We cannot accuse Steven Butler of having lacked courage. But Zhanibek Alimkhanuly made him pay dearly for his presence in the same ring as him, at Stockton Arena, in California.
Butler (32-4-1, 26 KOs) visited the mat three times in the second round before the referee called an end to hostilities and Alimkhanuly (14-0, 9 KOs) retains his World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight title.
The Kazakh first knocked Butler down with a powerful left uppercut to the face early in the second round. Butler remained standing, but he was no longer there. Alimkhanuly then hit him with a series of power shots before the 27-year-old Montrealer finally hit the canvas.
Still shaken after the count of eight, Butler was no longer able to come back in this duel. Two combinations sent him to the mat a second time.
Referee Jack Reiss generously gave him one last chance. It makes you wonder if he shouldn’t have stopped the fight immediately: Butler no longer seemed solid on his legs after the first fall and was no longer able to block his opponent’s attacks.
The Kazakh returned to the charge and wasted no time in causing a third and final crash.
Butler did not start the fight badly, however, delivering an honest first round, during which the two opponents studied each other. Butler landed some good jabs and his strategy of moving around his opponent in an attempt to surprise him on the counterattack seemed the best.
But Buddy McGirt, Alimkhanuly’s coach, read Butler’s game well and the few technical adjustments he demanded of his protege, in particular to cut the distance between Butler and him, quickly paid off, with the known result.
Second league defeat for Butler
Alimkhanuly thus managed a first official defense of his title. He had won the interim title by passing the K.-O. to Danny Dignum last May. He confirmed his place on the WBO chessboard by beating Denzel Bentley by unanimous decision in November.
Butler meanwhile missed a second chance to get his hands on a world title. He had lost by K.-O. technique ahead of Ryota Murata for the World Boxing Association (WBA) middleweight title in December 2019.
The one who defends the colors of Eye of the Tiger Management was ranked sixth WBO contender and 11e to the International Boxing Federation (IBF) before the fight. We will have to see if this defeat against possibly the most formidable pugilist in the division currently will make him go back.
In the semi-finals, the Australian Jason Moloney (26-2, 19 KOs) and the Filipino Vincent Astrolabio (18-4, 13 KOs) faced off for the vacant bantamweight title of the WBO.
Moloney got his hands on the belt by winning a majority decision. One of the judges ruled that the fight ended in a draw of 114-114; the other two fell to the Australian, 116-112 and 115-113.