NOTTINGHAM, England -- It could be described as the calm before the storm but IBF super-middleweight champ Lucian Bute had a quiet day Thursday as he prepared to defend his title this weekend against Carl Froch. . Bute used the day to hit the gym for a private training session in a modest section of Nottingham about 10 minutes from the city centre. Jean Bedard, president of Interbox and Butes promoter, joked that the facility smelled a bit like a hockey locker-room. Everyone in the fighters entourage is anxious for the moment when the first punches are thrown on Saturday. Bedard is aware that once the bout is over, hell be getting calls from other promoters, which could result in a bout with one of Butes other rivals, Mikkel Kessler, who will be attending the fight. "Kessler might be an attractive option," Bedard said in an interview. Bute himself isnt giving much thought to Kessler at the moment but Bedard, as a promoter, is focused on the next step because Bute will want to know what happens after the fight. "On Monday, Lucian will want to know before going on vacation when hes starting again," said Bedard, who also heads the Cage au sports restaurant chain. "Hell be continuing his quest." Bedard said that quest is aimed at being recognized as one of the best boxers in the world, if not one of the greatest boxers ever. Those are big ambitions but not misplaced ones, the promoter noted, and were part of the reason the Romanian-born Montrealer accepted a less attractive purse than usual. "Hes motivated now by a lot more than money and fame," said Bedard, noting thats perfectly consistent with his own approach even if he has to take a shortfall sometimes. "There are two ways of doing things -- either you always fight as profitably as possible or you set a medium and a long term. Sometimes just taking a step back or making a sacrifice in income can lead you somewhere." That somewhere can lead to a payday. "Lucian is at a level where its not about money," Bedard said, pointing out Bute wants to be known as the best fighter at his weight level. "To get there, you have to go through fights like Saturdays. He has to shown hes able to go outside, that hes willing to go up against the best available. "We didnt necessarily have a lot of options for that, except to go back against guys who want to make a name at Lucians expense. But Lucian is looking forward. "To do this, he had to make a (financial) sacrifice but its a calculated sacrifice that everyone is comfortable with." There was a time a few years ago when Bute could have gone with an American promoter but he would have risked ending up with a less scrupulous boss. Instead, he stuck with Interbox and appreciated their decision to let him take on Librado Andrande and also defend his title in his native Romania as he did last year. "Its really a partnership between us, we make the decisions together," Bedard said. "Were on the same wavelength. I know Lucians goals and Lucian knows why hes in boxing. There are no lengthy discussions on the next step." Bute is also serving as an inspiration to some of Interboxs other fighters, including Pier-Olivier Cote, a Quebecer who will take on Brit Mark Lloyd in one of the preliminary bouts on Saturday at the Capital FM Arena. "I dont have idols but if I have an example at Interbox, its Lucian," he said. "And he had a good model in Eric Lucas. "Lucian is very focused in that he does, hes determined, he has goals, he trains hard, he really does, as he proved in learning French," Cote said. "Hes a good example in all ways so the kids watching him cant go wrong in imitating a guy like that." Bedard also said he thinks its an advantage that Interbox is part of Sportscene Group, a diversified company, which is helpful when it comes to negotiations. The cold, hard cash is not always a key point. "Its good for our boxers because its not life-and-death when were negotiating," Bedard said. "We look at the whole situation, how it can help promote the sport in general and fuel our other platforms." [url=http://www.cheapnfljerseys2015.us.com/]jerseys from china . A trip to the Santiago Bernabeu looked to have consigned City to the harshest of starts to the continents premier club competition but the English champions will be relishing the chance to pile more misery on Madrid. The Spanish giants have dropped eight points from a possible 12 in the defence of their La Liga title, leaving the team in the unusual position of mid-table and prompting heavy criticism from coach Jose Mourinho about the players lack of commitment and spirit. wholesale jerseys . One day after being released by the Calgary Stampeders, the veteran receiver, who has been battling injuries, will visit with Argonauts team doctors on Monday. http://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/ . -- Chris Pontius curled a shot off the left wing into the far right corner in the 82nd minute, his first goal of the season, as the D. . Beckham joined the club amid a whirl of flashbulbs last week in an unexpected move, signing a five-month deal until the end of the season. [url=http://www.jerseysnflcheapchina.com/]jerseys from china . Jason Garrison and Henrik Sedin scored third-period goals to help the Canucks overcome a 2-1 second-period deficit en route to a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday.With the NHL trade deadline just over two weeks away, teams around the league seem to be in a holding pattern. The rumour mill is running at a steady rate - as is normal for trade season - yet with all the names supposedly in play, no big names have yet swapped jerseys. The Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens completed the years highest profile trade to date, when the Flames re-acquired Michael Cammalleri and others for a package including Rene Bourque. But that was exactly one month ago and not the type of transaction one would classify as a "deadline deal". By this date last year, the Toronto Maple Leafs had already dealt Francois Beauchemin to Anaheim for Joffrey Lupul and Jake Gardiner. The Ottawa Senators, too, had sent Mike Fisher to Nashville. So, who will be the first domino to fall and get things rolling? Many teams are likely still assessing their realistic chances at the playoffs. Aside from the Carolina Hurricanes, every team currently out of the Eastern Conference playoffs trail the eight-place Toronto Maple Leafs by eight points or less with 25 games (or more) remaining. The Western Conference presents a similar picture, with only the Edmonton Oilers, Columbus Blue Jackets and the suddenly surging Ducks lagging behind the pacck. nfl jerseys china. . The difference between the eight-place Phoenix Coyotes and the 12th place Minnesota Wild is just four points. So, is it just a matter of the race being too close to call with two weeks remaining? Or does a domino need to fall to kick trade season into high gear? Or is it becoming too difficult to make blockbuster deals in the salary cap era. The big names and helpful depth players are out there, even amongst those few teams that appear to be out of the race, but who will be the first to connect the dots on a deadline deal? The Flames and Hurricanes have been the most active so far in 2012. In addition to the Cammalleri deal, the Flames shipped Brendan Morrison to Chicago. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, moved Alexei Ponikarovsky to New Jersey, as well as completing a depth swap with Florida. Jeff Carter still remains in Columbus. The Oilers have pending unrestricted free agent Ales Hemsky. Will the Ducks part with Ryan Getzlaf? So, who will be the first big name to be dealt? Or will no big names be traded before February 27? As always, its Your! Call. And dont forget to tune into NHL on TSN: Countdown to TradeCentre, Monday at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. TSNs coverage of TradeCentre 2012 begins Monday, February 27th at 8am et/5am pt. ' ' '