Froch V Ward = Hatton V PBF, Froch V Bute = Hatton V Pac?

Bute has the skills no doubt, but the question the first Andrade fight posed is that when it doesn't all go Bute's way does he have the grit of a proper champion? Andrade is one tough customer, but I was shocked at Bute's stamina in that fight. Does Bute have the ability to hit and hurt Froch? Of course, but Froch is just as tough as Andrade but with superior fitness and stamina. In the Froch-Ward fight Froch's best rounds were the last two. Ward had dicated the pace of the whole fight yet it was him who was starting to blow a little by the end. Bute has the angles similar to Ward, but I don't think Bute has the core strength to physically push Froch around the ring like Ward did for most of the fight. If there's a stoppage it will be Froch, if it's points then it will be Bute.

 

I don't think Froch hits hard at all. Comparable to Andrade yes, so, fair comment.

I think Bute will adopt a totally different gameplan to Watd. Think Dirrell but with less running, more punches and more genuine boxing ability and you'll get an idea of why I think this is a bad matchup for Frochy.

 

Anyone with an ounce of speed is a bad match-up for Froch when you think about. He is one of the slowest fighters to have had success at world level that I remember seeing. The key question with regard to determining Froch's fights against these kind of opponents is how tough is the quicker, slicker guy that he is up against? Ward showed that as well as being a sharp shooter, he is pretty damn tough, physically strong and above all streetwise. Whether Bute ticks these boxes is up in the air at present.