is lucian bute really a challenger to calzaghe. i have only seen him fight once against sakio bika. he had quick hands and a long reach and looked ok. anyone think he deserves a shot at calzaghe?
No one is going to knock down doors raving for him to get a title shot, Calzage just fought the right fights and unified vs Lacy and Kessler. Bute looks to be a strong contender though and would be a top choice in an elimination to the supermiddleweight crown when Joe moves up to fight Hopkins
i have thought long before bute was a title holder ,he is and will be a top class fighter. if calzaghe stays at 168 then yes bute is the next best opponent for him . bute is still a work in progress and has many things to tighten up on , but he is still a very good fighter and will be hard to beat. its obvious with 2 fights left calzaghe is not going to go for bute , but i beleive that bute would have given calzaghe a hard time as bute has a lot of attributes that make calzaghe hard to beat.
Bute was KO´ed sometimes in the amateurs. I wouldnt bet on his chin. But nevertheless he is the clear #3 at SM behind JC and Kessler. Afight vs. Brahmer or so would be interesting.
Bute is very good. Good speed, tight defence, great power. Calzaghe, Kessler, and from MW Pavlik and Taylor could give him trouble, but he's got a pretty good chance against the rest. 50-50 against Mundine, Dawson (because Dawson's chin), 60-40 against Brahmer, Froch, Inkin, at least 70-30 against Lacy, Miranda, Green, Andrade, Zuniga and even Pascal. And we are talking about good and great fighters.
i have read that but in the amatuers the 20 point rule goes down as a stoppage loss i beleive and that could account . not sure though. i did read somewhere he was genuinly flattened but as we or i never saw it i can only go by what i have seen in the pro`s bute was in v berrio for 11 rounds and IMO berrio is the second hardest single shot puncher at 168 behind froch and bute`s chin passed the test.
Bute is the next logical contender, after and if Calzaghe beats Hopkins (if they even fight). Surely Lucien is more qualified than Manfredo, and beat Bika which is no small task. I'd consider him the top contender, and he deserves a shot.
Knocked down for the 10 count by his nemesis Gennady Golovkin - though, he's injured at the moment but we shoudl see him at least in February on the undercard of Dimitrenko - Krasniqi...
What does "deserves" got to do with it? Bute is one of the top guys in the division therefore he should be a candidate. Given that Calzaghe is nearing the end of his career and only wants big money fights, Bute is not a consideration.