BUTE VS. FROCH REMATCH AT THE MONTREAL BELL CENTRE IN MARCH 2013
Montreal, Thursday, July 5th 2012 – InterBox and Lucian Bute met with media representatives at the Cage aux Sports restaurant in the Montreal Bell Centre this afternoon. Team InterBox revisited Lucian`s last bout on May 26th and revealed the future plans for Lucian and Carl Froch.
Here below is a detailed resume of declarations by Lucian Bute, InterBox president Jean Bedard, Matchroom Boxing president Eddie Hearn and Head Trainer Stephan Larouche.
Lucian Bute
– That was not the real Lucian Bute in that Nottingham ring last May le 26th. I spent the last few weeks reflecting about what went wrong, what happened, and the only thing that is crystal clear in my mind is that I want my rematch with Carl Froch as soon as possible.
– I am convinced the loss was due to critical errors on my part and that I will beat him.
– I did not use my primary weapons of speed and my jab at all during the fight. I fought Carl Froch`s fight instead of dictating the pace and forcing him to fight my fight.
– It was a bad night for me in Nottingham. A nightmare, really. I lost my IBF belt, my perfect record and I suffered a hard loss.
– I cannot wait to step back into the ring. I am already back at the gym training. I feel fresh, in good spirits, my health is very good and my goal and motivation is to prove to myself and to everyone that last May 26th was just a bad day at the office.
– I do not want to take anything away from Carl Froch`s accomplishment. He was the better man that night. He was hungrier and more motivated and he won. But now I have to look ahead. My promoter Jean Bedard, my coach Stephan Larouche and I have had numerous serious discussions and we have established a plan that I am very comfortable with. In the next two fights I will erase the bad memory of May 26th from my mind and from the minds of my fans.
Jean Bedard
– There is no hiding the fact that the result on May 26th was hard on everyone. But even in defeat, in the locker room after the fight and the days following the loss, I still felt Lucian had the fire in his belly to come back stronger and demand his rematch with Froch.
– Lucian was in my Office the morning after his return from Romania to reaffirm his intentions. He looked me straight in the eyes and asked me to set the plan we detailed with him and Stephan in motion.
– In all likelihood Lucian will box in Montreal or Quebec this Fall. However, it is also not out of the question that Lucian make his November ring return in Romania. We are already in discussions with an opponent and have sent them an offer.
– We do have a rematch clause with Matchroom Boxing, which could have been a direct rematch bout no matter the outcome. Matchroom Boxing is a great organization to work with and I have been speaking to Eddie once or twice a week since May 26th. I almost know his number by heart. We decided together that in the interest of effectively promoting the rematch, Lucian and Carl would fight in separate events and that we will coordinate our efforts for both to fight on the same day, in November.
– I last spoke to Eddie this morning, and we agreed the Bute/Froch rematch would take place on March 16th or March 23rd at the Montreal Bell Centre.
Eddie Hearn
– The Carl Froch v Lucian Bute fight has already gone down as one of the greatest fights in British boxing history. It generated record audiences and a sold-out arena that were treated to what many respected pundit and fighters have described as one of the greatest atmosphere’s ever.
– Carl put in an incredible performance and against all odds re-captured his World title. Both Carl, I and the people of Great Britain have the utmost respect for Lucian for first accepting the challenge to come to England but also the manner in which he accepted defeat.
– Like any fighter, I’m sure Lucian would like an opportunity to avenge this defeat as per our agreement he has the opportunity to try and make that happen. Together with Jean Bedard we have agreed in the interest of both fighters that we will have an ‘interim’ fight and then look to rematch in March 2013. I’m sure this will build into another huge fight and will do record numbers in Canada’
Stephan Larouche
– Team Bute has been analyzing all factors and circumstances pertaining to the May 26th bout, including Lucian`s preparation.
– As Lucian confirmed earlier, he is already back in the gym. We want to make sure he stays in great shape.
– We will not be “starting from zero” with Lucian. I want to make it clear to everyone that Lucian did not lose the fight because he was over trained, or not ready. He lost that fight because of several small mistakes that combined gave all the advantage to Carl Froch.
– We are not looking for an “easy touch” for the November fight. We are looking for, and have possibly found, an opponent that will test Lucian and give him a difficult fight. I want Lucian to be tested, to work, and to step out of his comfort zone as well.
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