TLMEP interview with Lucian Bute - April 29

Guy's intro to Lucian? Quand il est dans le ring, y'a des hommes qui tombent - When he's in the ring, men will fall.

M. Bute was supposed to be on the episode on December 31, 2011 but could not make it; why? Well, in mid-December he took his exam to become a Canadian citizen and on the 31st he was... (actually, he never tells us specifically why he wasn't there on 12/31. Hey!) Lucian arrived in Canada in 2003, no French, no English. He spent 6 months at Université de Montréal learning French as part of his goal to become like us - to have the Canadian passport, to be able to vote. He became a citizen on March 26, 2012. He's very proud of his passport - he even has it with him as he essentially just got off the plane from Florida.

Let's talk boxing! Lucian's been training in Florida in preparation for May 26th when he will confront former WBF World Champion Carl Froch in Nottingham, England. Asked about going abroad to defend his IBF title, Bute talks about how it was his choice to go there. He knows he'll be in enemy territory, but he'll have all of Quebec behind him so he's not worried. "When I hear Quebecois at ringside yelling in French, it'll lift me up". Froch was quoted as saying Bute was either very confident or very stupid for coming to England for this fight. Bute believes he's just showing he's willing to do whatever he needs to prove he's the best. It's less money in England, even than it would have been in Montreal.

Initially Bute wanted to fight Andre Ward but Ward countered with some trash talk - Bute needs to pay his dues first so M. Froch it shall be. Besides, for Lucian now, it's all about the next fight, not the one after - even though it most certainly is his goal to fight the best in the world.

Dany wants to know about the coaches - Lucian is so nice, how do the coaches get him to fight? It's about work ethic. "I don't need to trash talk, the best will win." Apparently M. Bute has never even told another boxer he's smelly.

Adonis Stevenson (a guest on TLMEP on Feb 26, 2012 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfeWRaM2SMc) had a few interesting things to say about Bute then. When watching the clip, Lucian looks quietly amused. "Yes, he and I sparred, yes, in the 5th round he hit me with an uppercut that hurt me but I didn't fall. Now in the same sparring session, in the 12th round I hit him with a left that left him stunned."

Asked who hits the hardest, Lucian responds: Berrio, Glen Johsnon. Wait, Glen Johnson's your sparring partner? M. Bute responds that sparring partners are there to help, so they can't be nice. They have to push you.

One fight HBO would like to see is Bute vs. Jean Pascal but that would involve Bute going up a category - from 168 lbs to 175. He'd still love to do it - what with JP's international credibility, it would mean a lot.

It's very hard to change weight category though - everything changes, from diet to exercise. The hardest is going down - it's nearly impossible for a boxer to lose muscle mass.

Dany presents Lucian with a wonderful card (I like Dany's cards and he seems so honest when giving it out, to the point of wondering if Lucian can even read it. Which he does) "Quebec will be behind you in the ring and since the French lost in 1759 it's now up to you to get revenge."

Why this matters: Bute is 30-0 right now and is a Southpaw. This fight will likely be his toughest and it will open many doors for bigger and better things.

Bute wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucian_Bute

Quebec's been behind Bute for some time now and we love to watch him win. He's had many fights in Quebec City and in Montreal and he's contributed greatly to the popularity of the sport here in Quebec. GO LUCIAN!