By Scott Gilfoid: Say what you want about former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (30-1, 24 KO’s) being exposed in his last fight last May, he’s still showing a heck of a lot of courage by taking on unbeaten #14 IBF light heavyweight contender Denis Grachev (12-0-1, 8 KO’s) on November 3rd at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

It takes a lot of courage for a fighter like 32-year-old Bute, #5 IBF, #10 WBO, to face a guy with the kind of power and talent that Grachev has going for him given that Bute is coming off of a 5th round knockout loss to Carl Froch in his last fight.

I have a lot more respect for Bute in taking on this dangerous opponent than I do for Froch in facing an arguably weaker threat in Yusaf Mack on November 17th. I don’t care if Mack is ranked higher than Grachev at this moment, Grachev is the much better fighter and the more dangerous guy in my view. Grachev proved that by stopping previously unbeaten Ismayl Sillakh in the 8th round last April. That win right there showed me how dangerous Grachev is because he walked through a storm of punches from Sillakh and finally caught up with him in the 8th to knock him out.

Bute is really taking a major test against Grachev in this fight. I rate Grachev as a better puncher than Froch, and I see him with a better chin as well. Grachev took some howitzer shots from Sillakh in his last fight and never flinched and never stopped coming for an instant. This is a really dangerous opponent for Bute coming off of a loss like the one he suffered in the Froch fight.

Grachev is the perfect guy to get Bute ready for Froch, because he’s a harder puncher than Froch, about the same height as him, with identical slow hand speed. This is the perfect opponent for Bute to hone his skills and get ready for the Froch rematch in early 2013 in Montreal.

If Bute can’t get past Grachev then he obviously needs to retire from boxing. This is a big test and if Bute can’t pass it then this will be a signal for him to call it a day.