Lucian Bute vs. Denis Grachev: Preview and Prediction

Lucian Bute didn’t only lose to Carl Froch, but he got destroyed and humiliated in Nottingham, England.

Will he ever bounce back?

If you were hoping to get your answer in a rematch with Carl Froch, you will just have to sit back and wait. We won’t get the answer anytime soon, as the former champion is set to face Denis Grachev in Montreal, Canada on Nov. 3 .

Now, some of you must be wondering who this opponent is.

Grachev, a Russian fighter nicknamed "The Pirate," only has 13 professional bouts under his belt. He has only boxed 57 professional rounds. In comparison, Bute has almost reach 200 rounds of action.

It will only be Grachev's fifth fight since 2010. While this number could be good for a fighter like Manny Pacquiao, I wonder how Mr. Grachev has the luxury to fight less than two fights a year.

I wonder if Montreal boxing fans will show up to this event.

Honestly, the fans got used to having below-average opponents to face Bute, but usually the name was good enough to sustain a good marketing campaign.

Now, Bute is set to face a Russian guy living in San Diego. We aren't even sure if Grachev is a boxer or a kickboxer as he performs in both sports. I’m pretty sure that the marketing department is having some headaches now.

Still, there are a few positive aspects about Grachev.

At 30 years old, he is by no means a youngster, but, theoretically, he should still be at or near the prime of his career. He is one of the youngest boxer to face Bute in the past few years.

Let's admit that it is an upgrade compared to Bute's list of recent opponents. Glen Johnson, Jean-Paul Mendy, Brian Magee and William Joppy were all over 35 when they faced the Romanian champion.

Grachev is only Bute’s second opponent to be undefeated (he has one draw). Having fought 13 times, he has yet to taste defeat.

Finally, he has faced some stiff competition in his recent bouts, even though three of his past four opponents had 11 or less fights before facing him. Actually, he never faced an opponent with more than 20 bouts under his belt.

We could point out that Grachev defeated Ismayl Sillakh—one of the most promising light heavyweight—earlier this year. However, Sillakh fought a poor fight by keeping his left hand low.

Grachev was knocked down in third round, but he won via knockout in the eighth. If we would make 10 more fights, Sillakh would win nine times out of 10.

As explained by 3morerounds.com, this fight wasn’t very close:

"

(Sillakh) dominated the battle of unbeatens for most of the fight, using quick movement and a series of combinations to build an insurmountable lead on the scorecards. Grachev, who also trains as a kick boxer, seemed out of his element with Sillakh, never truly finding a rhythm.

"

We all know that Bute needs to get his confidence back after the disaster in England.

You could argue that the Russian is aggressive and will try to fight inside. It will help Bute to practice before facing Froch a second time, but "The Pirate" is not even close to Froch’s level.

It will be an easy fight for Lucian Bute. Grachev will never be a threat in this one. Expect a win by way of knockout for the former Romanian champion.