Lucian Bute (R) attempting to defend his IBF super middleweight title against Carl Froch in 2012; Bute was knocked out in the fifth round. Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images.

Former IBF super middleweight titleholder Lucian Bute has pulled out of a Dec. 6 bout against Roberto Bolonti with a back injury, according to Ian Ederly, director of operations at InterBox.

Bute (31-2, 24 knockouts) had been working for about two months with Freddie Roach, having joined the trainer and WBO welterweight titleholder Manny Pacquiao in the Philippines in advance of Pacquiao’s defense against Chris Algieri.

“It’s a disappointment to announce that Lucian Bute, after getting injured in training, is forced to miss December 6th card at the Bell Center,” read a release from Jean Bedard of InterBox.

“It’s important to note that the gala will still take place,” read the release. “Considering the circumstances … it’s hard for InterBox to evaluate the situation from a distance. More details will be known when he’ll return to North America.”

Bute, 34, is 1-2 in his past three fights, having fallen by unanimous decision to former titleholder Jean Pascal in a light heavyweight bout at Bell Centre in January.

Prior to facing Pascal, Bute scored a unanimous decision victory over previously unbeaten Denis Grachev in November 2012 to rebound from a fifth round knockout loss to Carl Froch in May 2012.

The card will still feature Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KOs) returning to the site of his last win over Bute, doing so against Donovan George (26-4-2, 22 KOs).

“Even though it’s a sad news for Lucian and his fans,” said Bedard, “the December 6th gala is important for Jean Pascal’s future and the world of boxing.”

Pascal, 32, won for the third straight time against Bute, having also scored a unanimous decision over Aleksy Kuziemski and a fifth-round knockout of George Blades since losing his WBC title via unanimous decision to Bernard Hopkins in May 2011.

George, 30, is coming off a unanimous decision over Dyah Davis in August.

In addition to the Pascal-George fight, Bedard said that there will be a live, in-arena broadcast of Saturday’s HBO-televised junior middleweight bout between Canadian David Lemieux (32-2, 30 KOs) and Gabriel Rosado (21-8, 13 KOs) from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“With Pascal, the broadcasting of Lemieux’s fight at the Bell Centre and more announcements coming for the undercard,” said Bedard, “the boxing fan will have a quality night.”