No Easy Way Out: Carl Froch demolishes Lucian Bute in 5

IBF super middleweight champion Lucian 'Le Tombeur' Bute came to Nottingham to prove something, and he did. Unfortunately, it was not the result that he wanted to be, as Carl "The Cobra' Froch laid waste to whatever aspirations Bute had as he demolished him in stunning fashion en route to a 5th round knockout in the 12-round championship fight.

Carl Froch's lethal hands proved to be the difference as he attacked the champion right from the opening bell. The bombs were just too much for Lucian Bute to evade as the erstwhile champion absorbed salvo after salvo of the challenger's hard punches with nary a sign of defense in the loss. It was an old-school beating that Carl Froch administered to Lucian Bute, to say the least.

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No Easy Way Out: Lucian Bute throws himself into the snake pit with Carl Froch

Since turning professional in 2003, Lucian 'Le Tombeur' Bute, the Romanian-Canadian IBF super middleweight champion fighting out of Montreal, Quebec, has compiled an impressive record on paper of 30 wins in 30 profesional fights, 24 of which coming inside the distance.

Since becoming a champion in 2007, he has defended his belt 9 times, including a 2011 unanimous decision win over Glen 'The Road Warrior' Johnson, the only marquee name on his resume.

Lucian Bute packs a wallop in both fists and surely knows his way inside the ring. His fights are always action-packed and not wanting in drama: his 11th round TKO victory over Colombian Alejandro Berrio to become the IBF super middleweight titleholder and only the third Romanian professional boxing champion, the way he demolished the clowning Edison "Pantera" Miranda in three rounds, his controversial UD win against Librado Andrade in their first fight and the manner he dismantled him in 4 rounds in the rematch, all these just to give us a glimpse of the man's promise as a prizefighter.

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World Boxing Classic Super Six- The Final Update

ANDRE WARD'S TRAINING CAMP INJURY FORCES POSTPONEMENT OF SUPER SIX WORLD

BOXING CLASSIC FINAL VS. CARL FROCH

Originally Scheduled For Oct. 29, Organizers Actively Pursuing New Date

NEW YORK (Sept. 23, 2011) - Andre Ward, the WBA Super Middleweight World Champion and Super Six finalist, sustained a cut above his right eye during a sparring session on Thursday, Sept. 22. As a result, the Super Six World Boxing Classic Tournament Final and world title unification fight with fellow Finalist and WBC World Champion Carl Froch has been postponed. The announcement was made jointly today by Ward's promoter, Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor Promotions, Froch's promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport, and Ken Hershman of SHOWTIME Sports®.

The Final was scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 29 in Atlantic City, NJ. The promoters and Hershman are working together to identify a new date for the significant matchup.

The SHOWTIME Sports documentary film crew FIGHT CAMP 360°: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic was filming for the next episodes of the acclaimed series at the time of the incident at Ward's gym in Oakland, Calif. The camera crew joined Ward on an impromptu flight from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, where Ward received seven stitches from leading plastic surgeon Dr. Paul Wallace to close the cut. Ward was informed by Wallace that he would be unable to fight as scheduled on October 29 and that he will remove the stitches next Thursday, Sept. 29. The next episode of FIGHT CAMP 360° is scheduled for Oct. 8, 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME®.

Ward said: "I'm extremely disappointed about this cut. We used every precaution, including headgear with a face bar and it was just a fluke situation. My sparring partner and I were involved in an exchange inside and the next thing I knew, I was bleeding. That is the most frustrating thing about this-I don't have an explanation for how it happened.

"This is very frustrating for my camp and I, and I knew that if the shoe was on the other foot and Froch suffered an injury, I would be extremely disappointed.

"We were in full camp and counting down the days until October 29. At this point, I'm looking forward to healing up and getting a new date to finish what I started and become the Super Six Champion."

Ward continued, "I'd like to express my apologies to SHOWTIME, the fans and the Froch camp, but this is part of boxing. Ward and Froch will still get it on but, unfortunately, the date just has to be pushed back."

"This is absurd and unprofessional. Ward needs to get his act together," said Froch shortly after hearing the news. "Of course, you've got to take the medical advice seriously, but for a cut to put you out of a fight a full five weeks before the event is ludicrous. If it were two weeks out from the fight, maybe I'd understand. But he's got 35 days to deal with it. To me, he's showing his weakness. Nothing changes for me. I'll be ready if and when he shows up."

"Not much you can say," said Goossen. "Andre was cut, he got stitched up, and he'll be back as soon as possible."

"Injuries in boxing are inevitable at this, the highest level of competition," said Hershman, the man behind the groundbreaking tournament. "As we've done since this tournament's inception, we'll forge ahead. We are seeking available dates at this time and hope to have an announcement shortly. Rest assured, we will deliver this dramatic final tournament bout, one that is surely the biggest fight in this division's history."

Said Hearn, "Obviously it is frustrating. Carl's camp has gone perfectly and we were ready to unify the titles on October 29. Carl is in the shape of his life but he is a true professional and will take this in his stride and be ready for victory on a date given in 2011."

Super Six Super Middleweight Semifinals Update

THE SEMIFINALS CONTINUE!
WBC CHAMPION CARL FROCH DEFENDS

AGAINST FORMER WORLD TITLIST GLEN JOHNSON

 

LIVE on SHOWTIME^® Saturday, June 4, at 9 p.m. ET/PT

From Adrian Philipps Ballroom of Atlantic City 's Boardwalk Hall

 

NEW YORK (April 8, 2011) – An opportunity to compete for the inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic Cup will be on the line when Carl “The Cobra” Froch (27-1, 20 KOs) defends his World Boxing Council (WBC) super middleweight title against former world champion Glen “The Road Warrior” Johnson (51-14-2, 35 KOs) of Miami, Fla., in the last Semifinal of the Super Six World Boxing Classic on Saturday, June 4, live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from Adrian Philipps Ballroom of Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.

 

The Froch-Johnson winner will advance to the Final against the victor of the May 14 Semifinal between World Boxing Association (WBA) champion Andre Ward (23-0, 13 KOs) of Oakland , Calif. , and former world champion Arthur Abraham (32-2, 26 KOs), of Berlin , Germany , by way of Armenia . Ward-Abraham will be shown live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

 

Froch and Johnson are seeded Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, entering the Super Six Semifinals. Ward is seeded No. 1, Abraham No. 4.

 

In his last start on Nov. 27, 2010, the 33-year-old Froch, of Nottingham , England , manufactured perhaps a career-best performance, recapturing the then-vacant WBC 168-pound crown with a one-sided 12-round decision over Abraham in the final Group Stage 3 bout from Helsinki , Finland . There were no knockdowns but Froch dominated en route to tallying up the lopsided scores of 120-108 twice and 119-109.

 

Froch is 2-1 in the Super Six. In addition to dismantling Abraham, he won a split decision over Andre Dirrell in Group Stage 1 and lost a tight decision – along with the WBC title – to Mikkel  Kessler in back-and-forth Fight of the Year candidate in Group Stage 2.

 

The Jamaican-born Johnson, a tournament replacement for the injured Mikkel Kessler, advanced with an eighth-round knockout over Allan Green in a Group Stage 3 fight on Nov. 6, 2010, in Las Vegas .

 

Johnson, 42, a former world light heavyweight champion who was making his first start at 168 pounds in 10 years, was ahead by three points on one of the scorecards and behind by one on the others when a left hook to the body followed by an overhand right to the side of head finished Green at 0:36 in the eighth.

 

Following Group Stage 3, Froch called Johnson an “old wise fox” and said he expected nothing less than a strong performance from a “great” fighter like Johnson.

 

"Glen Johnson is a blue-collar fighter who always gives his best and is a gentleman outside of the ring,” said Froch. “He commands respect and I give him respect.”

 

And the respect is mutual. Johnson offered, “The guy is a two-time champion. You do it once then you can say maybe it’s a little luck but to do it twice you know he deserved it. I have tremendous respect for Carl Froch.”

 

But the kind words will cease when the bell rings for what should be a fiercely contested 12-round affair. Johnson said of Froch, “I know he has a few weaknesses and I have every intention of exploiting those. I really feel like I’m the favorite right now. I just have to take it one fight at a time.”

 

Froch added, "I don't just plan on beating him, but I plan on halting him in style. Our styles gel very well for a competitive battle for as long as it lasts and I'm looking forward to it. I have a date in the final of the Super Six and I won't be overlooking Johnson in any shape or form – which will spell bad news for Glen.

"It will be another win for the Cobra, maybe by stoppage as I plan on making another big statement for the SHOWTIME fans." 

 

Both fighters hold the tournament in high regard and covet the value of emerging victorious. Froch opined, “I could win this tournament and retire – that’s what it means. I can win this and say, ‘You know what? I’ve done it. I don’t need to fight anymore.’ I wouldn’t do that – I’ve got a couple of years left in me and there’s some big fights out there for me – but that’s how big this tournament is.”

 

Johnson recalled, “I know when this [tournament] was first put together I remember thinking to myself, ‘Man, I wish I was a super middleweight.’ But I’m in right now and I’m here to win the entire tournament. I believe I’m in it for a reason and that’s to win it.”

 

“Glen Johnson and Carl Froch are two of the most fan friendly fighters in boxing, said promoter Lou DiBella. “Both are proven winners who have earned fans the ole fashioned way, by entertaining fans fight after fight. Glen is known as ‘The Road Warrior’ because he isn’t afraid to go to someone else’s turf for a big fight, and Carl’s biggest wins have come outside the UK . Everyone knows that both men will leave it all in the ring in Atlantic City for the right to advance to the Super Six final.”

 

The event is promoted by DiBella Entertainment, Warriors Boxing and Carl Froch.