MANTECA, CA | There is sometimes a folkloric side to the press conferences before the boxing matches, which was not the case on Thursday, two days before the confrontation between Steven Butler and Janibek Alimkhanuly.
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The most important card boxers, including Butler, were on the stage while Janibek continued to wait.
He arrived smiling in a pink jacket that contrasted with Butler’s all-black outfit.
Janibek took the time to shake everyone’s hands and ended up with Butler holding his gaze for long seconds, but after the champion had turned his attention elsewhere.
Clearly Butler did not come to Northern California as a tourist.
The gloves fall
The gloves still fell during Question Time, but it did so in a very civilized manner.
It was Butler who fired the first volley when the promoter reminded him that he had recently said he wanted to KO Janibek.
“I’m not afraid of anyone, Janibek is a good boxer and I can’t say anything bad about him. I respect him because he gives me the chance to face him. Several boxers don’t want to face him, I want the belt. He made a big mistake when he chose me as his opponent.
And how does Butler intend to go about sacking the world champion, who has a record of thirteen wins in as many professional bouts? Butler froze a bit, perhaps because of the language barrier, before recovering.
“You have to be there to know how I’m going to KO him.”
Inviolable
Steven Butler has therefore decided to play the rising Rebellion card, which is perfectly normal. It’s up to him to prove he can steal the championship belt from Janibek.
For his part, the Kazakh showed the confidence of a man who never lost. But it’s a dangerous game.
“He says what he thinks, but I’m going to show him that not only can he knock me out, he can’t even touch me,” he said confidently in his native tongue.
At the end of the press conference, the two men met in person for the photo shoot. One’s gaze fell into the other’s, less than an inch apart, they held the pose with intensity for a good minute before being separated.
The two men then exchanged a handshake and a few words. It would have been nice to be a little bird and know what they said to each other.