Unbeaten Bute faces ex-champ Johnson

Undefeated southpaw Lucian Bute will try to set up an undisputed super-middleweight title showdown with a victory over former light-heavyweight world champion Glen Johnson on Saturday. Bute, 29-0 with 24 knockouts, makes the ninth defence of the International Boxing Federation title he won in 2007. Only one of the Canadian-based Romanian's past nine fights has gone the distance. Jamaican-born Johnson, who at age 42 gives up 11 years to the champion, is 51-15 with two drawn and 35 knockouts. Johnson has lost four of his past eight fights and all five world title bouts in the past five years. "Glen Johnson has seen everything in boxing," Bute said. "He has tremendous experience and I know him as a friend. But I am also getting ready for a fight. I'm very confident. "I did not take him lightly because I know that a victory over Glen will catapult me to the next level." Bute comes into the fight off a fourth-round knockout of French southpaw Jean Paul Mendy last July in Romania, only the second fight Bute has ever staged in his homeland. Johnson's last bout was a majority-decision defeat at the hands of Britain's Carl Froch, who fights unbeaten American Andre Ward next month to unify the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council super-middleweight titles. An unbeaten Bute would be the perfect next foe for the Ward-Froch winner, provided former sparring partner Johnson does not turn back the clock and spoil the plan. "It's going to be a war," Johnson said. "It's going to be very exciting. It will be a tremendous fight." Bute and Johnson were sparring partners in 2009, trading blows for nearly 100 rounds while Johnson was preparing to fight Chad Dawson and Bute was training to meet Librado Andrade. "Sparring is always different than a real fight," Bute said. "I think from the two of us, I gained the most in that sparring. I came there and built my confidence. "It was hard sparring. We wanted to win every day. It was competitive. It was great and I think I improved and proved my confidence." Johnson said he gained from the exchange as well. "It was great work. Both of us accomplished our goal," Johnson said. "We were doing hard work and I believe both of us got better. "I have a lot of respect for Lucian but I'm going to go out there and give it my all and resume our friendship later." Stephan Larouche, Bute's trainer, recalled that Bute-Johnson sparring sessions turned other fighters into spectators. "When Glen and Lucian would spar, everyone in the gym would stop training to watch them fight," Larouche said. "As a trainer, I thought, 'If this is a sparring session, what would a fight be like?' We all get to find out Saturday." Bute said he felt no pressure to score a more decisive victory over Johnson than Froch managed last June to try and set up a fight against the Ward-Froch winner. Bute said because of fighting styles, he would love to face Froch. "I don't feel any pressure trying to do better than Carl Froch," Bute said. "I have my own style and he has his style. That was their fight. This is my fight. I don't give myself any additional pressure to do better than him."