Lucian Bute passed the toughest test of his thriving career with a dominant unanimous decision win over Glen “The Road Warrior” Johnson to defend his International Boxing Federation (IBF) super middleweight title for the ninth time.
The championship bout was scored 120-108 twice and 119-109. In the co-feature, rising Canadian prospect Pier-Olivier Côté demolished Jorge Teron via knockout only 33 seconds into round two of the junior welterweight bout from Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Canada on Showtime.
The Romanian-born Bute (30-0, 24 KOs) proved too much for the oft-dubbed “ageless” Johnson who finally showed his age. Despite Johnson’s tendency to make fight’s exciting by coming forward and applying pressure, the fighters kept their distance for the first several rounds. By the middle of the bout, it was Bute who closed the gap and attempted to engage his former sparring partner. The 31-year-old Bute, of Montreal, began to land power shots with both hands, taking chances by staying in close in an attempt to close the show via knockout – to no avail – for the 15,306 fans in attendance.
Bute vs. Johnson Video Recap
Bute vs. Johnson Photos
When asked if he was disappointed that he was unable to close out his seventh straight title defense via stoppage, Bute responded, “No, I’m very happy. This is a great experience. Fighting Glen Johnson is an honor for me. I needed a fight like this.”
Bute cruised to victory in a fight where Johnson (51-16-2, 35 KOs) refused to pull the trigger. Johnson, of Miami, Fla., only connected with 47 power shots as opposed to Bute’s 123. Bute was also the busier fighter outlanding Johnson 306 to 128.
Johnson felt the bout was closer than the statistics or the scorecards indicated. “I thought I won the fight. I don’t think he was landing anything.”
Regarding his hesitation to throw more power shots, Johnson said, “My right arm swelled up in about the fourth round so I couldn’t throw my big right hand. I basically beat him with one hand.” Johnson displayed the swelling on his upper right forearm to the SHOWTIME cameras to help support his claim.
Canadian judges Benoit Roussel and Pasquale Procopio scored the bout 120-108 and 119-109, respectively. “It’s tough winning the fights on the road in these guys’ hometowns,” said Johnson after the bout. However, even American judge Jerry Roth scored a 120-108 shutout for Bute.
With the looming Dec. 17 showdown between Super Six World Boxing Classic finalists Andre Ward and Carl Froch, Bute told SHOWTIME ringside reporter Jim Gray that he plans to attend the fight and predicted that Ward would win by decision. When asked if he wants to fight the tournament’s victor, Bute said, “Of course. It’s my dream.”
In an explosive first round of the night’s co-feature, Côté (18-0, 12 KOs), of Quebec City, pressed the action against Teron (25-3-1, 17 KOs), of Las Vegas by way of the Bronx. Côté landed his punches with speed from every angle. Hooks, rights and uppercuts all connected on a defenseless Teron as Cote dominated the opening round. In the final minute, Côté attempted to finish the fight but was staggered – and nearly floored – when Teron fought back and caught him with a sneaky right hand.
To start the second round, the 26-year-old Côté shot out of his corner to floor his opponent with a powerful one-two to the head. A bloodied Teron rose back to his feet before Cote finished his night with a left hook to the face that sent Teron crashing to the canvas to end the scheduled 12 rounder.
