By James Slater: According to The Montreal Gazette, HBO are very much interested in televising another doubleheader from Canada featuring Lucian Bute and Adrian Diaconu. The two Canadian heroes won with something to spare this past Friday in Montreal – with IBF 168-pouhnd king Bute stopping a game Jesse Brinkley in the 9th round, and former WBC light-heavy champ Diaconu winning a lopsided decision over the always-tough Omar Sheika.
And now both men look towards bigger, more meaningful fights. There’s no word yet on who “The Shark” might face inn his next bout, but more and more the name Kelly Pavlik is being mentioned as a real possibility for Bute, in what would be both men’s first fight of 2011.
Pavlik, the former middleweight king, has been toying with the idea of making a full-time move up in weight for quite a while now, and in his next fight, on the November 13th Pacquiao-Margarito card in Texas, “The Ghost” will rumble with Bryan Vera at an agreed catch weight of 164-pounds. Should the Youngstown man win (and he is a pretty big favourite in the eyes of many fans), he could fight Bute next – at a catch weight of 166-pounds according to various reports on the net.
A fascinating fight, Bute-Pavlik would surely prove to be a smash hit with the fans. Bute is looking like an almost-perfect fighting machine right now it must be said, and Pavlik would be taking on a most dangerous foe indeed, one who would likely be seen as the betting favourite. However, the way Pavlik hits would give him a genuine chance at scoring the upset. Certainly his Youngstown army of fans would believe in their hero and make the trip to Montreal for the big fight.
Bute is a vicious puncher himself, mind, and his body work especially can be lethal. Height and reach-wise, there’s not much to split the two men. Pavlik is half-an-inch taller and he has a slightly longer reach. Both men have shown a good chin and fearsome pride and toughness, and both men are aggressive-minded, crowd-pleasing fighters. There would be much on the line for both warriors, too.
A loss for Bute would curtail his big plans of facing either Jean Pascal (if Pascal can get past the always-crafty Bernard Hopkins in December), or the eventual winner of the troubled “Super Six” tournament. While a loss for Pavlik, which would be the third loss of his pro career, would come pretty close to ending his time as a top operator. But no big fight is without risk, and the potential rewards for the winner may entice both guys to put their name on the contract.
HBO are reportedly interested in the catch weight fight, and the fans certainly want to see it. Now, can Pavlik get past Bryan Vera next month?