Former super middleweight world champion Lucian Bute is reportedly getting ready to announce his retirement from boxing.
According to Journal de Montreal, Bute is expected to make his retirement official this week. The report also stated that Bute had actually made his decision some time ago, but delayed his announcement due to the events that surrounded Adonis Stevenson's last fight in which he suffered a traumatic brain injury after being knocked out by Oleksandr Gvozdyk last December. Stevenson has since then made significant progress in his recovery.
The 39-year-old Bute has not fought since being knocked out by Eleider Alvarez in the fifth round in February 2017. The loss was Bute's third straight, sending his record to 1-5 since 2014 and 32-5 overall. Bute last fought for a world title in 2015 when he lost a 12-round decision to James DeGale with the IBF super middleweight title on the line.
Bute had a lengthy run as the IBF super middleweight champion, winning the title in 2017 when he stopped Alejandro Berrio in the 11th round of their fight. Bute then defended the title nine times, winning seven of those title defenses from inside the distance. The world title reign ended in 2012 when he traveled to Nottingham, England and was stopped by Carl Froch.
Bute also had a highly-successful amateur career, winning the bronze medal in the 1999 World Amateur Boxing Championships and the gold medal in the 2001 Francophone Games. As a pro, Bute sports a 32-5 record with 25 knockout victories.
