(Montreal) Patrice Volny won his bet. In a thrilling final at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal, he defeated Steven Butler by stoppage by referee Alain Villeneuve in the ninth round of a thrilling fight.
In this ninth, Volny (19-1, 13 KOs) hit Butler (34-5-1, 28 KOs) solidly with several combinations to the head. Sensing Butler in difficulty, Villeneuve intervened with only 20 seconds left.
Butler did not accept this decision at all, even pushing the referee Villeneuve. Butler was in trouble, but enough to stop the fight? This decision will be talked about for a long time.
“You know, we make a lot of sacrifices. I moved to Las Vegas, far from my family, from my friends, from all distractions, Volny said. We work hard every day to get results like that. We wanted to start with Quebec, Canada. Now we want to move on. »
“I am very disappointed by the referee’s decision,” Butler unsurprisingly told reporters on site. It was a close fight; it was a good war. He had good times, but never shook me, never to the point of stopping me. […] The fight needs to be seen again. »
Regardless, Volny leaves with the Francophone means title of the World Boxing Council (WBC) and possibly a return to the top 15 worldwide.
After four very close first rounds, Volny took control of the fight from the fifth. Butler went on the attack after being shaken in the fourth, but Volny landed several hooks.
Same scenario at the sixth, seventh and eighth. The first minute of this eighth round gave rise to vicious blows from Volny. Butler suffered with difficulty and his right eye was swollen.
“I felt like I shook him a few times,” Volny said. But I couldn’t spend two minutes non-stop hitting him, even though we train for that. I had very specific instructions: my corner told me to take my time. »
Butler tried a few attacks in the ninth, but this round was all to Volny’s advantage, until Villeneuve intervened.
“Even though we weren’t at home, we felt that the cards [des juges] might not go our way. So we had to go for victory at all costs. »
He would have had nothing to fear: the three judges had the fight in Volny’s favor after eight rounds. Two had cards of 77-75, the third had 78-74.
“I am very disappointed with the referee’s decision,” Volny repeated. I felt ready to finish, there was only one round left; the ninth was practically finished. I was ready to give a 10e explosive round. »
Revenge?
Obviously, the Butler clan would like a rematch. It is less clear for the Volny clan.
“We’ll have to see. We were happy to do this fight to take us elsewhere. we’re somewhere else,” said Éric Bélanger, Volny’s coach.
However, Butler seemed to say that Volny had accepted his request.
“I told him about a rematch, he told me he would grant it to me. We gave him his chance, he now wants to give me mine. »
Fair fight
We felt a lot of respect between the two opponents throughout the fight. Each end of the round was highlighted by a nod or light contact. Each time referee Villeneuve remonstrated, the two men shook hands before continuing. When Butler pushed Volny to the ground and lost his balance, he went to help him up.
Even when Butler hit Volny below the belt in the bottom of the eighth, a hit that looked absolutely painful, the animosity between the two men rose no higher than necessary.
“It was personal because we are two boxers who want victory, but it was not a personal confrontation, if you know what I mean,” Volny tried to explain.