Undefeated super-middleweight Lucian Bute (25-0 20KO) avoided any possible controversy Saturday night by knocking the usually ironed jawed Librado Andrade (28-3 21KO) at 2:57 of the fourth round, retaining his IBF world championship in front of an enthusiastic capacity crowd of 16,473 at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City. American referee Benjy Esteves counted the full ten after Bute landed a devastating left uppercut to the midsection of Andrade who tried, but couldn’t get up.

“I thought I was okay, but once I tried to get up I just couldn’t,” said Andrade after the fight. “It was a perfect a shot. As long as I see it, they can’t hurt me, but with Lucian, I didn’t see the shots. He hurt me to the body and that was it, I really couldn’t get up.” Bute had scored a knockdown earlier in the round, spinning out of the corner and countering with a perfect short left hook, dropping the rugged Mexican born fighter on all fours. It was a shot that Andrade would not recover from.

“I was thinking I was keeping my hands up, but he really got me with that left hook.”

Bute becomes the first boxer to stop Andrade whose three losses have all come in world championship fights. Former two-time champion Mikkel Kessler is the only other fighter to be successful against Andrade.

“The first thing I told (trainer) Howard (Grant) after we walked into the locker room was, I said Howard, you got to make me a better boxer. I think this taught me tonight that I want to become a better boxer.”

Bute was making the 4th defense of his IBF crown and his second against Andrade who pushed the charismatic left-hander to the limit in their initial matchup 13 months ago, knocking down the exhausted champion with just seconds left. The bout was marred with controversy as the Andrade camp had felt that they had done enough to secure the victory.

Andrade who lives in La Habra California and trains in Montreal under Howard Grant won the right for a rematch with a win this past April in an elimination fight against Vitaly Tyspko.

Confident of his abilities, Bute again echoed what he had been saying leading up to the fight that he was only guilty of making a small mistake the first time round. “I said it was a mistake and tonight I proved that, tonight you saw the real Lucian Bute. Andrade proved to be great opponent, a great fighter and he is a great friend.”

Bute who had dominated the first fight for the first eleven-and-a-half rounds was no different this night, pounding out a stiff jab and scoring crisp combinations.

Andrade pressed the action from the beginning, coming forward but having a hard time catching up to the slick powerful southpaw who used the entire ring circling away from his powerful opponent.

The second rounds saw Bute using his jab more but also firing uncharacteristically wild at times trying to get the respect of his granite chinned opponent. Bute was willing to take one to land four and then was able to get out of harms way. Still, while losing rounds as he had done in the first fight, it looked as if Andrade was landing more and eating less than the first time around, something that might serve him well in the later rounds.

It never got that far.

“I feel that I’m the best super-middleweight in the world right now,” said the undefeated fighter. “I’m willing to face anybody in the world.”

If you wish to contact the author of this article, email Dave Spencer at FightNews Canada