Video preview by Ryan Kinzett

Boxing World

Francis Warren, Boxing Promoter
Although I would love to see Froch win this one, I just think that Bute is too hot for him to handle right now, with six stoppage wins in his last seven. Froch is a non-stop come-forward fighter and I think this will suit Bute, who will pick him off and win comfortably on points. Bute

Rick Glaser, Professional Boxing Businessman
Bute beats Froch in a very tough, very close decision in Froch’s backyard, but it won’t be easy, as Froch will play off the crowd, but Bute pinpoint punching will get the job done. Bute

Matt Yanofsky, Knock out Publicty
Froch by decision: Bute’s camp is taking a major risk here and I don’t think they can come out of England with a decision. Regardless, Froch’s fought much better competition and has proven he’s an elite fighter. This will be a good fight but I’m picking Froch and not just because it’s in England. Froch

Bob Trieger, Full Court Press
Bute vs. Froch could be the Fight of the Year.  I think Carl will bounce back from the Ward fight to win a close, possibly disputed, decision.  Bute wins the first half of the fight, Froch the second half. Froch

Callum Johnson, Professional Boxer
I see Bute as a very tough fight for Carl but he always seems to find a way to win – I know he didn’t against Ward but I don’t think Bute is as good as Ward. I fancy Carl can win this one and become a three-time world champ – I really rate Carl highly. Froch

Andre Courtemanche, Big Media Buzz
Bute will continue to dissolve the Carl Froch myth. Carl Froch is like the John Ruiz of super-middleweights. Why are you here? HOW are you here? When are you leaving? He’s gotten so lucky in so many fights. Bute by easy decision. Bute

Frank Stea, Boxing Insider
The home field advantage should prove to be a factor for Froch as far as confidence and judging. This will be a very good fight – both fighters’ styles being a recipe for such. I don’t see much controversy going down other than it will be a close fight that could go either way. I see Froch picking up a split or majority decision that will most likely see a rematch happen in Montreal by year’s end. Froch

John McCallum Jnr, Professional Boxer
I think Froch and Bute will be real close early but see Carl stopping him late.  Froch

Paul Weir, Retired Professional Boxer
Froch v Bute will be tough and depend on how much Froch has left as every fight is a war. Being in England will help in a tough fight and could see a few shaky moments for Froch, but I expect him to slug it out and win on points. Froch

Neville Brown, Retired Professional Boxer
I have not seen enough of Bute, which is a shame, but if he is in front of Froch then we will truly be entertained. To me, Froch has everything needed to be a world champ that you can ask for – the one thing that is missing and to me the most important he needs to tidy up his defence! As good has he is, you cant let world-class boxers chip away at the chin! It’s like banking – overnight you can lose everything. I think Froch can only get better! Froch

Jamie “Smigga” Smith, Professional Boxer
I think Froch wins this in a war. Froch

Gary Boulden, Professional Boxer
Froch v Bute is a tough call especially being in the UK, but it think Bute may just have a little too much ability for Froch and win a close-but-clear unanimous decision.  Bute

Leon “Solid” Williams, Professional Boxer
I see Froch losing on points – I feel Bute will be too awkward for him. Bute

Andreas Evensen , Professional Boxer
Froch is a hard worker, and if he avoids Bute’s destroying body punches I think he will take this one on his home turf. Froch by SD! Froch

Stephen Smith , Professional Boxer
I think Bute is a very tricky, skilful fighter, but in front of a home crowd Carl Froch can pull it off and work hard to a close points decision!  Froch

Danny Hughes , Professional Boxer
Froch has the power to take Bute out but I can’t see it happening as he hasn’t got the speed to deal with Bute.  Bute

Kieran Farrell , Professional Boxer
Bute – think he will be too fast and slick with his southpaw skills. Bute

Shane “Mr Block” Mcphilbin , Professional Boxer
Should be a classic entertaining fight – styles make fights and these will do just that. As a fellow Notts man I’m backing Frochy to pull out all the stops to make sure he grabs that title. Froch

Phil Fury , Professional Boxer
Bute wins this one easy and beats Froch up for 12 rounds – unanimous points decision. Bute

Wayne Elcock , Professional Boxer
Fascinating match up and after the tough Super Six tournament I’m not sure this would have been the fight I would have picked for Froch to have had next, although I know this is probably the fight Carl wanted even more than his promoter.

Home advantage is a big plus, but for me Bute – who has gone about most of his business away from the public eye especially here in England – comes with great credentials with the likes of big punchers James Obede Toney, Miranda, and the slippery Joppy all not seeing the final bell among some other good scalps, which tells me this guy can bang .

So I can see Froch being roared on by the home crowd, starting the brighter of the two and dictating the pace, but both have quick hands and both are big punchers who carry a low guard, so opportunity is there for either to get took out if they land flush. I feel as the fight goes on the younger and fresher Bute will come into it more and cause problems from his southpaw stance, and I hope I am wrong but I can see a possible upset as I believe Bute may well take Froch out late on – catching him coming in with a solid left cross.

My prediction: Bute by stoppage or knockout Round 11, but Froch has proved me wrong before and hope he does again. Bute

Yvon Michel, president of GYM
No matter where this fight could be held, Bute will always be the faster and the better skilled of the two. Taking also into consideration that Bute is always perfectly prepared, physically and tactically for all his fight, I see him winning comfortably on point.. Bute

Doug Jacobs, Integrated Sports Media
This is a potential classic – it’s a pick ’em.  I’ll go with the hometown guy by decision. Froch

Kevin Campion , Boxing Trainer
This is harder to call as we don’t know how good Bute is. We know what Froch can do and has done. Froch needs to start faster than he has done – if he does he will win on points. If he lets Bute build points in the early rounds it could be him on points.

Miranda Carter, Left Jab Boxing
Despite his home advantage, Froch is in for a difficult and ultimately disappointing night. Bute’s superior skills will see him safely home to a convincing win – but it should  be an exciting and entertaining fight. Bute

Terrance Lane, Letsgetitonboxing
Bute SD. This is a very tough fight to pick, and I see it being very, very close. Froch, without question, will be Bute’s toughest competition yet. I also think that Froch will be a bit more comfortable in a big fight, and it doesn’t hurt Froch that the fight is taking place in the UK. Having said that, I still think Bute is a notch above the Englishman. Bute

Austin Trout, Professional Boxer
I think this will be a great fight. I am picking Bute in a late stoppage. Bute

Bobby Hitz, Hitz Promotions
I like Bute.  They are both very tough guys that have proven themselves, but I look for Bute in a late round knock out. Bute

Ringnews24.com Writers

Gav Powell
It’s a tough one to call, because Bute hasn’t really been in with anyone of real quality so far, but Froch has lost his biggest fights. I’ll be hoping Carl can pull of a famous victory, but I see it going to the cards whatever happens. Bute SD. Bute

Ryan McHugh
For me this is the best fight that could have been made at super-middle aside from Andre Ward against Bute.  In a way, I agree with Ward when he says that Bute hasn’t done enough to earn a shot at him – Ward beat the most proven guys in the division over the course of the Super Six tournament, namely Mikkel Kessler and Froch himself.

On the other hand you have Bute whose stand out names on his record are Glen Johnson and Edison Miranda.  That for me doesn’t really qualify him as a proven fighter, or at least a fighter who belongs amongst the elite in the division.

Compare that to Carl Froch who, Bute aside, has faced everybody even close to the top five in the division.  Many people are writing Carl off for this fight and calling it an easy night’s work for Bute which I think is unfair –  Carl always comes to fight and I’d struggle to think of many fighters with as much heart and determination as him, along with the granite chin he possesses.

On paper Froch is suited down to the ground for Bute stylistically, but I personally believe it won’t be that simple – Bute was lucky to survive against Librado Andrade first time around so he has shown weakness, especially to a big punch, and And let’s face it, power isn’t something Carl Froch really lacks.  It’s a fight that could go either way but I’m going to go against the majority and pick Froch to pull off the upset in front of his home crowd. Froch

Ross Harris
There are still question marks about Bute, mainly due to the calibre of opponent he has faced, whereas Froch has been in with the best and, in my opinion, been found wanting at the very highest level.

In my eyes this is a bout to see who the 3rd best fighter in the division is, as I have both miles behind Ward and also some way behind Kessler. If this fight happened in Canada, I would have Bute by a wide points decision. Given that Froch is the home fighter, however, I imagine it will be closer, but Nottingham isn’t exactly Germany and I don’t think a partisan crowd will be enough to sneak a decision.

Froch’s best chance is to take the fight to Bute and hope that the lack of real top-level opposition on the Canadian’s card means that he’s never really had a gut-check moment, and hope that when that moment comes, he is found wanting.

Bute seems to have the superior technical ability so I can’t see a Froch points win unless he maintains an incredible workrate and outhustles him for 12 rounds. If Froch can put the pressure on early and test Bute’s chin with a home crowd cheering him on, he may strike lucky. The longer it goes, however, I believe we will see Bute settle in to the fight and take a narrow points win. Bute

Rob Day
This is a tremendous match-up and credit to both for making this fight. Froch will be the home fighter but I believe that Bute can win on points in the UK. Lucian Bute has the edge in boxing skills and speed and I can see him moving and outboxing the slower Froch. Froch often comes on strong in the latter part of a fight and that’s his best chance of winning here. Bute, I believe, can win the rounds clearly and win a decisive points victory. Bute

Joe Ko!
Had a spat the with Carl Froch himself over this fight – Im a big fan but he is seriously underestimating Bute here. I believe Bute will win a wide UD and frustrate Froch in his hometown. He may even stop Froch, who is becoming extremely delusional – kind of like Audley Harrison. Bute

Dave Allen
Very interesting fight – I think Bute is the more skilled of the two and would side with him to win on points in a close fight. Froch at times has a very poor workrate waiting to land his bombs and I don’t see Bute giving him many openings to get his shots off. And to be honest, Froch is wide open with his hands-down style, which I am sure Bute will take full advantage of. Bute on points. Bute

Daniel Norris
Interesting fight, both Carl Froch and Lucian Bute taking big-time risks in this fight – Froch fighting yet another top-level fighter and Bute risking his undefeated record going in Froch’s backyard.

When you look at this match-up, Bute has just about every advantage – Speed, power, boxing ability etc. And I believe that will make the difference – Froch is just too slow to outbox Bute from the outside and if he tries to get aggressive, Bute will catch Froch with an uppercut to the head or body. Bute is a deadly fighter with that left hand and that is the difference. I’ve got Bute stopping Froch in the 5th round because of his speed, power. Mainly, in that left uppercut of his. Bute

Ryan Kinzett

Tough fight to call – this is all new to Bute because he hasn’t fought an opponent as good as Froch before, whereas Froch has been fighting the top fighters at super-middleweight for years. However, Bute is undefeated, albeit due to a lucky escape against Librado Andrade in their first fight.

Bute has the skill, the talent and the confidence considering he’s coming to the UK to fight Froch in his home town of Nottingham. Froch, on the other hand, will be in his hometown, has the experience in big fights and will consider Bute to be just another opponent.

The danger for Froch is if he doesn’t remain busy enough for 12 rounds – against Ward, he didn’t throw enough punches, allowed Ward to set the pace and even tried to outjab Ward on occasions. Bute will look to outbox Froch from round one and if Froch isn’t careful, he’ll end up losing a wide decision like he did against Ward. Due to the fact Froch didn’t look great in his last fight against Ward and wasn’t able to get on top and make it tough, and taking into account Bute has been getting better each fight and defeated Glen Johnson with ease, I am going for a Bute close decision win. Bute

Dave Murphy
I’ve never been as impressed with Bute as most seem to be – I think his rep has been built on some fighters who’ve proven to be flawed after the fact. As to whether Lucian was the reason they didn’t go on to accomplish much in the aftermath, I think that’s subject to debate, but after 30 fights I’m still searching for a signature win I can hang my hat on.

To put it simply, Carl Froch has fought better opposition and while he’s come up short on a couple of occasions, his resume impresses me more. Bute’s also wasted the last couple of years fighting the Jesse Brinkleys and Brian Magees of the world, instead of Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler. In my opinion, if Bute had fought the same schedule he’d possibly be sporting a couple losses himself.

Am I being too hard on Bute? Possibly, and certainly May 26th will give him the opportunity to put me in my place, but seeing is believing and I need to see Lucian Bute fight a difficult opponent like Carl Froch, and on the road, before I’ll be convinced that the best super-middleweight in the world might not be living in Oakland. Froch

James Tonks
I think both fighters deserve a lot of credit for taking this fight. It could have been so easy for Froch after losing to Andre Ward in the Super Six final to take on a lower-level opponent. As for Bute, he took a bit of stick from not being in the tournament and not fighting world class fighters in recent times hasn’t helped his cause.

Looking at the fight there in no doubt that Froch has the better experience – he’s fought some world-class fighters in his last seven fights. Bute may be undefeated but he is also vastly inexperienced and this will be his first fight outside Canada/USA – will he be able to handle the pressure fight away from home and out of his comfort zone?

Froch has a three-inch reach advantage, but with Froch’s style I don’t think that will come into play during the fight. Froch is going to be on the front foot as we know as that is his style of fighting, but he’ll have to be very careful as Bute has good handspeed and throws a variety of combinations.

If you mix the come-forward style of Froch with his low-held hand, I think this could be a key moment in the fight and we will see Bute throwing his combinations before getting on the back foot trying to keep away from the oncoming Froch attack.

Froch has struggled with elusive fighters in the past ie. Dirrell and Ward. I think Bute will cause Froch nightmares with his combination punching and elusive style. Unless Froch has worked on his defence I can’t see him winning the fight.

I think it’s safe to say the fight is more than likely to go to the scorecards as Froch doesn’t have power at the top that he claims and Bute isn’t a huge puncher. I think Bute will win the fight in my eyes but the result will go to the scorecards and it will be controversial in Froch’s favour. Froch by controversial decision. Froch

Aaron Ormrod
Am going heart over head and predicitng a Froch stoppage – I think he will maybe have to climb off the floor and survive some bad rounds early on, but Bute can be got at and Froch is just the guy to do it.

Carl will have to be more aggressive than he was against Ward, a fight he left it far to late to throw the kitchen sink at it. Fingers and toes crossed, Froch stops Lucian in the 11th. Froch

Fans’ Predictions from our RN24 Facebook and RN24 Forum

Grapevine, Ringnews24 Forum
Could be a short night for Carl Froch – he’s been through murderer’s row with Pascal-Taylor-Dirrell-Kessler-Abraham-Johnson-Ward and I wonder if he will be as deflated as he was against Ward. The problem facing Froch is that Bute is a real puncher and vicious to the body, unlike pitty-patter Ward. Could be Froch needed a rest before this one. Bute by T/KO late in the fight. Bute

LondonRingRules, Ringnews24 Forum
Bute is in unknown enemy territory for this, but as a Romanian immigrant to Canada, he’s already made his toughest move. Figure him to move and box classic circles around Froch unlike the ugly pitty-patty Ward, maybe knocking him out if that’s possible. All credit to Froch for taking this fight and if he manages a legit upset without home cooking. Surprised Haye has any fans with guys like Froch taking on all comers. Bute

Meathead, Ringnews24 Forum
If this wasnt a Romanian fighting out of Canada against an Englishman then the boxing world would be giving this fight a lot more coverage – Im still bemused that the network that gave America Dawson/Tarver twice actually passed on this.

Im sure both guys are earning well but this is a superfight for me and both should be on career-high pay days, which I sadly doubt they are. The fight itself is extremely interesting. Bute has some names on his record but is yet to face a true world class fighter and Froch is that guy.

So far Bute has gotten by largely on his power but Froch has tough whiskers. Every fighter who comes across Froch says that they know how to beat him, but get him and his unorthodox style in a ring and the task becomes a lot more difficult than it looked. These are fights that boxers, promoters and networks should be looking to make. In front of his home fans I see Froch taking a UD, possibly wider than some people think. Froch

Ton, Ringnews24 Forum
Really tough to call! Undoubtedly Bute’s toughest challenge whereas Froch has been mixing it with the best for years. Froch has a proven solid chin and decent power, though he doesn’t have too many stoppages at the highest level. He’s shown he can box a bit in his victory over Abraham, but he can also be outboxed and outgunned (Ward and Kessler).

Bute is a good boxer-puncher and probably more in the mould of Kessler than Abraham, though it is still unknown at the highest level. He could be far superior than Kessler’s ability or just fall a bit shorter. I am just sightly leaning toward Bute to edge this one via points, and would be hugely impressed if he could get the stoppage – he just seems that bit more classy and has confidence to go with his talent which the likes of Kessler seemed to lack. Should be a great fight. Bute

Andre00, Ringnews24 Forum
No idea! I see it like this – Froch has problems with boxers, but if Froch can lure Bute in to a war and rough him up he has a chance. Froch can win this in a rough/dirty way, but I don’t think he will manage that so I’m going with Bute on this one. Bute

Sheils, Ringnews24 Forum
This is a fight that Froch has every chance of winning – He’ll have home-town advantage, something which he hasn’t had many times in his world title fights. The last time he fought after a defeat he did a number on Abraham, though there won’t be such a wide margin against Bute. The only thing that could hold Froch back is his run of tough fights catching up with him, but if he can take the experience from them, he’ll take Bute’s belt. Froch by UD for me. Froch

Battlingsiki, Ringnews24 Forum
“The Beak” dominates in a display of great boxin and Bute will be shown for what he is – overrated. Bute chases exhaust fumes all night long. Froch back with a bang and hot on the heels of the Super-Six king. Froch

Rick Gagne, Ringnews24 Facebook
If Froch wins, it will be a grinding war or a KO; if Bute wins, it will be a grinding war by points. I’ll go out on a limb and say Froch comes from behind and scores a 12th-round KO. Froch

Ben Robinson, Ringnews24 Facebook
Bute wins this easy for me I’m afraid. Much as I admire Froch for his old-school, iron-chin approach, he can quite simply be outboxed. Bute is a class act whom I believe is going to peak in the coming years, whereas Froch has had a tough couple of years and it’s showing. I also think Froch will struggle with Bute’s classy movement, angles and uppercuts. Bute UD. Bute

Jim Holborn Jr, Ringnews24 Facebook
Froch is one of the British boxers I don’t really take interest in – I find his fights boring and he clearly gets hit with too many clean shots to ever be a great name in his weight, as he showed this in the Super Six. Great name for British boxing and I hear a nice person outside the ring too but I’d have to give the win to Bute on points. Bute

Predictions Summary:

Boxing World: Froch 12 Bute 14
Ringnews24 Writers: Froch 4 Bute 7
Facebook and Ringnews24 Forum: Froch 4 Bute 6

Total: Froch 20 Bute 27

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