Former two time champion Carl Froch (28-2, 20KOs) believes IBF super middleweight king Lucian Bute (30-0, 24KOs) has been forced to fight him in Nottingham. Bute has fought almost every bout of his career in Canada. In the last few months, the Romanian born superstar has been taking some punches from his critics, who believe the unbeaten boxer has been fighting lackluster competition.
Froch is not impressed by Bute's undefeated record. He believes the critics, and a rock-solid rematch clause, have forced Bute to sign a contract to fight him on May 26th at the Nottingham Arena. Froch has gone through a string of tough fights with every possible name at his weight - including Mikkel Kessler, Jermain Taylor, Jean Pascal, Arthur Abraham, Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell and Glen Johnson.
"He's been forced into a situation where he cant stay at home anymore and defend his IBF title. He has to take to the road and he has to fight somebody. He's been forced into this position. He has the safety net of a rematch clause so maybe that makes him feel a little more confident [and thinking] 'I get Froch back in Canada' [if I lose]," Froch told BBC Midlands.
"He hasn't mixed with top level. He hasn't opereated at top level. The only fighters who stand out on his record are Brian Magee and Glen Johnson, and that's out of how many fights? I think he's had a 30 fight career. He has two sort of names that don't really jump out at you. I have said in the past that he hasn't fought anybody and I stand by that. It's big guns time...sink or swim."
