Contributor: Nolan Howell
Lucian Bute and Eleider Alvarez fought Friday night in Quebec City with a WBC light heavyweight title shot against champion Adonis Stevenson on the line. Bute was on what could be the last title run and meaningful stretch of his career, while Alvarez looked to finally get the feather in the cap victory after earning his shot at the elites of the division.
It was a back and forth affair with Bute often leading the action as the southpaw and Alvarez taking his shots off the counter. Alvarez was not afraid to muddy the waters a bit, earning a few warnings for testing the belt line of Bute. Both fighters were not afraid to mix it up and it was a close fight going into the fifth round, with both working inside and exchanging body blows and loading up upstairs.
The fifth round brought the end of the fight as the two fought inside. A shot lead left from Bute was slipped by Alvarez and he looped an overhand right hook right to the head. Bute stepped back and his legs went jelly, but Alvarez soon straightened them out with another right hook that put Bute down. While Bute answered the count, he was in no shape to compete and the referee called it.
Alvarez moves on to face Stevenson in what could be one of his more serious tests in a while. Bute likely is going to be on a retirement tour soon if he doesn’t hang them up, but his performances still show a little pep and optimism to at least challenge the elites of the weight class.
-Nolan can be reached @undercardnolan or at [email protected]
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