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Cloutier’s Canada Corner
DeGale: "I
Will Destroy Bute In Less Than Six Rounds"
Bute: "I Will Regain My IBF Title"
DeGale Established Favorite By 5-1
By Daniel Cloutier
QUÉBEC CITY, Canada – In a few hours, the Montrealer
Romanian Lucian Bute will live his most significant and
thrilling 60 minutes in three years. Bute (32-2-0), who lost
his IBF super middleweight championship of the world in May
2012 in Nottingham, England, when he lost by TKO in less
than five rounds against the British Carl Froch (33-2-0),
will try to regain this title Saturday evening in the ring
of the new Videotron Centre in Québec City, when he will
face the new IBF 168 pounds champion of the world, the
British James DeGale.
For DeGale, it will be the first defense of the title he won
in March, in Boston, in beating the American Andre Direll
(24-2-0) by unanimous decision. “Like I said it, I lost my
IBF world title to a British in 2012, and I gonna regain it
against a British, said Bute Friday afternoon at the weight
in held at the Videotron Centre. It’s a fantastic
opportunity for me. I was dreaming since longtime to regain
a world title I detained from 2007 to 2012. I lived a lot of
frustrations since 2012, but I really believe I will live my
greatest moments in three years tomorrow night. I know I am
facing a very good fighter, a boxer energetic and strong
physically, but I have the conviction that my technique and
big experience in crucial fights will make all the
difference in the result of that bout. It’s crucial for me
to return in Montréal with the IBF belt in my luggages, and
I will give absolutely everything I have to achieve it. And
I know i will achieve it. I always performed in Québec City,
and it I will do it again in few hours.”
DeGale (21-1-0) knows that Bute will try everything possible
to dethrone him Saturday evening. But he believes that Bute
has no chance to succeed. More the moment of the truth is
close, more DeGale has the conviction he will destroy Bute
in less than six rounds.
“I know that Bute is dreaming to regain his IBF belt, but
this belt is crucial for me too, said DeGale. I worked so
hard since several years to get this chance to become world
champion. I will fight like hell to keep it the longest time
possible. Bute believes his experience will make the
difference in the result of our bout, but on my side, I
really believe the fact I am younger than him (29 years old,
Bute 34 years old) and I am more intense and more energetic
than him, will make the difference in the result of the
bout. I know I gonna win this bout clearly. More the big
moment is close, more I have the conviction I will destroy
him, probably in three rounds, and certainly in less than
six rounds. When we were face to face after we got out of
the scale, I saw the fear in his eyes. I am not worry at
all. I got a great training camp and I am really prepared
mentally, physically and strategically to win this fight.
And trust me, I will do it. Bute will fight in front of his
fans, but I know that the boxing fans in England are behind
me at 100%, and I will do the necessary to not disappoint
them.”
The Las Vegas bookies established DeGale favourite by five
to one. Most of the boxing writers in Montréal believe also
that DeGale will be the winner. DeGale is considered as the
emerging star of the super middleweight division on the
international scene.
At the weigh in, DeGale posted an official weight of 167.4
pounds, versus 167.2 for Bute.
Bernard Barré, the scout of the GYM Group, believes that
DeGale will keep his world title. “Lucian Bute should give a
solid opposition to DeGale, but I got to choose DeGale as
winner, said Barré. He is definitively the new star of the
super middleweight division. I think he gonna keep this IBF
title for longtime. DeGale is so intense and energetic. He
is real tiger in the ring.”
The semi-final of this boxing show will be a WBC light
heavyweight elimination fight between the Montrealer
Colombian Eleider Alvarez (18-0-0) and the South African
Issac Chilemba (24-2-2). The winner will become
automatically the mandatory challenger for the WBC 175
pounds champion of the world, the Montrealer southpaw Adonis
Stevenson (27-1-0).
“It’s my dream to get a chance to fight in a world
championship fight, I won’t let Chilemba transformed my
dream in a nightmare, said Alvarez. I know exactly what to
accomplish in the ring to beat Chilemba, and I will do it.
It’s a so crucial moment in my career.”
The boxers involved in the preliminaries fights will be: The
New Yorker Amir Imam (18-0-0), ranked first contender by the
WBC and second by the WBA in the super lightweight division,
the heavyweight Montrealer Colombian Oscar Rivas (17-0-0),
the Montrealer super featherweight Yves Ulysse Jr. (9-0-0),
the Montrealer Romanian heavyweight Bodgan Dinu (13-0-0),
the super lightweight Sébastien Bouchard (10-1-0), from Baie
Saint-Paul, Québec, the super lightweight Custio Clayton
(4-0-0), a fighter from Halifax who is the last acquisition
of the GYM Group, the super bantamweight Vislan Dalkkaev
(3-0-0), a Russian living in Montréal now, and the super
lightweight David Maltais (1-0-1), from Québec City.
Imam will face Adrian Granados (16-4-2), from Cicero,
Illinois; Rivas will meet Joey Abell (31-8-0), from
Minnesota; Ulysse will be opposed to the Mexican Randy
Lozano (10-7-2); Dinu will fight the Hungarian Manuel
Alberto Pucheta (38-10-0); Bouchard will face the Hungarian
Giuseppe Lauri (55-17-0); Clayton will meet the Mexican Ivan
Pereyra (20-5-0); Dalkaev will face the Mexican Antonio
Olguin (9-5-1), and finally, Maltais will be opposed to
another fighter from Québec City, Lucnor Diserne, who will
make his pro debut.
The official weights for others fighters were:
Alvarez 174.8 pounds, Chilemba 173.4
Imam 139.4, Granados 138.8, Rivas 230
Abell 230, Dinu 245.2, Pucheta 236.8
Bouchard 149.4, Lauri 150.8
Clayton 151.6, Pereyra 151.6
Dalkaev 121.6, Olguin 121.6
Maltais 146.2 and Diserne 144.6
The Montrealer Marlon B. Wright will be the referee of the
main event. The IBF championship committee and the president
of Québec Athletic Commission (Régie des sports de combat du
Québec) confirmed that the three judges for the fight Bute-Degale
will be the Montrealer Benoit Roussel, the British Phil
Edwards and the Porto Rican Nelson Vasquez.
The fights Bute-DeGale, Alvarez-Chilemba, Imam-Grenatos and
Rojas-Abell will be televised by Showtime, by 9.00 o’clock,
Eastern time.
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