(Shawinigan) It wasn’t exciting, but it was effective. Steven Butler retained his North American Boxing Federation (NABF) middleweight belt by unanimous decision over Joshua Conley after a highly technical, lackluster and difficult to judge fight.
As proof, the three judges do not agree on the pace of the fight, while they gave cards of 99-91, 97-93 and 96-94, all in favor of Butler (32-2-1 , 26 KOs).
Conley (17-5-1, 11 KOs), proved tough and hard to hit solidly: hard to find a single time Buitler was able to hit him hard with more than one shot at a time .
The boxer from San Bernardino, California, meanwhile, followed a specific game plan, which obviously focused on the counter-attack. If he hit the target in an interesting way on a few occasions, he too was unable to shake his rival.
Both boxers were slow to get going and the first four bouts were tough. Rarely have we seen two boxers expend so much energy without getting results. Even the crowd seemed exhausted it was so quiet.
Without being spectacular, the Montrealer led the attacks and dictated the tone in most of the rounds, even if he had all the trouble in the world installing his jab. Apart from the eighth, the only round in our eyes clearly to the advantage of the American, Butler was in control from start to finish.
Surely feeling the need for a K.-O. to win, Conley tried to open the machine at 10e, but Butler managed to keep him at bay. The judges’ decision confirmed everything a few minutes later.
Chabot learns the hard way
For the first time in his career, Shawinigan boxer Thomas Chabot (8-0, 7 K.-O.) had to box further than the third round and it was not easy.
Jonathan Carillo Baranda (4-3) offered quite the opposition and after a dubious fall in the first round — a right hook to the head or a slipping foot? — the Mexican featherweight slowly gained the upper hand, particularly in the fifth, when he laid Chabot down twice.
A violent hook to the face first made the local favorite visit the mat for the first time in his career. Not completely recovered, Chabot beat the count, but he quickly found himself on the mat following a combination. He did, however, have a good last minute and a strong sixth round, so the judges awarded him a 57-54 win and two 56-55 wins. We can understand the frustration of Carillo Baranda, who violently threw his cowboy hat to the ground in spite after the announcement of the decision.
A little earlier, Alexandre Gaumont (5-0, 3 K.-O.) quickly won against the Mexican Pablo Polanco Fernandez (9-11, 3 K.-O.), sending him to the mat in each of the first two rounds. The Gatineau middleweight finished the job in the third round. A solid left hook to the face sent Polanco Fernandez into the cables, before a combination of power shots ended his night after 1:45 of action.
The lightweight Luis Santana (8-0, 2 KOs) had an entertaining fight against Mexican Jonathan Uribe Hernandez (4-1-2, 1 KOs), inflicting his first professional loss by decision. Uribe Hernandez looked good, but did not receive the favor of the judges in this duel, the three maps unanimously going to the side of the Montrealer, 60-54.
As a curtain raiser, the super-feather Leila Beaudoin (8-0, 1 K.-O.) worked hard, but she still triumphed over the Icelandic Valgerdur Gudstensdottir (5-4, 1 K.-O. .) by unanimous decision with cards at 60-54 and twice 59-55.