By Sean McDaniel: IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (30-0, 24 KO’s) could be fighting in New York in 2012 if Bute’s promoter Jean Bedard gets his way. He wants Bute to fight there and is hoping that he can take on the winner of the Super Six tournament fight between Carl Froch and Andre Ward in April 2012.

Bedard realizes that in order for Bute to get a fight against Ward or Froch, the fight will have to take place in a neutral venue. It can’t happen in Bute’s adopted country of Canada because Ward and Froch probably go for that given the history of controversial decisions handed down in Canada.

Bute defeated 42-year-old Glen Johnson by a 12 round unanimous decision in his last fight last month on November 5th. That was actually a step up title defense for Bute, who has taken on one less than spectacular contender after another for the past three years and has yet to a really tough opponent. This would be a first for Bute.

In the past three years, Bute has taken mostly safe fights where he’s clearly better than his opposition. However, with him agreeing to take on the winner of the Super Six tourney, Bute will finally get to prove that he belongs in the same class as the Super Six contestants. Right now there is very little to go in with Bute’s resume because it’s so thin.

He escaped being knocked out in his first fight against Librado Andrade in 2008 after being given what appeared to be a delayed count by the Canadian referee. Bute likely would have been knocked out had the referee focused on giving the count to Andrade instead of spending time on making sure that Andrade went to the neutral corner.

A lot of boxing fans think both Froch and Ward would beat Bute if given the chance. Well, if Bute serious about fighting them then he’ll get his chance in the near future next year.