by David P. Greisman

John Scully (Bute): “I would go with Bute. I think Bute is kind of on a roll. He’s definitely on a high. He realizes that there’s some big fights coming up for him if he wins this fight. I just like his overall skill set and especially those body shots that he drops in there, so I’ll go with him to win the decision. I don’t think anybody’s going to knock Froch out. I think it’ll definitely go the distance.”

Sam Garcia (Froch): “This is a tough one. I’m going to go with Carl Froch in his hometown. I think he’s probably not as fast, but the guy just knows how to fight. I think he’s going to land that straight right hand. I think he’s intelligent. I think it’s going to be a pretty good night for him, maybe a little bit of an intense boxing match between the two. I’m going to go with Froch in his hometown by decision.”

Henry Ramirez (Bute): “It’s an interesting fight. Based on recent history, Carl Froch is a tough, rugged guy, but I just think Lucian Bute is a better boxer, more of a technician in there, maybe even a better puncher than Carl Froch. I think he’s an all-around better fighter. I see Bute winning a decision, kind of a wide decision.”

Ronnie Shields (Bute): “That’s a close fight right there, just for the simple reason that Froch was so disappointed when he didn’t do as well against Andre Ward as he thought he was going to do. But Bute is really confident right now because he’s getting status as one of the best fighters in the world. This is going to be a good fight, because although Bute is a southpaw, I don’t think that’s really going to bother Froch that much, but I just think Bute might be a step ahead of him. Just him being considered one of the best fighters in the world, his confidence is going to be there, so I’m going with Bute by close decision.”

Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (Froch): “I like Froch by unanimous decision. I just think that being at home is an advantage for him. The people cheering and booing, that’s what he feeds off of. Plus he’s a good fighter. Carl Froch is no punk. I mean, he’s a good fighter. He comes to fight. He beat Glen Johnson. It was a tough fight, but he weathered the storm and went at it and took care of business.

“I don’t think Bute ever came out of Canada to fight [Note: He fought once in Romania last year, but otherwise his last bouts outside of Canada came very early in his career]. We don’t know how he’s gong to react to a negative audience, and that’s going to go in Froch’s favor. I’ve been to Nottingham. I know how they act out there.”

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter at twitter.com/fightingwords2 or on Facebook at facebook.com/fightingwordsboxing, or send questions and comments to fightingwords1@gmail.com

Tags: Carl Froch , Lucian Bute , Bute-Froch , Bute vs Froch