Big Fight Stats: Carl Froch v Lucien Bute

Chris McCarthy
21 May 2012

Froch and Bute go head to head on Saturday

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Two of the super middleweight division's hardest hitters meet this weekend. Chris McCarthy weighs up the key stats...

Froch's willpower is unparalleled and the partisan Nottingham crowd will get behind him and that could make all the difference on the night.

Recommended Bet
Back Froch @ 2.285/4 to win

Career Record

Carl Froch 2.285/4: 30 fights, 28 wins, 2 losses, drawn 0, 20 knockouts, rounds boxed 211, KO% 66.67.

Lucian Bute 1.68/13: 30 fights, 30 wins, 0 losses, 0 draws, 24 Knockouts, rounds boxed 193, KO% 80.

Both fighters have had 30 professional fights and the unbeaten Bute comes into this weekend's eagerly anticipated bout as favourite. You can see why the Romanian-Canadian banger appeals to backers. Froch's occasionally crude-style and slow footwork could play in to the hands of quick, hard hitting Bute. But Froch's willpower is unparalleled and the partisan Nottingham crowd will get behind him and that could make all the difference on the night.

Froch's KO percentage lies at 66.67 percent to Bute's 80. Both fighters can bang, with 44 stoppages in 60 fights, between them. Bute has only been the distance six times, compared to Froch's ten. In his amateur career, Bute won 235 of his 250 bouts.

Bute stands slightly taller at 6'2 but he concedes a three inch reach advantage. He's athletic, skilful, and possesses a venomous left hook to the body. He halted eight of his last ten, most notably knocking down Brian Magee four times on his way to a comfortable tenth round TKO over the Belfast man. Froch halted Magee in similar fashion himself back in 2006 after 11 hard rounds.

Froch has the edge when it comes to comparing opposition. He's held his own the elite of the division while only succumbing to the very best in Mikkel Kessler and crack American Andre Ward. The Nottingham man has hard fought wins over Arthur Abraham, Jermain Taylor, and Andre Dirrell. He also has the scalp of former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal on his CV.

Froch has boxed and won on the road on numerous occasions, something Bute is yet to do. The majority of his defences have been in his home town of Montreal. Bute's last four opponents Glen Johnson, Jean-Paul Mendy, Brian Magee and Jesse Brinkley tally to a combined average age of 38, with none among the elite of the division.

Bute was knocked out as an amateur by current WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and was dangerously close to being stopped in the pro ranks by Librado Andrade in 2008. Then he found himself out on his feet with seconds remaining in the final round.

Froch has only tasted the canvas once as a pro and has earned a reputation for his cast iron chin.

Bute is unbeaten, Froch tried and tested. Home advantage will be massive boost for him in a fight where something has to give between two of the division's finest fighters.

Recommended Bet
Back Froch @ 2.285/4 to win