Lucian Bute has found his confidence again

Few professional athletes are willing to ever admit what Lucian Bute did on the eve of what could be the final title shot of his career.

The former super middleweight champion, who challenges champion Badou Jack on Saturday in Washington, D.C., in a bout televised on Showtime, admitted he went through a crisis of confidence.

Even as he stepped into the ring for his last title bout, an enthralling back-and-forth battle he eventually lost to James DeGale last year, Bute harbored doubts about his ability to do what had for so long come naturally to him.

"I had lost my confidence and it was difficult," Bute told Yahoo Sports. "I had doubts before that fight."
Confidence is as critical for a fighter as speed, power and a stinging jab. If a boxer doesn't believe he can do it, chances are he won't.
It was a strange spot that Bute found himself in. He won his first world title on Oct. 19, 2007, when he stopped Alejandro Berrio in the 11th round in Montreal to win the IBF super middleweight belt.
He kept it for nearly five years, an extraordinary period by modern boxing standards, making nine consecutive successful defenses, before being stopped in the fifth on May 26, 2012, by Carl Froch.
Whether that was the beginning of his problems is difficult to say, but after winning 30 in a row to start his career, the Froch fight was the first loss in a stretch that saw him go 2-3 in his next five.
He was routed by archrival Jean Pascal in a light heavyweight bout on Jan. 18, 2014, making him question everything.
"I lost my passion to compete after the fight with Pascal," Bute said. "I was confused and I wasn't confident and I didn't really know what was going on."
He hired Howard Grant to train him not long after that fight because he felt he needed a new spark. He'd long been trained by Stephen Larouche, and the pair had gone to great heights together.

But after the loss to Pascal, Bute knew something wasn't quite right, even though he couldn't put his finger on it. He'd suffered through some injuries, particularly to his hands, and he seemed mentally burned out.

He took some time off to ponder his career and came to the conclusion a change in trainers would be in order.

"Larouche and I were 12 years together, and it was beautiful together for a while," he said. "I became the world champion and we did a lot of good things."

It was subtle at first, but during the end of his tenure with Larouche, he moved his head less often and let his hands go less frequently.

He was being hit more and hitting back less.
He knew Grant since Grant trained fighters in Montreal, where he lives, and Grant had been in the opposite corner when Bute had fought Librado Andrade twice.
After a 19-month layoff, he took a tune-up on Aug. 15, 2015, and stopped Andrea Di Luisa in the fourth. That set the stage for his bout with DeGale.

DeGale had won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, and had won a world title in Boston on May 23, 2015, when he defeated Andre Dirrell.

It was a formidable task for Bute, and even he wasn't sure he was up to it as he made that long, lonely walk to the ring.

"I started very slowly, three rounds or so, and I wasn't sure about what I was doing," he said. "My corner was telling me to be more aggressive and let my hands go and I think after the fourth or the fifth, I could feel a change."

The old Bute was back, and he put up a spirited effort in what turned out to be a unanimous decision loss to DeGale.
It led him into Saturday's bout with Jack, whom Bute called a very good fighter who "does everything well but does nothing special."

Bute is 36, but said he's now revitalized. He hopes to use a win over Jack on Saturday to earn a rematch with DeGale, who faces Rogelio Medina in the other televised bout.

His weight was on point and he said on Thursday morning he only needed to lose a pound before Friday’s weigh-in.

"My new trainer and my team, my entourage, they've done a lot for me, and they've helped get me back to where I was," he said. "My confidence is very good. I'm healthy and I'm excited to fight and I feel stronger than ever."