Steven Butler and Steve Rolls have each tasted big fights. But it is their clash on Thursday, with a local flavor, which could dictate the rest of their careers at middleweight.
Butler (33-4-1, 27 KOs) and Rolls (22-3, 12 KOs) both need a victory at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal to move their careers forward interesting.
” It’s all or nothing (do or die),” Rolls said during Tuesday’s press conference.
This is because both men want to see their rankings resume an upward trend. The 28-year-old Montrealer has been excluded from the world’s top 15 since his final defeat in the world championship against Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in May 2023. Rolls, a 38-year-old Torontonian, wants to find his way back to major fights — and lucrative — after losing the North American middleweight belt of the International Boxing Federation (IBF) to Austin Williams in September.
“I can’t think any further than Thursday,” Butler said, unsurprisingly, when it was pointed out to him that it could well be a duel without a future. I don’t think about what might happen next. I have my job to do. I prepared the same way I usually do.
“I don’t think who I might face in six months. I want to win on Thursday. I take it personal: he wants to take bread off my children’s table. I think it’s going to be a very interesting fight,” he added.
“It’s mainly because of the rankings,” Rolls explained. At my age I feel very good and people will be able to see that I am in great shape on Thursday. But in terms of rankings, I still feel that I am one of the best means in the world. And to get another title shot, I have to defeat Butler. »
Emotional fight
Camille Estephan, president of Eye of the Tiger Management, has been involved in Butler’s career since his professional debut. When Butler, still very young, came to a press conference for the preliminary fights of David Lemieux’s galas, most of the time, Estephan presented him as the “Sidney Crosby of boxing”.
Butler had two chances to get his hands on a world title. Both times he was stopped before the limit. Estephan knows just as well as his boxer that Thursday’s fight is essential for the future. That’s why he’s so excited as this evening approaches.
“I don’t like these fights anymore! I prefer to be a little less emotionally invested, he said. Steven, this is personal for me. He’s a guy who came off the street, saved by boxing. We failed twice in the biggest leagues; This is our chance to go back a third time and get another chance to become world champion. There is a lot at stake.
“It’s definitely a bit of a no-brainer for Steven. But in boxing, it’s always about how you win, but also how you lose. […] I have always been his promoter. We have had a successful journey together and I would like it to continue,” Estephan continued.
This fight will ensure the final of the gala, which will offer nine duels, including the Montreal return of Osleys Iglesias (9-0, 8 KOs), super middleweight champion of the International Boxing Organization (IBO), who will face Argentinian veteran Marcelo Coceres (32-6-1, 18 KOs).
Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (6-1, 2 KOs) will try to become the first EOTTM boxer since Lemieux to win a world championship against Argentina’s Abril Argentina Vidal (10-1, 4 KO). The two pugilists will try to get their hands on the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title.
Arthur Biyarslanov, Luis Santana, Mehmet Unal, Jhon Orobio and Wilkens Mathieu will also be in action. The first shots will be exchanged from 7 p.m. The gala is sold out, but can be followed on PunchingGrace.com.