Two of Canada’s most popular boxers will do battle December 7. Jean Pascal will meet Lucian Bute for the fledgling WBC Diamond light heavyweight title. Bute who is most famously known for being a former super middleweight titlist is making the move up to light heavyweight. He has fought previously at light heavyweight before. Bute (31-1) is a two-time NABF light heavyweight titlist, including claiming the belt his last time out against Denis Grachev. That win for Bute was a rebound performance following the only loss of his career, a fifth round TKO thanks to the hands of Carl Froch. Still, Pascal is the naturally bigger guy and will likely carry his weight better.
Pascal (27-2-1) also has a loss to Froch and was also coming off of a loss his last time out. The defeat he was trying to put in the rear view mirror was a unanimous decision loss to Bernard Hopkins. Pascal ended up getting a 10th round unanimous decision win over Alesky Kuziemski. Just like Bute, Pascal has also held super middleweight titles. In a match up of fighters with similarities, a difference maker might be the amount of power the fighters have. Bute has a higher KO percentage, getting 24 knockouts in his 31 wins. A total of seven of those knockouts have come in his last nine fights. On the other hand, Pascal has 16 knockouts in his 27 wins. Only one of those knockouts came in his last seven fights. The argument can be made that Pascal has fought a higher quality of fighter throughout his career, but the edge in power still goes to Bute.
This piece of news might foreshadow a little of what to expect in the fight. The left handed Bute will try to stalk Pascal and catch him with his body shots and deadly left uppercut. Still, it will be interesting to see how the taller Bute will get inside of Pascal. Bute, who is 6-foot-1, has a two-inch height advantage over Pascal and will have a hard time getting inside. For his part, Pascal will try to get in position to use his left and right hooks to stem Bute’s advances. It will be important for him to navigate the ring to avoid getting into careless exchanges with Bute. While Pascal can take punches and has a very good chin, he could lose the fight on points if Bute finds too much success on the inside.
The fight will take place in Montreal. Pascal, who will be 31 years old come fight time, grew up in the Montreal area after coming from Haiti when he was 4 years old. The 33-year-old Bute, who was born in Romania, gained his Canadian citizenship last year and just like Pascal has fought the majority of his career in Montreal. It will be interesting to see whether the crowd pick a side or show equal love for both fighters.
Pascal was installed the early favourite in the fight that was supposed to happen last May, but was postponed after Bute injured his hand.
Jean Pascal v Lucian Bute Odds - Jean Pascal v Lucian Bute Betting
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