Coming into this week, Kelly Pavlik was well on his way to facing IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute in Montreal on November 5th after his tune-up against Darryl Cunningham in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. But as Pavlik made what he described as a ?business decision,? the entire card on Saturday was scrapped and Bute is now looking for a new dance partner.
Guess who?s ready to take that daunting assignment?
“I?m more than able and ready; I?m there. I mean, all I?m looking for is a phone call. If they call my name, I will be there,” said Glen Johnson on Wednesday afternoon. As the news broke of the Pavlik implosion, Johnson said to himself, “This is a great opportunity for me. Certainly I wish him no ill situation but if he made the decision to pull out, that opens the door for me to jump in. And I?m extremely excited about that opportunity and I?m hoping it comes my way.”
Since his June defeat at the hands of Carl Froch in the ?Super Six? semifinals, Johnson, a pro?s pro, has already gotten back to work. “I?ve been in the gym; I haven?t left the gym since then. I stepped away for about four days or so and came back and been back at the gym, touching up on a few things.”
Pavlik turned away a package of $1.35 million to face Bute. Johnson?s manager, Henry Foster, stated to Maxboxing that, “We would be accommodating and under that figure.” As for where they stand in the pecking order to pinch-hit for Pavlik, Foster said, “I think we?re pretty high up. I?m not sure there are any other qualified opponents or applicants. There have been other names tossed about, Dyah Davis, Aaron Pryor Jr., Joey Spina, but y? know, what does that really do for Bute in terms of enhancing his stature prior to competing with the winner of the ?Super Six?? I?m pretty sure Showtime will be pretty happy to have Glen in that spot. So I think we?re right in there at the top.”
Don Majeski, an agent for InterBox, which handles Bute, told Maxboxing of the process, “I don?t think it?s going to be a problem. Lucian?s a great attraction and, look, it?s always been the policy of Bute, the promotion and the fighter himself, to fight the best available fighter. And there?s been some criticism about him not fighting the best guys. Well, there?s not a fighter he?s refused to box. We tried to do [Mikkel] Kessler; we tried to do Pavlik. In terms of the ?Super Six?, he?s willing to fight, right away, the winner of [Carl] Froch and [Andre] Ward. I hope they?re willing to do that. He?s never shut the door about going outside of Canada. The problem is, nobody has ever made him a substantial offer. No one draws the kind of money outside of Canada that he does- maybe Kessler does in Denmark or some other guys but he?s willing to fight so we?ll put our heads together [with] the trainer, Jean Bedard, and come up with the best fighter out there.”
Another factor here is Showtime which, at the beginning of this year, had entered into an exclusive three-fight deal with Bute. After televising his bout against Brian Magee on March 19th (a tenth round stoppage at the Bell Centre), the network passed on broadcasting his mandatory defense against Jean Paul Mendy a few weeks ago in Romania, which ended up being a four-round blowout. However, Majeski points out, “It?s as important to the network as it is for the live gate. Remember, a substantial portion of the money [Bute] generates comes from the live gate. You can?t fool the people; nobody is going to put in somebody that they?re not going to respond to. The public is very demanding in Montreal. They?re knowledgeable as any place in the world, so they?re not going to let us go in and let us put in a nobody and that?s not what anybody wants to do. They?ll demand the best fighter out there and whoever it is, we?ll fight him.”
Right now, Johnson might be the best available boxer but it?s clear that Bute?s representatives have heard the noise about the safe cocoon they have in Montreal, where Bute has become one of the true bona fide draws in North America. If you think about it, why should he pack his bags to fight anywhere else? In an era of TV packagers who put on shows in half-empty Indian casino ballrooms, commodities like Bute are more important than ever for the boxing industry.
