Here Is How Carl Froch Beat Lucian Bute

Between 1952 and 1955, Rocky Marciano fought and defeated an array of the most talented ring technicians of his time -slicksters like Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore. Each of them succumbed to Marciano's superior tenacity -their cuteness was no match for "The Rock's" crudeness. History repeated itself yet again Saturday in Nottingham.

Prior to the bout,many -myself included- expected Lucian Bute to have far too much polish and skill for his English challenger. We got it wrong. In a display befitting his pseudonym, Carl "The Cobra" Froch struck with unpredictable precision from the outside. Technique was rendered useless as Bute was forced into surrendering his IBF 168 pound title in front of a legion of his unorthodox challenger's hometown fans.

Throughout the next few days, many will point to the lack of any real quality on Bute's resume as the main reason for this unexpected turn of events. Personally, I think this would be a discredit to Carl Froch and his trainer Robert McCracken,who in my opinion, got their tactics absolutely spot on.

For me, nothing has changed with regards to Bute. Heading in, we knew his chin was suspect, having previously been dented by Gennady Golovkin {in the amateurs} and again by Librado Andrade. But with Bute's superior skill, speed and power, I didn't think Froch possessed the attributes to put it to the test.

History is replete with technique being trumped by anti-technique.

As I watched the action unfold, I couldn't help but think of fights gone by. I thought of Rocky Marciano. I thought of Ricardo Mayorga upsetting the far more refined Vernon Forrest. I thought of Manny Pacquiao's unexpected dethroning of Marco Antonio Barrera in their first bout. I thought of Aaron Pryor's wildness overwhelming Alexis Arguello's neatness. Make no mistake, this was every bit as much about Froch's superb tactics as it was about Bute being untested.

By nature, Lucian Bute is a counterpuncher. Counterpunchers thrive on predictability. Bute would have liked nothing more than for Froch to press the attack, throwing conventional punches, giving him angles with which to work from. Froch threw away conventional wisdom. Here is what he did.


1. Froch fought on the back foot. He made Bute press the attack -a counterpunchers nightmare. Bute would have expected Froch to be the aggressor in front of his hometown fans.

2. Froch usually stands at a very narrow angle to his opponent -standing side on in order to lengthen his jab. Instead, Froch kept his right hand by his chin and stood with his shoulders more squared up to Bute. Seeing this, Bute thought he could outjab Froch. He couldn't; Froch, {despite what the Sky Sports graphic said before the fight} has the superior reach.Instead of waiting to counter, or to take the lead, Froch jabbed WITH Bute. Because his right glove was by his chin, Froch was able to simultaneously parry Bute's jab and land his own. Again, counterpunchers rely on rhythm and familiarity. Froch took away Bute's rhythm early.....Eddie Futch's drilling of this strategy into Ken Norton was the reason Muhammad Ali never quite got to grips with "the Fighting Marine" in three attempts.

3. As a result, after taking away the jab, Bute resorted to a lot of herky jerky posturing from the outside. He seemed reluctant to let his hands go.

4. Froch then began to lead with a right hooker-cut from his waist.This proved to be the perfect antidote for Bute's southpaw shell. Bute would bend at the waist, looking to avoid the right lead, as his left elbow covered his torso. There was a gap. Froch found it with this unorthodox shot from the outside. It didn't matter that Froch lacked handspeed, as the unpredictable nature of the attack -disguising it behind his left shoulder and throwing it from the hip- made up for any discrepancies in this area.

5. As Froch continued having success with this shot, he introduced a left hook behind it. Again,this would have been the last thing that Bute -a counterpuncher who thrives on familiarity- would have expected.

6. Despite the unconventionality behind Froch's attack, there was a scientific pearl amongst the rubble. Everytime he attacked, not once did Froch ever forget the golden rule when facing a southpaw, always get your lead foot outside of the southpaw's lead foot.
By doing so, Froch was always in optimum range to land his unconventional right hand, while at the same time, taking away the risk of a counter from Bute.

For me, this is where the fight was won and lost, not on a piece of paper with names on it.

I still think Bute is an elite talent, who will likely bounce back from this. Even the very great Roberto Duran suffered a similar fate when he was inexplicably taken out in two at the hands of Thomas Hearns. These things can happen from time to time. I've seen enough of Bute that suggests to me that he is not as overrated as what many will probably label him to be over the next few days.

In my eyes, this was a stark reminder that sometimes skill isn't everything in boxing. On this night, as we have seen on many other nights during the past, skill and cuteness was overhauled by will and crudeness.

We must take nothing away from Froch, who on Saturday night,found an answer for the sweet science.

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