Kelly Pavlik’s decision to pull out of his fight with Darryl Cunningham last weekend sent shockwaves through the boxing community. Even now, people are trying to peice together why it happened and what it possibly means for Pavlik’s career. Some are quick to condemn him for letting down his hometown fans and canceling his fifth fight in three years. Others come to his support against Bob Arum’s underhanded tactics to devalue his fighters. Through all of this mess, nobody is talking about the guy that lost the most, a fighter who needed Pavlik to answer the questions the public asked of him and that is IBF Super Middleweight champion Lucian Bute.
Bute-Pavlik was originally planned last year by HBO, but after Pavlik lost to Sergio Martinez and subsequently pulled out of his fight with Bryan Vera later in the year, Bute jumped ship and landed back with Showtime in hopes to land a big fight. As Pavlik resurfaced on the undercard of Pacquiao-Mosley, looking sluggish in a majority win decision over Alphonso Lopez, it seemed that the next logical choice for Pavlik was Bute. This turn of events wouldn’t be the first for Bute in a year that has been nothing but frustrating for him.
