By Michael Collins: Carl Froch (28-2, 20 KO’s) wants to make IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (30-0, 24 KO’s) pay for his decision to travel to Nottingham, UK and fight Froch in front of his own British fans in his home city of Nottingham, UK. Froch doesn’t like the way that Bute is showing courage by taking the trip, and Froch sees this as Bute dismissing him, as if the win is in the bag already.
Froch said to the BBC Sport “If Bute thinks he can come here to my home and best me he’s wrong. I know what it’s like to fight against the crowd, I did it in Denmark. To come to my backward insults me, I’m gonna punish him. I’m gonna enjoy it. Thanks to him for coming over but he’s making a big mistake.”
Obviously there’s some worry there for Froch, because he doesn’t want to get beaten by Bute in front of his own fans, and end up looking bad and losing face. It’s got to be tough for Froch, because he asked for Bute to come to the UK to fight, but only now he’s starting to realize the tremendous pressure that it’s putting on him. Froch isn’t expected to win, and that makes things worse. It’s like giving a theatrical performance in front of your fans, family and friends in your hometown and finding yourself getting upstaged by a better actor.
There’s not much Froch can do in this fight but try and put as much pressure on Bute as possible to get him out of there as fast as possible. Froch isn’t going to beat a fighter like Bute in a boxing match, because he doesn’t have his speed, power or boxing ability. Bute is a level above Froch in all those areas, but he is vulnerable if you can pressure him with power shots. That’s what Froch is going to have to do on Saturday night when they meet at the Nottingham Arena. Froch can’t out-box Bute, and if he stays on the outside all night long, it’ll make Bute’s job even easier because he likes to play hit and run.
Froch could end walking into one of Bute’s big uppercuts or body shots if he tries to put a lot of pressure on the Romanian, because Bute is far and away the best body puncher in the super middleweight division and Froch isn’t used to being hit with those kinds of shots for some reason.