By Ryan Maquiñana

Only two days after American Andre Ward’s Super Six super middleweight final triumph over Carl Froch, it appears that the Englishman’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport, is close to a two-fight deal with his counterpart at Interbox, Jean Bédard, who handles the career of Canadian IBF champ Lucian Bute.

When the report broke, Bédard spoke with BoxingScene.com on negotiations with Hearn, a new business relationship with Top Rank, and the rest of his burgeoning stable at Interbox.

BoxingScene: How was your flight back to Canada from Atlantic City?

Jean Bédard: We just got back to Quebec, and it’s been exciting.  We’ve had a lot of media and fans paying close attention to the Super Six final to see what Lucian’s next step will be.

BoxingScene: Matchroom Sport’s Eddie Hearn was recently quoted in the Daily Mail about working with you on a two-fight deal between Lucian and his fighter, Carl Froch, with each fighter getting a hometown bout.  Can you confirm that report and give us some details on it?

Jean Bédard: Yes, that’s correct.  As you know, our plan was to fight the winner of the Super Six. I see that Andre Ward is not looking to fight Lucian right now, and I can understand that, but I know that honestly here [in Montreal], Carl Froch has a big story, having already beaten [Jean] Pascal and talking bad about Lucian for the past five years.

So this is the guy the fans here want to see, and it would be an easy promotion.  We’re definitely working on a plan where Carl can fight in his country in the second fight, too.  We’re working on that with Eddie Hearn to make that work to an extent.

BoxingScene: So can you give us a timetable on when these fights could conceivably happen?

Jean Bédard: Our plan is for Lucian to fight in April here, and after if it’s possible, then in August.  Our best scenario is to have a three-fight schedule in 2012, with the last one in December.

BoxingScene: How about a venue?  Do you already have one in mind like the Bell Centre in Montreal or the Pepsi Centre in Quebec City?

Jean Bédard: That’s the issue because April is usually busy for the [Bell Centre] with hockey playoffs and everything, so we have to figure out what dates are available.  Montreal and Quebec City are great places, so we’re looking at all the scenarios, and also have to work out a date with Showtime.

BoxingScene: This might be a little early, but have you already thrown some numbers out there as far as agreeing to the money?  Hearn has gone on record saying he was for you to keep the Canadian TV money, they get the British TV money, and then split everything else 50-50.

Jean Bédard: We had discussions on the way to do it that would be fair for everybody, and in my first conversation with Eddie Hearn, we see it the same way.  We have some details to hash through, but I think we’ll be able to reach an agreement.

BoxingScene: There was a report that had Sauerland Event, Mikkel Kessler’s promoter, supposedly offering something in the neighborhood of ten million dollars for the Super Six winner to travel to Copenhagen.  Obviously, you wanted the Super Six winner, too, but back in Atlantic City you told me that you wouldn’t get in a derby with Sauerland to do it.  Did you mean a bidding war, or an auction when you said it?

Jean Bédard: Yes, an auction! We don’t want to go an auction.  We know the right price and the right market.  We don’t have the market or resources for something like that right now, so maybe if they want to do that, we don’t know why, but we won’t be in that auction.

BoxingScene: Another Interbox fighter whose profile is rising is junior welterweight Pier-Olivier Cote, who fights on ShoBox in February.  Tell us about his fight with Mauricio Herrera.

Jean Bédard: That’s a big test for us.  You have to think about the future of Interbox.  Pier-Olivier Cote has big potential.  He fought on the undercard of Lucian on Showtime Championship Boxing, and now he’s the main event on February 3rd in Quebec City.  Mikael Zewski, who’s with Top Rank, is on the card.  He’s also from Quebec and he has a lot of potential.  We’re doing a press conference on Thursday in City Hall with the mayor.

Cote will be fighting for that IBF inter-Continental belt.  There’s a lot of pressure because it will be the main event in his city, so we’ll start very strong with Cote, and then hopefully have the fight with Lucian in April.

BoxingScene: Quebec has become a hotbed for boxing, and I think the American promoters are noticing, because Golden Boy struck a de facto partnership deal with Yvon Michel and GYM.  Is it safe to assume that Interbox will be doing the same with Top Rank?

Jean Bédard: I think we see things the same way.  Top Rank, in my perspective, has been the most successful promoter.  I was at the [Miguel] Cotto-[Antonio] Margarito fight in New York, and I was very impressed with the way they promote their fighters.

We have a good market that I think we control here but I think in the U.S., Top Rank can help us a lot get the chance for boxers to have more exposure and get on a lot of shows.  Our main business [at Le Groupe Sportscene] is not boxing, so we don’t do too many shows, so maybe we can put some our guys on their cards, and we can find the next Lucian Bute together.  I’m looking forward more and more to this relationship in the next few years.

BoxingScene: The announced attendance on Saturday was a little under six thousand.  However, Bute and other Quebec fighters have been regularly drawing 15 to 20 thousand, proving that boxing is alive and well.  Why do you think boxing is thriving in Canada, whereas in the United States, the sport is struggling to garner any mainstream attention?

Jean Bédard: I think the promoters, not all, but in general in [the] U.S., work hard to get TV dates, but they don’t work hard to give a good undercard.  They don’t work hard to give the people a good experience to go to the site instead of watching it on TV.

That’s how we started without TV, so we had to build our fan base, which we did.  That’s better long-term, because you have the leverage when you negotiate with other promoters, and you now you bring another TV market to the table.  I think right now we’re in a very good position for Lucian and Cote in the future.

BoxingScene: What specifically do you mean when you say build the fan base with a fighter?  Lucian was born in Romania and came to Canada as an immigrant, but the people have taken him in as one of their own.  What did you do to build that kind of relationship between him and the fans?

Jean Bédard: First of all, Lucian Bute is a very good boxer.  He has a good style.  But we did other things, too.  He learned French and he knows how important it is for his career.  And one mistake promoters are doing is trying to go too fast and get new markets for their fighters too early.  I think we’ve done the most to put him in the best position here in Montreal.

BoxingScene: Are there any other Interbox fighters American fans should be on the lookout for?

Jean Bédard: We want to see what we will do with Renan St. Juste, who was injured when he fought Anthony Dirrell.  He’ll be out for a couple months, so we want to see where  heis.  We’d like to get him in that spot to get another title shot in the future.

Ryan Maquiñana is the boxing correspondent for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Advisory Panel. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at www.maqdown.com, or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.