Former champion Bute to face Alvarez in battle of Montreal-based light heavies

MONTREAL — Former champion Lucian Bute is scheduled to face top contender Eleider Alvarez on Feb. 24 in Quebec City in a battle of Montreal-based light heavyweights.

Alvarez (20-0) first must get through a match Saturday afternoon against Norbert Dabrowski (19-5-1) of Poland at the Montreal Casino.

The Colombia native is keeping busy while waiting for a showdown with another Montreal fighter, World Boxing Council champion Adonis Stevenson. Alvarez became the mandatory challenger for Stevenson’s title with a win over Issac Chilemba in November, 2015 but has had to wait for his first world title shot.

If he gets past Bute (32-3-1), it appears he will face Stevenson in April.

“We thought Bute was an acceptable challenge, so we agreed,” said Alvarez’s trainer Marc Ramsay.

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The 36-year-old Bute has not had a lot of success since losing his International Boxing Federation super-middleweight belt in a crushing loss to Carl Froch in 2012.

The Romania native feels he has better prospects for high-profile fights at light heavyweight despite a one-sided loss at 175 pounds to Jean Pascal of Montreal and a so-so performance against Denis Grachev in recent years.

He returned the 168-pound division for a loss to James DeGale in November, 2015 and a draw with Badou Jack in April.

“At 36, I can’t wait another year or two for a rematch with DeGale or Jack,” said Bute. “Fighting Alvarez, a mandatory challenger who is unbeaten, will get me closer to a world title fight.”

Bute has finished serving a six-month suspension for failing a doping test after his bout with Jack. Bute avoided a longer penalty by convincing the WBC that the banned substance came from a contaminated supplement he used while training.

Bill Beacon, The Canadian Press