On Saturday, April 30, 2016, WBC Super Middleweight champion Badou Jack (20-1-1, 12 KOs) and former world champion Lucian Bute (32-3, 25 KOs) battle in a 12-round bout at the DC Armory in Washington, DC.
The Showtime Championship Doubleheader begins at 10:00, pm EST and also features IBF Super Middleweight champion James DeGale defending his title against Rogelio Medina.
The plan, according to Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza, is to have the winners of both fights face each other later this year in a unification bout which ups the ante for each fighter.
“We didn’t just make two fights here,” said Espinoza during the kick-off press conference in Washington, DC. “We’ve got the winners of these fights fighting later in the year in a unification match.”
Only two years ago, not many people would have bet that Bute would still be fighting on a championship level with an actual chance to win a title.
But, after putting on a solid showing against DeGale in November of 2015, Bute feels he’s back at his best and is ready to shock Jack.
“My confidence level wasn’t at 100 percent before I fought James DeGale,” said Bute during a recent media day workout. “But now it’s all back after performing the way I did against him.”
Many boxing fans and scribes had all but written Bute off after inactivity and a lackluster performance against Jean Pascal in January of 2014. Although he came up short in the DeGale fight, Bute did show that he’s still got some fight left in him.
“It’s true, I’m 36 years old, but I still have some good years ahead of me in professional boxing,” said Bute.
While experience is certainly on Bute’s side, it’s not often that you hear an older fighter talking about speed being an advantage, but that’s exactly what Bute feels may be a key to victory.
“He’s a good boxer, but he’s not exceptional and he makes mistakes,” said Bute. “My experience and my speed will make the difference.”
It remains to be seen whether or not Bute can string together two consecutive high-level performances, but he’s confident that he’s got what it takes.
“I have a new team. They are changing some things in my work. My confidence is 100 percent. I’m working every day very tough and I am confident that everything will be great for April 30.”
