Bute the undefeated

Since 2003, when he went pro, Bute, who is 30 years old, had 27 fights, and has not lost a single one.

Mr. Knock Out, as he was nicknamed, won his first IBF world title in 2007, when he defeated the Colombian Alejandro Berrio.

Since then, no one could take away his belt, and his training team already prepares for his next fight scheduled for March 2011.

He signed up with a Canadian club, and now he is considered one of the most important boxers in the French Quebec, and, as we find out from Montreal newspapers, he is admired not only as a boxer, but also as a person.

The jolly giant is also well loved in his native Romania, whose flag the fighter flies every time he celebrates a victory.

In a way, Bute avenges generations of Romanian pugilists, who were condemned to amateur status for decades.

Under the communist regime, a pro career was a sheer impossibility, something not tolerated by the government since it could provide an athlete with personal international prestige and financial independence.

As a result, great athletes were relegated to the status of amateurs, and could compete only in European and world championships, or in the Olympics.

In the Olympics, Romanian boxers brought home 15 bronze medals, 9 silvers and a single gold, won in 1956 in Melbourne, Australia, by Nicolae Linca.

Long forgotten, the only Romanian Olympic champion recently passed away, destitute.

It was the change of regime in 1989 that allowed Romania boxers to go pro and sign up with foreign clubs, being able to cash in on their perseverance and endurance.

The first world titles as pros were won by Mihai Leu and Leonard Doroftei, who paved the way for super-champion Lucian Bute.

Bute’s predecessors are divided on Bute’s worth: while Doroftei keeps casting doubt on his abilities, Leu said: ”Lucian Bute has proven to be a powerful, valuable boxer”.

The idea is firmly shared by former three times amateur world champion Francis Vashtag, and by countless fans, who woke up at the break of dawn on Saturday to listen to Radio Romania, the only channel in the country to broadcast Bute’s victory live.