Bute's next opponent revealed.

This is a strange one.... With Froch fighting former Bute opponent Tatevosyan, Bute has opted to fight the similarly slippery Matthew Barney a former opponent of Carl Froch. Barney is a boring spoiler who looked pretty shot last time out after losing a wide decision to Froch and a controversial decision in Germany against Thomas Ulrich. http://www.thisishampshire.net/sport/hampshiresport/display.var.1248320.0.barney_one_step_from_world_title_shot.php Barney one step from world title shot Matthew Barney Matthew Barney is facing arguably the biggest challenge of his boxing career when he travels to Canada next week to face the unbeaten and big-punching Romanian Lucian Bute. His 27-year-old opponent boasts a knockout percentage of 84 per cent and is rated as the number two super middleweight in the world by the WBC. Bute will also be fighting in front of partisan fans in his adopted home city of Montreal, making the 32-year-old Barney a clear underdog. "He has all of the advantages," said Barney. "I have taken this fight at short notice, he has fought more regularly than me in the last year or two and I have to travel to Canada for the fight but I have always produced my best against the better opponents. "One thing for sure is that he won't ever have fought anyone like me before - because there isn't anyone like me." Although a large obstacle, Barney knows that the prize of victory against Bute could be huge. Bute, who has won all of his 19 professional fights, is in the top ten of the rankings of all the major boxing bodies and so his scalp would put Barney back in line for a shot at another world title in a super middleweight division which has been dominated for most of the past decade by the Welshman Joe Calzaghe. Barney, who is a former WBU world light heavyweight champion and British super-middleweight champion, said: "Whenever I have fought against better opponents, I have tended to produce my best. "He is a big puncher but I like facing big punchers because I don't get hit often with my style. "That means that I can negate their main strength and often big punchers are not the most skilful boxers. I have got a tape of him and I'm confident that I can win this fight." Barney faces the 6ft 2in Bute at Montreal's Bell Centre on March 23. Read The Big Interview with Matthew Barney in this weekend's Pink.