Stephane Larouche, Bute and Molitor...

What are your thoughts on Larouche's strategy for Bute v. Andrade and for Molitor v. Caballero? I read some Canadian fans criticising him and I cannot see why...:verysad

In the case of Bute, he asked Bute to clinch because Bute has no inside game. It did tire him out and led to his physical collapse in the 12th but who knows how Bute would have faired taking Andrade on on he inside? There are no guarantees he'd have done better...:deal

In the case of Molitor, it was obvious that Larouche tried to help him gain more confidence, because confidence was what Molitor lacked. In their first fight together, Larouche implored Molitor to let his hands go and congratulated him for coming out of his shell more. In this fight, Larouche did his best to build up his charge's confidence, but Molitor just didn't believe in himself and was unwilling to take any risks when that was the only solution. I haven't seen what Larouche was telling him in between rounds, but I bet he tried to get him to relax, fight his own fight and let his hands go. Larouche did the right thing to throw in the towel at the end...Molitor wanted to be saved and he was glad the fight was over at the end - he thanked Larouche for stopping the fight too... :nod

...Larouche is not the type to save his fighters too early...remember Diaconu against Henry? He was the second in that corner and no way would they have saved Diaconu - they let him dig in really deep and take some punishment in the late rounds so that he could come through and win the decision. He did the same in the case of Bute v. Andrade. He let Bute take on a bit of punishment at the end even when it looked like he could no longer defend himself. He didn't throw in the towel. Before the last round he gave Bute a real bollocking to rally him for the last round...who knows whether Bute could have made it out of the round without that bollocking. :conf

...Larouche isn't a passive trainer either...he always gives good advice in between rounds and he saved Bute against Bika when Bute was simply not being himself in the first couple of rounds...:deal


...I don't think criticism of Larouche is warranted. He did his best with both Bute and Molitor and he did a good job with what he had in both cases. Laroche isn't at fault for Bute collapsing in the last round against Andrade. He isn't at fault for Molitor not fighting with any confidence whatsoever or for him not taking any risks when he realised it was his only chance. :verysad

...I'm not sure why Larouche is getting the blame, from some people...:huh

 

He was! But if you listen carefully to what he actually said before the last round, it seems he didn't say what we all thought initially he said: "You need to go out and give it all you have [in order to KO this guy impressively]", but instead "You need to go out and give it all you have [if you don't want to get stopped]"...

...Bute was ****ed after the 11th. Larouche saw that and he asked him: "Do you want to be a Champion?! Do you?! Then go out there and give it all you've got!", realising the condition that Bute was in...
...Larouche certainly did not ask Bute to go out looking for the KO at the end...

 

Wrong. Bute's legs were gone. He could not have boxed/got on his bike. Larouche needed to gee Bute up because Bute looked like he was a gonner on that stool. Bute didn't trade in the 12th looking for the KO. He traded because he could no longer do anything else.

 

You can't run if you have no legs.

 

He didn't even fight like a fighter who had no gameplan. He didn't fight at all...I don't think he had no gameplan. I think he just froze.

 

I thought they had done better together in their first fight...but that was the only full fight of Molitor's I had seen...:think

We'll see...Molitor will go back to his old trainer if he feels Larouche was partly to blame.