Lucian Bute's return.

Nice little scrap last night. Got to give it to Grachev, he came to fight and was willing to swallow some hard punches on the way in to get his shots off.

Scores were 115-113 116-112 and 118-110. I have no issues with the cards except the last one. That is a disgrace to Grachev who easily won at least 4 rounds. But won on quality work and finished better, but Grachev was game and backed Bute up on numerous occasions. Had Grachev set his punches up better or had faster hands, Bute would have been in real bother.

Re Bute and his pending rematch with Froch:a I just don't see how Bute wins it. He was tentative for pretty much the whole fight last night, which is fair enough given his devastating loss to Froch, but he still seems too leaky in defence for me. Grachev cut the ring off fairly well, but he had nowhere near the offensive skills of Froch and so couldn't capitalise when Bute was cornered. Froch will capitalise, IMO.

We saw little of Bute's jab, and he never really started throwing flashy combos until the 12th.

Maybe just a bit of ring rust mixed with a wee bit of fear after Froch loss, but he won't beat Carl onthat performance.

If I were Bute I would have a big dust up with Stevenson, then, providing he wins, go for Froch in a win or retire type bout.

Good fight last night and Bute showed some grit, but Froch licks his lips on that performance.

Bute should run as fast as he can away from Froch. It looks like Froch took something from him, much like Calzaghe did to Lacy and it would be another demolition. It would be even worse and damaging for Bute in front of his home fans. Mind you I would back Froch in Bute's living room.

Agreed. Froch has way toomuch for Bute, based on that. He was gassing a bit too between rounds. Excerting way too much nervous energy when he moves around.

Easy money and another win on foreign soil for Froch if they meet.

Allan Green is spent too, not that he was ever great, but his chin is suspect

Bute learned nothing from the Froch fight, he was always up against the ropes, where he has no defence. I didn't even think Grachev was that good at cutting the ring off.

Hope they don't fight again, although its an easy pay day and good experience for Froch.

Bute proved he has heart but beyond that he looked very average, hopefully Froch will ruin him again and that looks a nailed on unless Bute can up his game massively and Froch takes his eye off the ball.

Is it actually a wise career move for Bute to take the Froch fight with the beating still fresh in his mind?


A period of rehabilitation is what any fighter would need after the kind of walloping he took against Froch. You don't go back into a big fight after just one fight do you? Even the great Duran. Worked his way back slowly. Otherwise we may never have seen his later work. And in particular his classic fight with Barkley.


This could come to look like bad management on the part of Bute's team if they really do believe deep down their boy's got a future in the game. Of course, he may just want the payday with Froch and already planning to call it a day right after that.


If he can't ever fully expurge the doubts he now must have, then surely he needs more time to at least put them to the very back of his mind.

By the time Bute gets over the beating he took, Froch will be retired.

He looks absolutely shot.

Just shows how important confidence is in boxing the likes of Lacy, Hamed, Pavlik and its now looking like Bute aswell all shared an air of invincibility which when ended by a loss totally changed them as fighters.

bute is a big draw in canada and the froch rematch will sell well over there. i would have thought its a potential payday that froch, or at least hearn are looking forward to.

i think froch would be made to work a little harder in a return fight, and think bute might be able to frustrate froch by slowing the pace and making it a boring fight, at least in the early rounds, i think bute last time was made to rush his work and force chances that werent there, and froch made him pay for it, that said froch will still manage to hunt him down within 12 rounds and stamina wise is also mile ahead. when bute takes the middle of the ring and engages in Holly Wilaboobie for tat exchanges he mostly wins, home crowd, previous experience, title for grabs and pride should all drive bute on to do better, but froch is still too much for him.

t i t for tat is not swearing either