STOCKTON, CA | Steven Butler (32-4-1) couldn’t resist a devastating left from Janibek Alimkhanuly (14-0-0) and lost by KO at 2:35 of the second round in a fight of WBO World Middleweight Championship held at Stockton Arena on Saturday night.
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The referee ended the duel after Butler’s third visit to the floor in the second engagement of the bout scheduled for twelve rounds.
It was not possible to speak to Butler after the fight as he was being checked by doctors, but his team assured us that he was fine and quick-witted despite three floor visits.
Things had started well for the Montrealer, but things quickly went wrong in the first minute of the second period.
The Kazakh, for whom it was a ninth knockout, shifted into second gear and unleashed an attack that rocked the 27-year-old aspirant.
Butler, who said he wasn’t bothered by Janibek being left-handed, fell victim to the champion’s weapon of choice as he opened his guard with a powerful perfecting left that led to two more fast lefts that dispatched him on the floor for the first time.
Shaken
The Quebecer was shaken by this gust and already no longer seemed stable on his feet after the referee’s count.
Janibek continued to attack as Butler’s guard gaped. He took the opportunity to send him a left uppercut which made him bend his knees and then fall a second after another left.
The Quebecer, still shaky, bravely returned in front of Janibek, but his legs no longer followed and he was unable to defend himself against a champion who smelled of blood.
Janibek finished off his opponent the same way, with a powerful left and Butler fell into the cables. It was finished.
Perhaps the official should have stopped the fight after the second count because Butler was no longer able to defend himself.
In his corner, we shouted at him to hang on to spend the last seconds of the round, but he was unable to do so.
Disappointing
It’s a result that is certainly disappointing for Butler who had big ambitions before this fight against Janibek.
He said he was in the best shape of his life before a fight and everything led to believe that he would be able to hold on.
The Quebecer thus lost for the second time in a world championship fight. In December 2019, he lost to Japan’s Ryota Murata in a WBA world title fight.
Besides, Butler’s four losses were all by knockout.
Wish fulfilled
A crowd favorite, Janibek defended his title for the second time and now intends to extend his supremacy with a unification bout.
Defiant after the fight, he did not hesitate to say that he wanted to settle the account of his opponent soon enough when the host of the evening asked him what his strategy was.
“I wanted to sort this out very, very quickly,” he said in broken English.