Round By Round: Lucian Bute vs. Librado Andrade

The Bell Centre in Montreal is sold out tonight for tonight's IBF super middleweight title fight.

Steve Farhood ranks Bute No. 2 and Andrade No. 3 in the super middleweight class. He has Mikkel Kessler at No. 1. Uatu thinks Andre Dirrell is the future, more so than Andre Ward even. Jermain Taylor is sort of an x-factor at this weight; maybe Kelly Pavlik too.

Here comes Andrade to the ring. Amazingly, he worked at Jack-in-the-Box for ten years on his way up while he was fighting pro. That is a great story.

The lights go dark and the fans are going nuts. They are counting down from 60 with digital numbers on the big video screen. Mixed in are flashed pictures of Bute. At zero there's an explosion on the screen. Bute appears at the top of the ramp and here he comes. Uatu is unsure if this is U2 being played or just a band that sounds like U2. There aren't any lyrics that are audible. Go-go dancers are all around the crowd. Ah, there are some lyrics. It sounds like "Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2. He still hasn't entered the ring. Bute looks to be soaking it all in. Can't blame him considering the turnout. And he's in.

There is no three-knockdown rule for this fight. Interestingly, they had to re-weigh-in this morning so that they stayed within ten pounds of 168 even the next day. So even this morning they had to be 178 and under.

And away we go.

Round 1
Steve says this is one of the loudest crowds he has ever heard. Stiff Bute jabs. Nice Bute left. Right from Andrade. Nice counter left from Bute. Bute looks quick. He's throwing combos already, and the lead left too. Andrade trying to move in. Andrade trying to work the body. Bute's got some Calzaghe in him: super fast, left-handed, 168pounds, keeps his hands down a little.

Uatu: Bute 10-9

Round 2
Starts the same with fast Bute jabbing, one-two, then getting away. Andrade gets close and they clinch. Bute stepping left and right. Andrade throws jabs without much conviction. Andrade trying to make it a little dirty. When Andrade does get close, Bute blocks and grabs. Nice combo from Bute. Lead left, then another from Bute. Bute gets it clearly.

Uatu: Bute 10-9

Round 3
Some more ineffective aggression. Elbow warning for Andrade. Not much landing either way. Lots of Bute movement. Lead left and a one-two, then four punches in a row. Not super vicious though. Combo and combo again from Bute. Andrade moves in and there's a grab. Flurry combo from Bute. Bute does it again.

Uatu: Bute 10-9

Round 4
Bute is like Calzaghe but less slappy with the punches. Nice left from Bute. Andrade is trying but can't get his plan in action. Andrade lands to the body and then gets him two more times. Could Andrade be getting back in this? Charles says that Bute is there to be hit. This round is up for grabs. They tie up before a Bute combo. They trade somewhat ineffective punches to close the round. Tough to score.

Uatu: Andrade 10-9

Round 5
Steve disagrees with Uatu and gives Round 4 to Bute. Andrade throws about six unanswered but only maybe two land. Strange happenings as Bute grabs Andrade's leg and Andrade punches him while being grabbed. Andrade pressing the action. Andrade gaining confidence and momentum. Triple jab from Bute! Nice right from Andrade. Four punches from Bute. Andrade throws back. Another tough round to score. This round had ebbs and flows to it. When Bute does his thing it doesn't look like Andrade has a chance. But this round even more than the last, Andrade's in-fighting and aggressiveness take it.

Uatu: Andrade 10-9

Round 6
Too much water in the corner and they mop up. Bute back to jab, move and spin. Andrade not landing this time. Lead left from Bute. Nice jab and move. Decent straight left from Bute. Bute combo, and he grabs when they get close. Nice left from Bute, then two more. Combo from Bute. This is all Bute as he appears to have regained control. Not sure Andrade landed more than two punches.

Uatu: Bute 10-9

Round 7
Farhood has it 59-55 Bute and Charles agrees. Jabs from Bute. Lead left from Bute. Bute grabs Andrade's leg again. Bute doing more of his thing: jabs, movement, the occasional combo and some grabbing when necessary. Another lackluster round for Andrade. Andrade trying to come forward but Bute is too fast. Bute again easily.

Uatu: Bute 10-9

Round 8
Andrade getting to Bute a tad. Nothing to get excited about. Bute not throwing as much. Nice combo in the center of the ring from Bute. Bute gets in the lead left. Charles calls this a big round for the champion. Hopefully he means big as in it means Bute will win a decision for sure now, not that he won the round big. Next to nothing happened really.

Uatu: Bute 10-9

Round 9
More of the same so far. Bute is landing more and crisper pucnhes. Neither man looks close to being gassed or hurt. Andrade is going to the jab late in the game. Combo from Bute followed by a grab. Even if not all of Bute's punches land, they are keeping Andrade honest. Andrade jabs twice and then is met with a combo to end the round.

Uatu: Bute 10-9

Round 10
Nice left from Bute and then he gets out. Crisp left makes Andrade's sweat fly. Bute still stepping left and right. Bute is still thowinrg and moving with no sign of slowing down. And down goes Andrade! Bute throwing hard and moving in. Nice uppercut from Bute, nice right from Andrade. Bute's eyes are a little swollen and Andrade has some nose blood. Bute going off on the head of Andrade again. Andrade gets in a nice clinch punch but it's nowhere near enough.

Uatu: Bute 10-8

Round 11
The announcers call the knockdown a push. Looking at the replay, it wasn't a significant punch. Bute should be up big on the cards at this point anyway. Good left in the corner from Bute and he escapes. He is really managing the ring and the ropes like a true pro, and it's a nice touch that he is still throwing a lot of punches despite a huge lead. Left hook, right hand from Andrade. A Bute combo gets cheers from the crowd. Andrade still trying but not getting much done. Body shots from Bute have a solid thump to them.

Uatu: Bute 10-9

Round 12
Europe's "Final Countdown" gets a cliched play over the PA. Nice left from Andrade. Andrade is really trying for the KO. He's hitting Bute but probably too little too late. Bute throwing some too though - he hasn't gotten on the bike. Andrade is rocking Bute, but the champ is rallying nicely. Great action both ways. Too bad all the rounds weren't like this. Bute finally looking tired. Andrade clocking him and Andrade kills Bute with one second left! Bute gets up after a huge count that seems way more than ten. A melee is breaking out in the ring! This is quite the ending. Bute was way too brave for his own good in the last minute. It looked like there was no way that Andrade would have enough time, but with somewhere about 10-15 seconds left, Andrade was cracking Bute to the point where he was stumbling backwards all the way to the corner. Then with literally one second to go, Bute got floored. The final bell couldn't save him, but the ref gave him some extra time it appeared, and Bute eventually got up, to his credit. Apparently Bute won, though the cards haven't been announced yet. Farhood says he doesn't think Bute gets up within a legit ten-count. On a side note, a full-sized brawl never really broke out. Melee was too strong of a word. There was just an emotional outburst from Andrade's corner. But Andrade himself was all class.

Uatu: Andrade 10-8

On replay, it looks like Bute was out on his feet for longer than it appeared. Bute actually beat the count, because the ref pulled a "minor league move" and didn't get the count right.

Uatu scores it 116-110 Bute. The judges score it 117-109, 115-111 and 115-110, all for the winner... and still IBF super middleweight champion... Lucian Bute.

They are replaying the closing moments of the final round again. Bute was out on his feet with around 26 seconds to go. He stumbled back at 13, then got crushed with two to go. Bute got more than ten seconds and keeps his title.

Farhood interviews Andrade. He feels he was cheated. He says Bute was completely out, but there was a five-second delay. Andrade says when he went to the neutral corner, he thought he was the champ. He claims he wasn't hurt even once. They show him the replay, and he pleads that Bute was completely out.

Now they interview Bute through an interpreter. He says Andrade only won the 12th round. It was tough, but he won. Farhood says Bute was exhausted and almost went down without being hit. Bute says that in the 12th, Andrade took advantage of him being tired, but he won the other rounds.

Bute says he is not aware of any controversy. He says he will fight anyone next, including Andrade if necessary.

Now Showtime interviews referee Marlon B. Wright, who says it was a legit knockdown. He sent Andrade to neutral corner, then picked the count up with four seconds elapsed, starting at five. Wright says he had to stop the count to send Andrade to his corner. He says Andrade cost himself the win by leaving his corner. Wright claims Bute wouldn't have made the ten, but because Andrade left the corner he had to stop the count. He blames Andrade for not going back to the corner. His final words: "It was Andrade's fault."

Charles says it took 24 seconds from knockdown to the end of the count. Farhood says there's no doubt that Wright overreacted, especially considering it was the end of the fight.