By Scott Gilfoid: Carl Froch (28-2, 20 KO’s) is taking a huge risk in facing IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (30-0, 24 KO’s) on May 26th in a fight that WON’T be televised by Showtime or HBO in the United States for lack of interest in the bout. Froch is coming off a loss to Andre Ward, the WBA super middleweight champion, in the Super Six tournament last December.

The loss was so lopsided that it just seems pointless for Froch to fight Bute. What Froch needs is two or three confidence building tune-ups where he faces progressively faster and faster fighters in order to build the tools needed to fight the Ward’s, Bute’s and the Dirrell’s of the super middleweight division. But Froch is doing it backwards by going after the talent without the tools needed to win the fight.

It just reminds me of someone who has some money in their pocket and they’re willing to risk everything on a long shot bet. In Froch’s case, it’s going to hurt him because his career is at stake and this has long-lasting ramifications for him. He just got whipped by Ward, and got schooled by both Mikkel Kessler and Andre Dirrell as well in the Super Six tournament. If you look at in real terms, Froch is getting out-boxed pretty much every time out. Sure, he gets a soft touch every now and then like Arthur Abraham and Glen Johnson, but Froch has really struggled in fights against Jermain Taylor, Dirrell, Kessler and Ward. He didn’t look good in any of them and took a lot of punishment.

Bute is coming to take the fight in Froch’s home city of Nottingham, UK. You know why Bute is willing to do that, don’t you? He’s willing to do it because he sees how flawed Froch is and doesn’t mind flying all the way over to the UK and fighting him in a hostile arena. He knows he’s going to win this fight because how basic Froch is.