By Scott Gilfoid: IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute has been preparing himself of the loud racket that former WBC 168 pound champion Carl Froch’s loyal British fans will be making on May 26th at the Nottingham Arena in Nottingham, UK.

Bute is showing a great deal of courage being willing to go fight Froch in front of his home fans and risk finding himself in the same situation as Andre Dirrell did the last time Froch fought at home.

In order to prepare for all the singing of football songs and the horn blowing that the Brits will be doing on May 26th, Bute has been training with loud crowd noise tapes in his gym to try and mimic what he’ll have to endure in the Froch fight.

Bute told ESPN “While training, we recreate the atmosphere of what we expect to hear at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham. I can’t hear the bell and I can’t even hear my coach talking to me. On May 26, I will be ready to face not only Carl Froch but also the hostile atmosphere of Froch’s fans.”

It’s not so much the crowd that gets you when fighting in Froch’s home arena; it’s the judges. They’re the ones that end up being influenced by the loud crowd, and in the case of the Dirrell fight, they seemed to tune completely all the talent that Dirrell was showing in the ring on that night. I thought it was the most impressive performance I’ve ever seen from Dirrell before, but the crowd was screaming bloody murder each time Froch would miss a punch, making it seem like he was landing when in reality he was hitting air and missing by a mile.

That’s going to be Bute’s problem on May 26th, because even if he completely dominates Froch like I think he will, the judges will be listening to the screaming wild-eyed Froch fans and they’ll likely be influenced by their constant noise. You have to remember these Brits haven’t seen Froch at home in the past three years since he got a gift decision over Dirrell in 2009, so it’s going to be terrible for Bute because of the screaming they’re going to be doing all night long.

I can’t even imagine fighting in that kind of environment and I just hope some of them quiet down once Bute starts giving Froch a beating early in the fight, but I doubt it. Dirrell was completely schooling Froch, and the Brits never shut their yappers for a second.