By Dan Ambrose: 34-year-old former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (31-2, 24 KOs) is now being trained by Freddie Roach in a move that Bute hopes will resurrect his career.
Bute met with Roach at his Wildcard gym last month and he decided at that time to start training with him. Roach did a great job of seemingly turning around the career of Miguel Cotto when he was on his last legs, and there’s hope that Roach will be able to do the same thing with Bute.
By Allan Fox: Former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (31-2, 24 KOs) will be fighting on December 6th at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
Bute, 35, doesn’t have an opponent yet, but his promoter is currently looking for someone to face him. They’re looking for a quality opponent to face him. Bute hasn’t fought since last January when he was beaten soundly by former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal by a 12 round unanimous decision.
By Dan Ambrose: Trainer Freddie Roach is thinking of taking over as the trainer for former IBF super middleweight champion Luician Bute (31-2, 24 KOs). Roach needs to find time to work with the 34-year-old Bute.
That’s the only question, whether Roach has time to work with the Canadian based fighter. Bute met with Roach recently to discuss him taking over as his trainer.
By Scott Gilfoid: Former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KO’s) re-signed with Yvon Michel this week, and he’s got three fights planned out against #5 IBF, #6 WBA, #10 WBC Sean Monaghan (21-0, 14 KO’s), Lucian Bute (31-2, 24 KO’s) and a title shot against WBC 175lb champion Adonis Stevenson if all goes well with the first two fights of the contract. The fight against the 32-year-old Monaghan would take place in September, and if Pascal wins without suffering an injury, he’ll then face Bute in December.
The rematch against Bute is hardly needed, though, because Pascal easily beat him last January in a one-sided fights, but the fight did well with the Canadian audience, so the rematch will be taking place for that reason. Bute also had an option for a rematch, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN. It’s a tough ask trying to get boxing fans interested in seeing a 2nd Bute-Pascal fight because the first one was so one-sided.
By Scott Gilfoid: In a startling confession after his 12 round unanimous decision win last night over Lucian Bute (31-2, 24 KO’s), Jean Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KO’s) says that he was intentionally letting Bute hit him in the later rounds in order to make the fight close enough to where fans would be eager to see a rematch between them. Pascal says he knew he was well ahead in the fight, so he chose to let Bute tee off on him to attract interest in a 2nd fight.
Here’s Pascal’s comments when asked by Max Kellerman of HBO why he was letting Bute nail him with shots “It’s about the rematch, to make the fight a little bit closer. I knew I was winning the fight.“
By Allan Fox: In one of the worst performances of former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute’s career, he was soundly beaten by Jean Pascal (29-2-1, 17 O’s) in losing a 12 round unanimous decision by the scores 116-112, 118-110, 117-111 in Montreal, Canada at the Bell Centre. Bute failed to let his hands go until the 12th round, and even then he looked afraid of getting hit by Pascal.
After the fight Bute confessed that he couldn’t throw punches because he was tired. But he said he still wants a rematch with Pascal. The Canadian fans might not be interested in seeing Bute and Pascal fight again though considering how dull the fight was. Bute might be able to convince Pascal to give him a rematch, because Pascal wasn’t chomping at the bit after the fight to call out Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev when asked if he wants to fight them by HBO.
By Jim Dower: Jean Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KO’s) dominated a timid looking Lucian Bute (31-2, 24 KO’s) on Saturday night to move forward with his career at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. The final judges scores were 116-112, 118-110, 117-110. Pascal ran out of gas in the final 4 rounds, and he quite fortunate that Bute didn’t throw punches in the first 8 rounds because he could have easily won the fight.
Pascal took a lot of head shots in the 12th round when he went to the ropes and let Bute tee off on him. Pascal appeared hurt, but he was able to turn things around.
By Scott Gilfoid: Jean Pascal (28-2-1, 17 KO’s) thinks Lucian Bute (31-1, 24 KO’s) hasn’t fully recovered mentally from his disappointing 5th round TKO loss to Britain’s Carl Froch from 2 years ago in Nottingham. Pascal says Bute didn’t look like he had didn’t have the same confidence he once had in his last fight against Denis Grachev. Pascal plans on trying to take advantage of Bute’s so-called destroyed psyche tonight in their fight at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
“I doubt he has his confidence back,” Pascal said to Hustleboss. “He fought Carl Froch and he got destroyed by Carl Froch. And then he fought Denis Grachev and he was so-so. He won a 12 round decision, but he got shook a little bit. So I don’t think he got his confidence back. I will test him him inside the ring. He doubts himself. It’s mental.”
By Allan Fox: A rusty NABF light heavyweight champion Lucian Bute (31-1, 24 KO’s) will be taking a very dangerous fight for him tonight against former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (28-2-1, 17 KO’s) at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. Bute is the underdog in this fight, but not because Pascal is a great fighter or anything close to that.
Bute’s mainly the underdog because of his stoppage loss to Carl Froch in 2012, and then his shaky performance in his last fight in beating Denis Grachev. Some boxing fans are saying that Bute has lost a lot and is a shot fighter while others see it as a case that he was never that good to begin with and well-protected by his Canadian promoters.
By Scott Gilfoid: Having been obliterated recently by Adonis Stevenson, former 175 lb. contender Tony Bellew says he sees Canada’s Lucian Bute (31-1, 24 KO’s) as not being the same fighter after his loss to Carl Froch two years ago in Nottingham, UK, and he thinks that Bute will lose this Saturday night in his clash with fellow Canadian Jean Pascal (28-2-1, 17 KO’s) at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
Bellow thinks it’ll come down to Pascal’s youth and experience in leading him to victory over the 33-year-old Bute. Pascal is two years younger at 31.