In light of Showtimes recent disapproval of Lucians fight with Froch, and Ward's refusal to take a fight with him in Oakland.....Bute is seemingly being blackballed out of the division. Which direction should he go from here considering he wants to keep his belt and eventually become the undefeated, undisputed champion that most sensible fightfans know he could be.
Looks like the concensus is for Bute to either extend his showtime deal or fight outside it to make the fight with Froch.:deal
Were are all Dirrel fans saying Bute should look for that fight. Oh, nevermind, they know Dirrel won't be ready until long after Bute has chase Ward up to HW.
Some say Dirrel's ranking will be bought and paid for by Showtime within the next few weeks, soas they can make that fight:think I mean, if Showtime is so anxious to retire Dre Dirrel, then let it be, but since I'm a fan, I'd rather see him await Lucian's departure to LHW soas he and Tony can take ove rthe division from the old and faded Kessler's and Froch's. Lord knows Groves, Balsay, and Magee aint gonna do **** vs a Dirrel.:deal
I want Bute vs Froch. Showtime is making a mistake if they nix the fight trying to force Bute vs Ward. That fight wont happen untill next winter at the earliest.
Andre Dirrell would be ok too, but has less upside for Bute, unless that fight gives more recognition from the american public than I Think.
The only guys that would be ok for Bute are Ward, Froch or Kessler. Anyone else is either low reward (A.Dirrell) or irrelevant (LHW) for now. Please, don't have him fight a non-worthy boxer again, he needs to bring his game to the top level, enough with the B's and C's...We want the big names.
I dont think Bute should move up in weight at all. He has a SMW title and as long as he makes weight safely should stay with it. A similar thing happend some years back when Ottke refused to face Calzaghe. Bute like Calzaghe did compared to Ottke, looks better against common opponents overall compared to Ward. Ward is being hyped due to being American as America hasnt done well at SMW, normally losing to Europeans. With Bute being European he is considered too much of a threat I guess. Truth is, even if Ward refuses to fight Bute, there is nobody else for Ward either. This era of SMWs isnt strong after the top 3, most of the other guys are very early in their careers at this time. As Bute and Ward are both with Showtime, then Showtime should make a decision. If Bute says he is willing to fight Ward then Ward has to answer not Bute. Bute should just fight the willing top fighters in the meantime. A fight with former WBO and now current WBA regular champ Balzsay wouldnt be a bad move if it could be made. If Kessler is going to be out for a while longer than maybe a Steiglitz fight could be made.
If Bute is currently 'low reward' to Ward, Dirrell is one hell of a low reward to Bute. Still could happen IMO as Dirrell is probably the 4th guy down the list, and still can't believe the Froch-out move by Showtime.