Brinkley’s survival rate before Bute turns off the light in the 6th.

Yahoo - Bute looks to add another notch in title belt

In Montreal, Bute is nearly as revered as the city’s hockey heroes. The fight with Brinkley already has sold more than 12,000 tickets, promoter Jean Bedard said, and could wind up with more than 14,000. Bedard said that Bute’s pay-per-view shows in Canada are also big business.

 

It says a lot about Bute and the impact he has had here that we can get these kinds of crowds without a very popular guy facing him,” Bedard said. “Jesse Brinkley, the people here really don’t know him. They don’t know what he looks like, how he fights. [The expected large attendance and pay-per-view sales] is because of Bute and his personal charisma.”

The Province - Brinkley gets first title shot against undefeated Bute

There are few paths to take, or careers to choose from, in Yerington, Nevada, a town of approximately 3,000 in the northwest part of the state.

There are those who farm — that would include the vast majority — and those who don’t.

Yerington is home to Jesse Brinkley, an avid fisherman, hunter, outdoorsman and firearm enthusiast. He does everything but farm. And so, barely past his 20th birthday, he became a professional boxer, simply because of his dislike for the headgear worn by amateurs along with the point-scoring system.

ESPN - For Jesse Brinkley, it's better late than never

Brinkley has done all that could be expected of him in his preparation, leaving the home comforts of Yerington, Nev., to train for 10 weeks in Providence, R.I., under the direction of Peter Manfredo Sr., the father of Brinkley's fellow "Contender" contestant.

"It's a difficult fight, but he's physically prepared," Manfredo Sr. told ESPN.com. "He's done over 150 rounds of sparring, and we've got a lot of southpaws here -- and some good ones: Demetrius Andrade, the [2008] Olympics kid; Vladine Biosse, the undefeated tough fighter out of Providence; and a bunch of others. [Brinkley's] head is on straight, he's been dieting correctly, he's been looking pretty good in sparring, and he's ready to go."

Reno-Gazette-Journal - At age 33, Yerington boxer Jesse Brinkley finally gets world title fight

"You do things against right-handers on reaction. You've got to really think with a southpaw, keep your mind clear. He can't get wild," Manfredo said. "Hopefully, he can get a good shot to the chin. If he can get a good shot to the chin, this guy will go to sleep."

Brinkley said his mental state took a shot early in the camp, but has since recovered.

"The first five weeks, I was definitely focused, but I started getting beat up by some fast southpaws. I said, 'Am I really going to stand a chance with this guy?'" Brinkley said. "These last couple of weeks I've elevated my mind. Everything feels good."

Boxing Scene - Bute vs Pavlik Discussed For March, at 166-Pounds

InterBox, who promote Bute, advised the paper that HBO is very interested in a Monteal doubleheader for the month of March, with former light heavyweight champion Adrian Diaconu as the possible co-feature (if he does well against Omar Sheika on Friday). Interbox head Jean Bedard told the paper that his company received an offer for a fight against Pavlik at a catch-weight of 166-pounds with Lucian's belt at stake. Pavlik's fight against Vera will be at 164-pounds. Bedard says Bute is still capable of getting down to 166 but nothing is for sure for the next couple of weeks.