Of course it is. Degale is not yet a proven champion and he has suspect stamina. Worth a flutter, but wouldn't put my house on it.
I will bet on Bute because of those good odds. Degale is favorite for a reason, he performed good against Dirrell, was Olympic Champion, he has skills and he is at it's peak. But also, In my opinion he is quite overrated. Oh well I guess you would be in a division that Half shot Arthur Abraham is champion and one you look at for the best there is. Bute in his last two fights before the win against DiLuisa and about a year or more lay off due to injuries has lost rounds to poor technique Grachev, who was tough but if I remember right also started as a kickboxer. And won only about 2 rounds against Pascal, who's not the greatest technical fighter, and pure boxer. Considering all that the bookies got it right. But Bute did improved, he is not as weak-chinned as peoples tend to believe and he got better defensively. He is actually in a great shape, he is sharp and started to use both hands, where before he was depending on his strong left to much. It is his last chance and he really looks like he wants to stay in this sport. He is a proud man, also a realistic one. He did say he makes no promises to win but he can promise that he will give his all fight night. He loves that Degale is underestimating him and thrully believes that he will surprise the hell out of Degale. That's the mentaliy he lacked in his last fights the confidence he needed seems to be in place, his trainers are pushing for more activity and aggressive. Bute also has one of the best left uppercuts to the body you can see, and that will always be a danger. So yeah he has a chance, but it is probably 35% at best , Degale is still favorite and by a decent margin, to many If's and Maybe's concerning Bute.
[yt]z1AHfP6C2tU[/yt] Froch does not sugar talks anybody, he tells what he thinks of Bute's chin at around 10:00 in this video. Froch also said Bute hit him with the hardest shot he ever receive in his boxing career. He also said if Bute is still afraid and shy, it will be an easy win for Degale. If he is 80% of what he used to be, we'll have a fight. Goovkin said Bute is the best fighter he ever faced pro or amateur. So they must know something, and Bute might still have a bit of what they saw and felt when they fought him.
I'm a Bute fan and I might be more biased, take that into consideration. But this round also gives me a little hope. [yt]vUDsShAGub4[/yt]
I thought Degale looked terrible in the second half of the Dirrel fight, he really stopped fighting and coasted and was fortunate to have such a lead when he did Bute folds and struggles vs guys that come after him. Degale doesn't really do that from the little I have seen and may let Bute find a comfort zone in there. If Bute gets his left hand landing and doesn't get overwhelmed or hurt he is a live opponent. Now he looked very gun shy vs Pascal and Degale has some similar traits in athleticism and explosiveness but I don't think he has the power Pascal had to make Bute cautious I see this being an interesting fight though Degale probably prevails on points
Bute teased vs Pascal and Grachev he had poor performances, the Pascal one being very bad but he gave us a glimpse of where he was before the Froch disaster in the last round of each of those fights
When I've seen the fight live, the last round felt like to little to late, nothing special at all. But after I watched in in replay in calm manner, It looked like a whole a whole different story. Bute is catching Pascal with 5-6 good shots that pack power behind, Pascal is dead tired, he has a little burst where he hits Bute with an amazing shot, then Bute wobbles Pascal at the end. And to add... if you look at the referee when Pascal is in the corner and not responding, the ref is actually considering a stoppage, he is looking to see Pascal's facial expression. It was actually a chance of a British stoppage in there.
You're right about Degale's stamina. That could be a big problem for him. Even if Bute is still gunshy, if he senses that Degale is gassing out, it could boost him.
Of course he has a chance. It's not like Degale is all that. Not a good chance though, unless he can wind back the clock circa 2010.
I think so. I think Bute is hungrier than Degale. He is fighting at home, has a lot to prove and has a better stamina than Degale, who seems to think a bit too much of after this fight. There s a chance.
I think this is how he might get over is gun-shy'ness he needs it really bad. He wants to stay in the game, remember how he yelled "I'm back when he TKO'ed DiLuisa" He wants it really really bad, and will trow consciousness out the window when need be.