MIAMI, Florida, CMC – Jamaican Glen “The Road Warrior” Johnson will meet super middleweight champion Lucian Bute in Canada this November and says he is looking forward to the clash.
Bute, who holds the International Boxing Federation belt, will enter the contest as favourite especially boasting an undefeated record but Johnson said he was confident he could come away with a win.
“I’m extremely excited about this fight. You will see the best Glen Johnson of the past few years,” said the former world light heavyweight champion.
“I’m coming to Canada to derail the Bute train and bring the IBF belt back to the United States. My thanks to SHOWTIME (television network) for keeping me in the mix of world-class super middleweights and for doing so much for my career.”
The 42-year-old Johnson is an 18-year-old veteran who carries a record of 51 wins, 15 losses and two draws. He has scored 35 knock-outs.
Bute, meanwhile, possesses an untainted record of 29-0 with 24 KOs following his July 9 knock out of Jean Paul Mendy.
The Canada-based Bute, who is Romania-born, has taken six straight wins inside the distance and has held the IBF title for the last four years.
“I expect a very tough fight. I know Glen, and he’s an aggressive fighter who will put relentless pressure on me,” Bute said.
“Everybody knows I sparred with him in 2009, but sparring and fighting are different. I become another person during a fight and you can be sure I’ll have a few surprises for Glen.
“Glen’s a former world champion and he will be in a great shape. He fought hard against a lot of big names in boxing. This is a good challenge for me and beating Johnson is going to solidify my place among the elite in the super middleweight division.”
In his most recent outing, Johnson lost to Carl Froch in a robust 12-round contest in the Super Six World Boxing Classic semi-final last June.
