Double loss – the fight to Carl Froch and the IBF belt, but Lucian Bute will not give up!
Bad luck day for the Romanian pugilist Lucian Bute – on 26 of May, he was defeated by knockout by the British Carl Froch, in a game played in Nottingham. The Romanian boxing champion called his IBF belt into play at the super-middleweight category for a tenth time. In spite of his loss, Lucian said very clearly that he is not broken-hearted by this defeat and he is positive that he has the ability to come back ‘in the game’.
The bout at Capital FM Arena between the great Romanian sportsman Lucian Bute and the British Carl Froch started after a half-minute exploring of each other. The British, coming after a defeat from the American Andre Ward (the SuperSix tournament final), wished to regain his fame in front of his own supporters, in Nottingham. The first round, Lucian Bute played the way he wanted, keeping his adversary at distance, punching body-face. In the second round, the hits came from both sides, with Carl having a slight advantage. The third round proved to be inauspicious for the Romanian champion, who was pushed to the ropes by Froch, which made him fight with difficulty. For the fourth round, Lucian took the initiative, but not for long, as the British came back strongly. And the fifth was the hardest for Lucian, who was hit five times, directly in the face – the Romanian sportsman dropped from the bout.
Mister fairplay
Even though he lost in Nottingham, Lucian Bute proved to be a great ‘sport’ and a true man. The moment the British was announced as the new world champion, the IBF version, the Romanian pugilist had the strength to applaud Carl Froch and, more than that, to praise him for his game. A later return fight will take place in Montreal, when Lucian Bute will be attempting to win back his IBF belt. ‘I have never expected sunt a reaction from Froch. I tried to set him up, make him push me to the ropes and then to suprise him with my left punch – unfortunately, my plan did not work. Forch was very strong and practically came over me, cheered by a fanatical audience’said the Romanian pugilist during a press conference held after the game with the British boxer. ‘I do not know what’s next, but it is too early to talk about the return game. I need some time to recover – after that, I will analyze this game with my coach, step by step, and resume training. It is very hard to say now anything about the return game. But one thing is sure. I am positive that I have the ability to come back, because I an not heart-broken by this defeat. I can come back like the other great champions did’, added Lucian Bute. At the end of the press conference, the loved Romanian sportsman was given a good round of applause by his staff, Romanian and Canadian journalists, the hotel employees and others. His girlfriend, Elena, hugged him and burst into tears.
Rudel Obreja is confident that Bute will be a champion again
The President of the Romanian Boxing Federation, Rudel Obreja, has been supporting Lucian Bute all along and declared that he is very confident about the coming back of the Romanian pugilist. ‘The game was lost too easily, but it is premature to talk about the time when that happened. Lucian is not a boxer to be defeated like this’ he said. ‘It was quite painful to see Lucian in this situation. I think that every one of us has a part of the blame for this failure. It must be a mistake in the strategy – Lucian was in a hurry to get Carl Froch in a trap – he should have done that in the sixth or seventh round. Right now, Lucian needs people around him to boost his confidence of a world champion. Exactly what I said six years ago – that Lucian would become a world champion – I am saying it now. He will return and get his title back. Other great champions lost games and managed to overcome it. Lucian is a strong-willed man’ said Rudel Oreja, President of the Romanian Boxing Federation.
Life of a world champion
On October 20, 2007, Lucian Bute won the IBF belt in Montreal, after KO-ing the Columbian Alejandro Berrio during the 11th round. Lucian defended it first time, successfully, on March 1, 2008. He defeated then the American William Joppy by a technical KO in the 10th round. The second game was against the Mexican Librado Andrade, when the Romanian won by points cumulated during the 12 rounds. Another Columbian, Fulgencio Zuniga, met Lucian in a third game, on March 13, 2009 – the win came after a technical KO in the 4th round. On November 29, 2009, in Quebec, the Romanian pugilist defended his belt from the Mexican Librado Andrade, who was sent to the floor after 4 rounds. The fifth time was with the Columbian Edison ‘Panther’ Miranda, in Montreal, on April 17 – Lucian was declared the winner in the 3rd round, minute 1 and 22 seconds. The Romanian champion kept his belt the sixth time on October 16 – he fought with the American Jesse Brinkley in Montreal and KO-ed him. On March 20, Lucian defended his IBF world title at the super-middleweight category for the seventh time in a row, when he won in front of the Irish Brian Magee, by a technical KO in the 10th round. In Bucharest, on July 9, Lucian Bute managed to ‘save’ his belt for the eighth time in a game against the French Jean Paul Mendy – a KO in the 4th round. On November 5, the super-middleweight world champion, the IBF version, won before the Jamaican Glen Johnson in 12 rounds. Aged 32, the great Romanian sportsman Lucian Bute has 30 victories as a professional, out of which 24 are KOs and a defeat by KO.
