Boxing: Friday the 13th!

[H2O Man]

FRIDAY - at Montreal (Showtime) - 12 rounds, IBF super middleweight title: Lucian Bute (23-0, 18 KOs) vs. Fulgencio Zuniga (22-3-1, 19 KOs); 12 rounds, middleweights: Renan St Juste (19-1-1, 12 KOs) vs. Roberto Hernan Reuque (30-2, 19 KOs).

There is not going to be a Friday night fight card on ESPN, but boxing fans will be watching a good card on Showtime. The co-feature is a middleweight bout that could be interesting. Renan St. Juste is a 36-year old southpaw, with a pretty good record. He had a 4 round draw in his first fight (all three cards were 38-38), and lost a 6 round decision to a journeyman early in his career. His biggest win was over David Estrada, and he has also defeated some other fairly good young contenders. It’s about time for him to step up against a higher level of competition.

It may be that Reuque can provide him with a serious test. However, this 30 year old has fought exclusively in Argentina, and the competition there tends to be a little softer than what one finds in Canada. Three fights ago, for example, Reuque fought a guy who had a 1-10-2 record; the previous opponent was 23-12-2. More he twice fought a guy with a 40-61-9 and then 40-63-9 record. One might ask what he could possibly have learned in the second fight, that he didn’t pick up on in the first meeting? In his last fight, in which he faced a opponent with a good record, he was KOed in 3. Thus, I suspect this is not going to be a competitive fight.

The main event, however, could be good. Bute, 29, is the IBF super middleweight champion. He is a skilled fighter, and has faced some good opposition. He has defeated William Joppy and Sakio Bika. However, in his last fight, although he had a big lead over Librado Andrade (27-1) after 11 rounds, he was hurt badly, decked, and there was a serious dispute over if Bute was actually counted out as the final bell rang (he was!). It’s hard to get a break over the "home town" fighter in Montreal – I consider it to be as bad as Germany these days.

Zuniga, 31, is from Columbia. He has fought against tougher competition, including a tough loss against Kelly Pavlik, in which he was TKOed in 9. He has power, and his style could provide problems for Bute. While I try to avoid making predictions on this forum, I will say that if Bute is running from Zuniga, and Zuniga begins to land hard shots to the body, the Canadian referee will "warn" and then take points away from Zuniga. Hopefully, the officiating will be fair, and the better man will win.

[H2O Man]

1. Reminder:

The fights are on tonight.