By Richard Cloutier

The current IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (27-0-0) spoke to the media for the last time before leaving Québec for Florida, where he plans to prepare for the duel on March 19 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. He will defend the title against Irishman Brian Magee (34-3-1), the current European champion, on the weekend of St. Patrick's Day. Magee, a southpaw, who has not tasted defeat since 2006 when he bowed out to Carl Froch, and he is ranked # 1 WBA, # 4 WBC and IBF # 8 when accepting the fight against Bute.

BoxingScene.com/Netboxe.com had the pleasure of speaking with Bute during this marathon media conference. We first asked whether the recent signing of a long term contract with America cable network Showtime has added any extra pressure on the preparation for his next duel.

"There is no extra pressure. It was our goal to have the opportunity to box on a U.S. network. We started with ESPN, ShoBox, Showtime, HBO, and then came back with Showtime for several fights. That's what I always wanted and with InterBox, we were on the same wavelength. I'm really comfortable and it poses no pressure for me. "

The duel with Jesse Brinkley, fought on October 15, lasted some rounds and required some adjustments. What lessons did you from this confrontation?

"I expected a struggle. It was more of the media who talked about an easy fight. Jesse Brinkley had won his right to fight for the title and was ranked #1 by the IBF. I took it really seriously and I prepared myself properly. But it took me a few rounds to get my rhythm. It was a great experience because I have learned many things in the ring. All fights are learning opportunities. All opponents you meet in the ring must be taken seriously as boxing is really dangerous. Just one punch can change a career."

What about your next rival Brian Magee?

"I watched several videos of him. First he's a lefty. Sergey Tatevosyan in 2007, the last lefty that I met and it went the limit. So that's another kind of preparation. Magee is a guy who has a lot of experience in professional boxing and was aspiring to be the WBA mandatory. He was the best opponent available at that time and he was on the list of Showtime. For us it is a very important fight because I want to stay champion and have access to the winner of the Super Six. Despite all this, in my head right now I'm focused on Brian Magee. I started light training a few weeks ago and I'll leave Montreal on Monday to begin training camp in Florida for two months. We have already booked three sparring partners, among which are Buddy McGirt Jr. and Daniel Judah. It'll be quite an experience and most importantly, it'll be nice to train there. "