Both RING No. 3-rated, IBF super middleweight beltholder Lucian Bute and former titleholder Glen Johnson say that they would consider a bout opposite 46-year-old WBC light heavyweight titleholder Bernard Hopkins beyond their Showtime-televised clash on Saturday night from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
A Romanian-born left-hander, the 31-year-old Bute is 29-0, with 24 knockouts and will be in pursuit of his seventh consecutive stoppage when he enters the ring against the durable, 42-year-old Johnson (51-15-1, 35 KOs) at Pepsi Coliseum.
Hopkins is coming off a controversial fight against Chad Dawson on Oct. 15, in which Dawson was initially declared a second-round technical knockout victor when Hopkins suffered an apparent shoulder injury. The WBC voted to declare the fight a technical draw and let Hopkins keep his belt, though the California Athletic Commission has yet to rule on an official appeal filed on behalf of Hopkins by his promoter, Golden Boy.
Hopkins had been considering Bute as an opponent if he got beyond Dawson, and Bute said he would still consider the future Hall of Famer as a viable opponent.
For Johnson, a clash with Hopkins would amount to a shot at revenge. Johnson was unbeaten at 32-0 in July 1997 before being knocked out for the only time in his career in the 11th round by Hopkins.Johnson also offered his opinion on the way that Hopkins-Dawson ended.
Against Bute, Johnson will be taking part in his third fight at 168 pounds after having fought 22 consecutive times as a light heavyweight.
Johnson is coming off a unanimous-decision loss to WBC beltholder Carl Froch (28-1, 20 KOs) in June in the semifinals of Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic.Froch will meet WBA super middleweight counterpart Andre Ward (24-0, 13 KOs) for THE RING and Super Six championships on Dec. 17.
Johnson's career-best efforts were in successive victories over Roy Jones by ninth-round knockout, by decision over Clinton Woods, and by split-decision over Antonio Tarver in 2004, earning him Fighter of the Year honors. - http://ringtv.craveonline.com
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