Newly crowned IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch speculates that’s his one-sided beating of Lucian Bute Saturday night (May26) might be the reason Bute announces an early retirement.
Froch scored a shocking fifth TKO before his hometown fans in Nottingham, England. From the end of the first round, Froch controlled the action with hard hooks inside that repeatedly hurt Bute. In the final three rounds, Froch would land over 75 power shots on his hapless foe to force the stoppage.
Although Bute has not made a decision on whether to invoke a contractual immediate rematch clause, Froch thinks the mental devastation of the loss will make an in-ring return doubtful.
“Personally I don’t think Bute will want the rematch because as a fighter, I looked into his eyes and after round three I saw something drain from him,” claimed Froch to the Daily Mail. “Something only a fighter can see. I don’t think he’s going to want to fight again, let alone fight me again. Honestly. He came here unbeaten and got absolutely, devastatingly beaten. That doesn’t happen often to top-level fighters.”
Froch, who’s scored 21 KOs in 29 fights over his 10 year career, cites the Bute win as the most vicious beating he’s ever inflicted on an opponent. For that reason alone, he believes the performance might be looked back on as the one that ended Lucian Bute’s career as a top fighter.
“That is a beating, the whupping of all whuppings,” he reflected. “I’ve not seen it back yet. I’m not bragging. I don’t want to hurt anybody, I’m not proud of hurting people but that’s what I’m in the ring to do. If the boot was on the other foot, you know what would happen. That was some performance by me and I think it was a career-ending performance. You never know. I don’t know know what he’s made of, so we’ll see.”
At press time, Froch is expected to rematch Mikkel Kessler should a Bute rematch not materialize.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 