Super Fight 5/26 - Lucian Bute V Carl Froch

BoxingSpecialist2

BoxingSpecialist2

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May 26th from Trent FM (aka Nottingham) Arena in Nottingham, England, is IBF Super Middleweight Title Bout between Champion Lucian Bute, 30-0 (24 KO) and challenger Carl Froch, 28-2 (20 KO).

This is a huge fight and it totally deserves its own thread. Im mega excited for this one. Personally I'm a good fan of both guys, but Im a bigger supporter of Lucian so I will be supporting Lucian! Im really pumped for this fight and well looking forward to it.

This fight is Lucian's 10th defense of his title, (quite impressive) which he won back in 2007 via KO over Alejandro Berrio.

Klitschko Brothers aside, Id say in my own opinion Lucian Bute is the best European fighter in boxing. Some idiotic American boxing fans have been critical of Bute, slamming his opposition, but beating Froch in England will undoubtedly silence those criticisms.

This is a big opportunity for Lucian.

Credit as well to Carl Froch for being a tough customer who will fight anyone! His run of opponents - Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler, Art Abraham, Glen Johnson, Andre Ward is easily the most impressive run currently in boxing.

Id love to hear everyone's thoughts on this fight and if you have a prediction feel free to post it!
 
BoxingSpecialist2

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My own prediction:

I wouldn't be surprised to see Carl Froch get knocked out in this fight. If you recall his fights with Kessler, Taylor, Pascal, you'd know that Froch is easy to hit and takes a lot of punches. In the Taylor fight, Froch was dropped hard from a head shot in round 3 (Froch got up and later KO'd Taylor, but the point is Froch was hurt badly and dropped in early rds).

Speedwise you'd have to favour Lucian
Powerwise you'd also have to favour Lucian
Defensively you'd also have to favour Lucian

the only advantage I think Froch may have is stamina and staying power. The one fault Lucian has shown thus far in his career is lack of staying power, stamina, durability. So, I think Froch's only card in this fight is that Lucian gets tired and fades down the stretch.

I don't think theres anyway the slower, less creative Froch can outbox Lucian. Lucian also hits VERY HARD and if Froch's chin is there, Lucian will crack it.

Its not advisable for anyone to trade punches with Lucian, if Froch does that its gonna be curtain time for him. Froch has a history of being hurt and that doesn't indicate well VS Lucian.

Im predicting a Lucian win. I also feel there is a good chance Froch is stopped and/or knocked out (based on Froch's history of trading punches, getting hurt, knocked down combined with Lucian's power).
 
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Charles Martel

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Froch is good, but Bute is somewhat better and would likely win in a neutral location.

However, this one is difficult to predict.

Froch has home advantage. Bute isn't used to fighting in front of a hostile crowd. And the some UK officials like Ian John-Lewis and Paul Thomas are shady, others like Terry O'Connor seem rather stupid.
 
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Frenchnative

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I am a hardcore Bute fan and expect nothing less than a spectacular showing. Froch is certainly a likeable character but i think he'll swim in deep water and won't be able to match Bute's class.

The way i see it Froch's jab won't be effective and he'll keep his right hand low to protect his liver. I just hope he won't be as cautious as Glen Johnson.
 
whiteathlete33

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I'm going with Bute in this one. Bute is faster, has better defense, and better technical skills. That being said, Froch is no pushover. He may just be the toughest fighter in the division and that always gives him a chance against anyone. As was mentioned, the fact that the fight will be in England is certainly a disadvantage for Bute.
 
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dkr77

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I believe it will be a very competitive fight. Froch didn't look good in his last bout against Dirrell but he may have just had an off night. Bute has the edge in hand speed but if Froch can turn the bout into a grinding brawl it may serve him well enough to pull off a hometown decision win. I'm sure the smart money is on Bute though.
 
Westside

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I believe Bute is a top 5 PFP fighter. With a convincing victory over Froch many in the boxing media will start to get on board with my proclaimation. Froch looked bad losing to Ward several months ago. I believe Bute is better than Ward. He is more athletic, faster and obviously has more power. If Bute is on his game Carl is in for a terrible night, either by UD or brutal KO.

The only chance Froch has is that Bute comes into this fight poorly conditioned like he did against the 1st Andrade fight several years ago. Then Froch's ruggedness and power will bail him out. That will not happen in this fight.

Bute by UD or late round TKO. Then hopefully a showdown with Ward by the end of summer.
 
JReb1

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I see Bute stopping Froch in 7-10 rounds. LB is just to skilled and fast for Carl. Bute is close to prime Calzaghe talent wise (MW-LHW) right now IMHO.
 
BoxingSpecialist2

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BUMP! This fight is rapidly approaching!

Dare I say this is arguably the biggest all European fight since Calzaghe-Kessler back in 2007? (Froch/Kessler, Klitschko/Adamek, Klitschko/Haye were all big fights as well, but I dont consider Haye Euro and I also think this fight is as big as the first 2).

Im expecting big things from this fight and its probably the most excited Ive been for a fight other than Klitschko VS Haye last summer!

Im fully expecting Bute to deliver with a KO.

Bute is faster, hits harder, better boxer than Froch. Froch does have home advantage and a good chin, but I dont think thats going to matter.

I think we might be seeing Froch get knocked clean out similar to Allan Green just gettign KTFO by Kessler.

Froch has been hurt badly in past fights, and I really feel Bute is the real goods. The fact Froch has been hurt and almost KO'd in past fights (Kessler, Dirrell, Taylor fights are all examples were Froch was atleast staggered badly). Bute is much better than all those 3 guys.

Fight Week Prediction from me: Bute KO 9.
 
Charles Martel

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I'm eagerly anticipating this fight!

It's a truly intriguing matchup and if Bute wins in Nottingham, it will be a far greater achievement than the coward Ward's winning a decision over Froch in the US.
 
The Hock

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I can't recall Froch ever being hurt badly in a fight. He's been knocked down, but gotten back up and carried on as if nothing had happened. I'm not sure how durable Bute will be if the fight becomes a war of attrition. If he can hurt and stop Froch I will be highly impressed.

I'll lean toward Bute by UD.
 
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Love both of our warriors but am seeing a Froch upset here. Frochy just comes and comes and if he sets a fast pace he can wear Lucian down near the end.
 
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Liverlips

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Don't forget this fight is free on EPIX if you sign up for the free trial. I signed up over a year ago and still get access for every fight. Plus, you get Dan Raphael's commentary and analysis. He is my favorite boxing writer/commentator. Beats watching some foreign feed where you cannot understand the language!
 
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Liverlips

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By the way, love how HBO and Showtime can pay millions to feature duds like Tarver, Dawson and Berto (just caught with roids, surprise!), yet cannot show a fight between two top 10 pound-for-pound fighters because they are white.

God bless CF for exposing this everyday racism against white athletes!
 
BoxingSpecialist2

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The Hock said:
I can't recall Froch ever being hurt badly in a fight.
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I can absolutely recall at least 5 instances where Ive seen Froch hurt, staggered, or wobbled in fights.

- He was knocked down VERY HARD against Jermain Taylor from a head shot in round 3 of their fight. Froch was taking a lot of punches in that fight and that knockdown in round 3 was bad. Yes, Froch got up and later knocked Taylor out just as viciously. But this fight proves A) Froch can be dropped, B) Froch can be hurt badly, and C) Froch can be stopped. Obviously Im happy Froch won the fight because he's white. But he was VERY CLOSE to getting knocked out himself in round 3 of this fight.

- He was staggered badly against Mikkel Kessler.

- He was staggered badly against Andre Dirrell in I believe round 10 or 11 of their fight.

- He was wobbled against Art Abraham in round 12 of their fight. Abraham is known as a big puncher, and didn't really land anything on Carl until the last round. If you look closely, Froch was shook up quite a bit in the last round from the only right hand Abraham really landed in the entire fight.

- He was wobbled VS Pascal.

CONCLUSION: We should remember that Froch has been fighting the absolute best level of opposition available, so it stands to reason that he's had some close encounters and been hurt at times. But I think if you really pay attention to his fights you'll know

1) Froch takes a lot of punches

and

2) Froch can be hurt, and probably stopped by the right guy.

I believe Lucian Bute is a better fighter than anyone Froch has ever faced. I rate Bute better than Kessler, Dirrell, Ward, Abraham, Pascal etc. I firmly believe not only is Bute better than anyone Froch has faced, he also hits harder.

Personally, I believe Lucian Bute is right up there with Wlad Klitschko, Nonito Donaire, Manny Pac (circa 2007) as far as one shot power goes. Bute is EXTREMELY hard hitter. If Taylor can drop Froch. There's no reason why Bute can't knock out Froch. Add to that that Bute is also extremely fast and an expert boxer.

All our questions will be answered this Saturday.

But I think there's a good chance Froch finishes this fight on the canvas with his eyes closed!

Bute KO 9
 
BoxingSpecialist2

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Liverlips said:
By the way, love how HBO and Showtime can pay millions to feature duds like Tarver, Dawson and Berto
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|

HBO is out of touch with reality andonly focuses on Black American boxers and the odd Hispanic. The few times they do feature white fighters, said white fighter is usually brought in to lose VS Negro or Hispanic (Andy Lee, Jason Litzau are good examples of opponent white fighters). Kelly Pavlik is an example of a white guy who was successful on HBO. But he had nothing given to him and the truth is he was MATCHED TO LOSE initially by HBO, and its only because of upsets he pulled VS Taylor and Miranda that he gained stardom.

Top level whites, Klitschko's, Bute, Kessler, Lebedev, Huck, Froch, etc are generally ignored by HBO. That really speaks for itself.

Thankfully, Boxing in America is dying and thriving in Europe. So the good news is white fighrers don't need HBO.

Klitschko brothers are drawing 60,000 fans to their fights and pulling in atleast 15Million USD per fight.

Lucian Bute sells out the Bell Centre (approx 20,000) everytime he fights and is making 2 Million USD per fight.

Joe Calzaghe & Ricky Hatton also had massive crowds.

The truth is that European fighters have MUCH LARGER followings than American boxers and thats a good thing. European boxers are also paid more (for example, comparing Bute and Ward, Bute is a much larger draw, makes A LOT more money).

The only Negro who really makes big bucks right now is Mayweather Jr. Ward, Peterson, Berto etc are making small peanuts compared to Klitschkos, Kessler, Bute, Huck etc

Boxing is bigger, more successful in Germany than USA. There's more money in Europe and the truth is white fighters are better off fighting for Sauerland in Germany than HBO.
 
The Hock

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Well, according to Boxing Specialist, (that handle is too much typing, can I just call you B.S.?) Froch's chin is overrated. Well, to hear B.S., Froch has been in big trouble numerous times in numerous fights, and Bute will be the one with the punch to stop Froch. Getting your bell rung, being wobbled, or even hitting the canvas doesn't mean you were in any danger of being stopped. And Froch never was. Along with his iron chin, he has a very quick recovery time after being nailed.

I like Froch's strength of schedule compared to Bute's, so I give him a very good chance of an upset, maybe even a later round stoppage.
 
The Hock

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dempseyfire said:
Bute has been KOed in the past, but the man who did it is a fearsome puncher:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmcshgGP8YA

Froch may have the advantage in chin, but Bute has better athleticism, technical skills and power.
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All true, which makes this such a great match-up. It is a hard one to call. I was leaning to Bute, now I'm leaning Froch, but I might change back to Bute. It it turns out to be one-sided it'll be Bute the one who makes it so. But if Froch can hang for a while, then again...on the other hand...yeah but...
 
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