Lucian Bute vs Jesse Brinkley © fightnews.com

IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (27-0, 22 KOs) scored an impressive ninth round KO over mandatory challenger Jesse Brinkley (35-6, 22 KOs) on Friday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was mostly a tactical fight until Bute dropped Brinkley with a left uppercut to the body in round five. Brinkley barely beat the count. Bute floored Brinkley for the second time in round eight and knocked him out with an uppercut in round nine. It was Bute’s sixth title defense.

In the co-feature, former WBC light heavyweight champion Adrian Diaconu (27-2, 15 KOs) recovered from a second round knockdown to win a ten round unanimous decision over Omar Sheika (30-10, 21 KOs).