Steven Butler made a successful return to the ring by getting knocked out. against Ivan Alvarez in the 9th round on Tuesday night at the Montreal Casino.
Butler (33-4-1, 27 KOs) won this middleweight (162-pound) bout almost six months to the day after his WBO world championship loss to Janibek Alimkhanuly in Stockton, California.
“I’m back and there will be a big fight that will be announced shortly,” Butler said minutes after his victory, the first in his association with trainer John Scully.
“I liked it, he picked me up emotionally. I think it will bear fruit in the future,” explained the boxer, who left his family in Quebec to settle in New England and work with Scully.
Hard fight
On paper, Mexican Ivan Alvarez (32-15-4, 21 KOs) seemed like easy prey for a return to competition, but he made life difficult for Butler before falling to the mat twice in the 9th. Official Yvon Goulet ended his ordeal after his second fall at 2:36.
Butler sent his opponent to the ground for the first time, rocking him with a powerful right that was followed by a barrage of punches. From then on, Alvarez was shaky.
But he made life difficult for Bang Bang and things could have escalated in the fourth round when the boxers continued to trade blows after the bell. To prevent things from getting out of hand, the coaches had to intervene.
Butler needed to complete the work before deciding to make this return to be convincing, especially since he was fighting an unequal battle.
“I tried to keep the game plan of working him to the body when he was around me. I think I broke him down over time, I felt his energy waning.”
emotions
Butler let his guard down on a few occasions and taunted Alvarez. He admits that he was caught up in the game of his opponent, who regularly beat him solidly.
“He caught me emotionally, he threw a lot at me and I let myself be fooled, I didn’t get too involved in his emotional game, but I got into it.”
“I started lowering my hands and taunting her a little bit more, and I’m not proud of that. It’s a fight I can learn from.”
We also saw a more expressive Steven Butler than usual. We even heard him let out a scream when he hit Alvarez pretty hard in one scene.
“I gave him a push in the body and heard him making noises because I had hurt him. I wanted to show him we were here and I wanted to put on a good show.”
Khataev hits hard
Eye of the Tiger Management’s new nugget, Russian light heavyweight (180 pounds) Imam Khataev (5-0-0, 5 KOs), maintained his perfect record by defeating Mexico’s Fernandu Galvan (8-9-1, 2). KOs) dismissed. by referee interruption at 0:44 of the second round.
Khataev had a reputation as a solid puncher and he didn’t disappoint. He knocked his opponent down from the start of the first round and Galvan visited the mat before the end of the fight. He could never get over it. We have to keep our eyes open for Khataev, who has more than interesting potential.
EOTTM contender Wilkens Mathieu (5-0-0 and 3 KOs) worked hard to win his super middleweight (170 lb) fight against Poland’s Grzegorz Mardyla (1-011, 1 KO), which he won by unanimous decision won decision (60-54 for the three judges). Once the surprise of the appearance was over with his very short shorts, his knee-length compression socks and his espadrilles, the Pole offered a tough resistance to the boxer from Quebec, taking everything without flinching and also being quick in his movements .
In the first fight of the evening at middleweight (164 lbs), Frenchman Moreno Fendero (2-0-0, 1 KO) quickly defeated Mexican Cristian Lopez Lozano (2-3-0). At the end of the first round he found himself on the ropes again after a fierce left hook from Fendero. The Frenchman continued his attack in the second round and the referee ended hostilities after 1:05.
For his part, the light heavyweight (176 pounds) from Turkey, Mehmet Unal (7-0-0, 6 KOs), defeated the forced Mexican Jaime Hernandez Lopez (10-11-0, 4 KOs). gave up after two rounds due to a shoulder injury.