Dont remember where i read it so there's no source (you have to take my word for it) but the confidence in Bute's team is not that high. Even though his trainer says he's in a good shape, the management says they need to wait for saturday's fight in order to see what their approach towards Bute will be (even though they just signed a new deal). Bute seems a bit off. This weekend we'll get to see whats left of him. Hopefully he'll do a good job and be mentally ready for Froch (which i doubt but who knows).
I am a bit worried. Bute didn't look at all like himself in his good-old-days in that interview - many months after the fight, he broke down when recounting how hurt and alone he felt after the defeat- , and in that public work-out session, he was slow, lacked snap, looked robotic in his movements and wasn't mobile. Is Lucian Bute done? Maybe.:-( I hope he is fine!:|
I said it right after the Froch fight, he needs a new trainer. Im not saying the current one is bad but he needs a new approach, someone who gives him confidence. I knew right away when i saw him in England that it was gonna end up badly (well, knew isnt the word but had a strong feeling). He looked lost walking in that ring. We'll see whats left of him.
I've been critical with Larouche immediately after the Froch fight, when someone who was ringside told me he said to Bute in the corner between r4 and r5 that he'll get Knocked Out if he continues. So I believe you don't tell that to your boxer during a fight, never. But now he's trying to make Bute more fluid, more fast and who knows probably not necessarily much less powerful, also more unpredictable. So if he pulls it of I believe it was the best thing to keep this trainer.
I agree with you. I used to think, before the Froch fight, that perhaps Larouche needed to be replaced with someone who would teach Bute an inside game and better defense, but now I realise the problem is that Bute cannot learn these things... What Bute needs right now is confidence. Not superficial confidence, but real confidence, deep in his bones. Given his mental and emotional make-up, what this requires is moral support and care from people who really care about him, who know him well. What he doesn't need is a Sgt. Major, who will try to whip him into a frenzy or a Star Trainer who will push him too hard, mercilessly. Interbox is a family for Bute. He needs that family. Larouche is a father-figure for Bute. He needs him now more than ever. ------ Even if Bute is done, even if he never quite makes it as a top world-class fighter, I will always have huge respect for the way he:- 1. battled hard to clear the floor successfully in the last round against Andrade - showed a lot of heart and guts 2. gave Andrade a rematch and came back stronger - showed his strong moral purpose, character, sense of justice and pride 3. gunned for the best, doing his utmost to fight s6 fighters, when everyone was ducking him - Kessler, Ward, etc. - even when he offered to fight Ward on his home turf. - showed his respect for the fans, his ambition, his daring to be great attitude 4. went to Nottingham to fight a hungry do-or-die Froch - same as above 5. fought hard to stay on his feet and not get KOed and went out again in the 5th, when he easily could have quit. - showed heart and guts 6. insisted on the rematch with Froch to prove he can do better - same as 2 above. We all know that Bute is classy and a nice person, but he has been very good for the sport - one of the very best. He fought his mandatories, he gunned for the best... didn't duck anyone - truly a credit to the sport and an inspirational human being, especially given his frailties...! Very, very proud to have been a supporter of his since just before the Tatevosyan fight. Go, Lucian!:happy
Larouche said the fight would have been canceled if Bute had not done well in sparring sessions. I'm not sure though. Bute is definitely hurt. Will he become better out of it or more fragile? Will his brain be able to take punches? Only a real fight can give us the answers and it's tomorrow. P.S. I was so confident that he would win in an impressive way against Froch that I will never take my feelings for granted anymore. :bart
Bute should've had as sparring partners, Stevenson and Pascal for that fight with Froch . I'm sure that both , Stevenson and Pascal would've accepted that and maybe Bute would've been better prepared for Froch.:yep Sparring with other good fighters can give u a real answer at what level u are and what u have to improve.
Bute's fighting this weekend??? ****, man. Didn't know that. Best of luck to him. It's a confidence-building type fight, and let's hope that it achieves just that. Because if he's gonna' fight Froch again, he'll be needing all the encouragement he can muster. If he doesn't impress us this weekend -- or more importantly, impress himself! -- then you can wipe out his chances against Froch completely.
When I hear that Bute is too sensitive and fragile mentally, I tend to agree and that's the very reason why he can't possibly take his game to the next level with the tools at his disposal. I always thought that Bute was a very good athlete, instead of a true boxer at heart. It makes all the difference in the world at the highest level. Fight sports always require that little extra fire deep inside, unlike most other sports. Fighting ain't playing..... Since 2003, nothing has ever led me to believe that he had that extra fire or warrior mentality when in the ring. I was maybe naîve just enough to believe that his natural skills and great work ethic could compensate for his innate nature. We'll have our final confirmation, if not this weekend, in the next 6 months for sure !
I think Bute is fine until he's put in front of a beast. He was tensed for 3 rounds against Bika and against Froch, well, he had not the time to regain his composure. Maybe the defeat has made him hungrier but deep inside, he has not any frustration to build from, like Hopkins for example. Bute is born to live happy forever. Still, I want him to come back strongly, to prove that you can be happy and a champion. I want that badly.
Bute's promoter is not as worried as I am. In La Presse today, they report that if Bute wins against Grachev, he'll go for Froch in March and the winner would get the winner of the Pavlik-Ward fight. All those fights on HBO. Do they know something about Bute's condition in May or is it wishful thinking?
Especailly when ther great hope, Pier-Olivier Côté is out for the second time this year for overtraining. Interbox may put their confidence in some facts we don't know. Yvon Michel from GYM said affer the fight that Bute was overtrained, some said he was drained. I think that could be a part of why he lost but there are also reasons we all know inside the ring.