Is Ward scared to face Bute?

[damned1974]

They were still working out the details of Bute's contract and they actually snatched up Green and Johnson pretty quickly without even consideration for Bute.

So which one is it? Would Showtime purposely leave Bute out in the cold,only for them to sign him later? Why would they give him a 3 fight contract later then???

Come on man,Bute would have been entered if he would have been as eager as Green or Johnson.Showtime knows it would have made for exciting match ups and lucrative amount of viewers.

When the S6 started,Bute was intent on having a rematch with Andrade and then pursued matches with weak opposition (in his sold out home town)as opposed to taking fights for under a million dollars each-which were very high risk for him and potentially a career ruiner (just look at Abraham and Green).

He didn't join because it was a business move on his behalf.At the time he chose money over legacy and now perhaps wants to achieve legacy within his division.IMO,if it took Showtime longer to iron out details than it did Green or Johnson,it was because Bute didn't want in the actual tournament as bad as Green or Johnson did.

[Motofan]

Ward thinks he is Jesus. He isn't afraid of Bute.

[Tmann400]

Christ, people...The Froch fight just happened THREE DAYS AGO. Ward has fought elite competition back to back for over two years, and you are saying "he's avoiding Bute"? So what if Bute stopped Miranda and Ward didn't? Bute has good power, Ward doesn't, and on top of that styles make fights. Ward and Bute are completely different boxers with different styles. Bika is a tough fight for anyone, and when he's fighting someone that doesn't have alot of power, he makes it an even tougher fight. Calzaghe and Ward don't have alot of power. And no, the Ward-Bika fight wasn't close, it was just a really rough fight, there's a difference. Ward won the fight clearly. Point still remains, Ward has fought, and dominated world class boxers back to back, with no breaks. You think he's worried about Bute? The dude needs a rest.

[Dave Rado]

I think he's a little exhausted from his recent schedule and just wants to take a break before such a risky fight. (meaning he's scared to fight right away)

The first half of your sentence may be accurate. The second half is plain silly. Of course he's not scared. And once Bute's beaten Froch, the fight will happen.

[Dave Rado]

So which one is it? Would Showtime purposely leave Bute out in the cold,only for them to sign him later?

For goodness sakes, you really should keep up. It's getting boring having to reiterate all this over and over again so often, and so long after it all happened.

Showtime didn't want him in the Super 6 partly because he didn't fit their 3 US Americans vs. 3 Europeans strategy, partly because he had already signed for the rematch with Andrade to be held after the date the Super 6 was due to kick off, partly because after the first Andrade fight there was still a lot of scepticism about him, and partly because he wasn't big box office in the US or Europe, and Showtime is a US network and wanted names that would sell in the US, and Sauerland was doing the European promotion and wanted names that would sell in Europe.

He didn't make a fuss because Showtime had made it clear to him that they weren't going to invite him whatever he did, and because they had also made it clear to him that if he kept on good terms with them and kept winning, he'd get his rewards in the long run.

Why is that so hard for people to understand????

[Dave Rado]

Kessler was recently interviewed and said he was lowballed by Bute....

But Kessler refused to say what figure he was offered, presumably because he realised that most people wouldn't consider that figure to be a lowball. And he didn't make a counter-offer, which shows he wasn't serious about making the fight happen.

[Joeyzagz]

I think Bute has the right combination of speed/power to beat Ward.

If Ward is chasing Kessler he is truly a b.tch.

[BoxingGenius27]

But Kessler refused to say what figure he was offered, presumably because he realised that most people wouldn't consider that figure to be a lowball. And he didn't make a counter-offer, which shows he wasn't serious about making the fight happen.

I believe Kessler was offered 750,000 to fight Bute. At least that's what I read in an article.

[Dave Rado]

Bute gets smoked by ward.. bute is over rated and was nearly KO'ed by a inferior opponent..

For goodness sakes. Ali was nearly KO'd by Henry Cooper. Lewis was actually KO'd by two inferior opponents. So was Pacquiao. And Ward himself has been put down and badly hurt by far worse opponents than Andrade. Bute more than made up for that lapse in the rematch and has shown in his fights since that he's by far the most talented Super Middleweight after Ward. Ward would be the favourite to win but not a big favourite, and no one else deserves a fight with Ward half as much as Bute does.

If Ward wants a break from top level competition, I have no problem with that, as long as he fights Bute by the end of the year, assuming Bute beats Froch in the meantime. But to claim that anyone deserves a fight with Ward more than Bute does is just ******.

[BoxingGenius27]

But Kessler refused to say what figure he was offered, presumably because he realised that most people wouldn't consider that figure to be a lowball. And he didn't make a counter-offer, which shows he wasn't serious about making the fight happen.

Here it is:

http://www.boxingscene.com/kesslers-fee-bute-not-even-close-pavliks-info--42266

Kessler was offered 750k. If that's not low balling, I don't know what is.