all set
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This one should be easy pickings for the Monster.
Good for Paul Butler that he has taken this opportunity. It will feel like a lamb to the slaughter but hopefully he gets a huge paycheck and comes out healthy from the fight.
I’m pleased for Paul Butler, hopefully he should make some good money . But unfortunately for him , I think this is where the wider British public get to see just how good this guy is.
Mark my words, after this , all the Brits will be putting him as P4P #1 as if they’ve just discovered him.
Hopefully there is a legal link for this fight @Beanz had one last time when I was at work.
Anything can happen in boxing...
But there's no way Butler sees the final bell here, is there?
Briton Paul Butler intends to upset the odds by beating Naoya Inoue to become the first undisputed bantamweight champion in half a century.
WBO champion Butler faces Inoue in Japan on Tuesday - the first time he has fought away from home.
Japanese three-weight world champion Inoue, 29, holds the WBA (Super), WBC and IBF belts, and is unbeaten in 23 fights, with 20 knockouts.
"If I get the gameplan right, I believe I'll win," Butler, 34, told BBC Sport.
"It's a tough fight. I've got to stay switched on."
Inoue - nicknamed 'The Monster' - is second in Ring Magazine's esteemed pound-for-pound rankings and will fight at home for the 20th time in his career.
"Inoue deserves his title as pound-for-pound king," said Butler - a two-time world champion.
"Everyone knows what he does well. He puts people away and stops people."
Butler, who was upgraded to WBO champion in May when John Riel Casimero was stripped of the belt, is a big underdog going into Tuesday's fight.
But though he is under no illusions about the size of the task - describing Inoue as a "special" fighter - he says people are wrong to write him off.
"I've definitely earned the chance," he said. "Inoue's human, that is what he is.
"He's got two arms, two legs. He's no different to any other opponent."
A disrupted journey meant it took Butler three days to travel to Japan, but he said he was "happy" to be fighting there, with long-time coach Joe Gallagher alongside him.
And after watching Inoue in his two fights with the legendary Nonito Donaire, Butler believes there are holes in his opponent's defence he is capable of exploiting.
Inoue was hurt repeatedly in his first fight with Donaire in 2019, before blowing him away in two rounds in their rematch in 2022.
"If you're looking for gaps, you only need to look at the first fight," he said.
"There's plenty to be seen, especially the first few rounds. Then in the mid to late rounds you can see a lot of gaps.
"I'm a little bit better than Donaire, fresher, and there's not many miles on the clock with me.
"I believe that if I get the chance, I will exploit those gaps."
Panamanian Enrique Pinder was the last undisputed bantamweight champion - in 1972.
There has never been an undisputed champion in the four-belt era, and Butler would be just the third Briton after Chantelle Cameron and Josh Taylor to achieve the feat.
"I can't even explain what it would mean to me," he said.
"It's massive. It's something I've worked for since I was a 10-year-old boy.
"I don't think Inoue underestimates anyone… but if he has cut any corners and he has underestimated me, he'll find out."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/63903452
Quote:
Originally Posted by Master
I am pretty sure it was just streamed free on YouTube or something like that. Can't remember where.
Naoya Inoue produced another brutal KO to end Paul Butler's hopes of becoming undisputed champion.
Inoue was defending his bantamweight world titles while attempting to add the final belt to his collection against British hopeful Butler in Japan. The 'Monster' came into the contest as the significant favourite having ousted rival Nonito Donaire in a rematch in June.
And it was the Japanese pound-for-pound rated star who produced the goods once again, stopping his rival in the 11th round with a brutal combination. Butler tried to stay on his feet but a neat one-two combination triggered an onslaught which saw the referee step in.
The fight started with a quiet opener before Inoue's leading jab emerged as his key weapon as he began landing some neat combinations despite Butler's sturdy. The Briton clearly hoped to weather the expected early storm but a warning came at the end of the second round when he was hurt by a stiff combination.
Inoue continued to hunt his opponent and found his first significant opening in the third round with Butler covering up in the corner before being hit by several booming right hands. A familiar pattern continued in the fourth and fifth, with Inoue stepping up the pace and probing as Butler was content to box conservatively.
As the fight reached the halfway point, Inoue continued to step on the gas, landing all the notable shots with Butler reluctant to open up and engage. The 'Monster' began gesturing for his opponent to show something, and even performed an Ali shuffle in the seventh as he continued cruising.
It appeared Butler had given up home of winning the fight himself in the penultimate round and was just keen to stay in the ring and not be stopped by the surging Inoue. But the unified champion put his foot on the accelerator and unleashed a concluding barrage which saw Butler collapse to the ropes - and the referee step in.
Inoue has made history with no fighter having reigned as undisputed champion at bantamweight since 1973 when Enrique Pinder's reign as king of the division ended. It is expected the Japanese star will now end his run at 118lb and embark on a new mission as he looks to become a four-weight champion.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...28dd6ba786d078
Couldn't find a stream but followed the RBR on twitter etc. Not the early blowout everyone predicted, it seems a very defensive Butler lasted 11 rounds before being stopped. No shame in that against a monster like Inoue who will now after unifying surely move up.
paul just came to survive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eixivrjZiuE
Inoue has said how he’s excited to finally face an African American and there’s a great matchup of Inoue vs Fulton waiting at 122Quote:
Originally Posted by Beanz
Just caught this on YouTube. Strange one really, do you try to stay in there as long as you can and hope to get a chance? Or do you go for it from the off and probably end up getting KO’d early just like everyone else?
I thought Tim Bradley was a bit harsh on Butler. Maybe he was too negative, maybe he was typical of a Joe Gallagher fighter?
I’ve said before , we generally tend to think if someone lasts longer , they’ve done better, and a points loss is better than being stopped.
I might start a thread on what is more respectable.
I think it this case it made sense. Clear gulf in ability but Butler is no mug. He can tell his grandchildren how he went 11 rounds with A P4P great of this era and be proud. He fought to get paid , he is a prize fighter and yes it is entertainment but I don't think there is any shame in avoiding an early KO by not coming out all guns blazing against someone who wants you to do just that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Primo Carnera
It is a great idea for a thread though because I think we have all been on both sides of the fence when it comes to 'surviving' or 'going for it'.
Yeah I didn’t like Timmy Bradley saying “ I hope I never see Butler box ever again” and “his victory was getting the contract for the fight!”Quote:
Originally Posted by BeanzI think it this case it made sense. Clear gulf in ability but Butler is no mug. He can tell his grandchildren how he went 11 rounds with A P4P great of this era and be proud. He fought to get paid , he is a prize fighter and yes it is entertainment but I don't think there is any shame in avoiding an early KO by not coming out all guns blazing against someone who wants you to do just that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Primo Carnera
It is a great idea for a thread though because I think we have all been on both sides of the fence when it comes to 'surviving' or 'going for it'.
He was World Champion in a fight for the undisputed title. Have a bit of respect.
Inoue is amazing though. My P4P #1 even before tonight.
Pretty savage domination by Inoue and caught the highlights. Same with Bradley Primo, to the point trying to block out all his cheap shots and "whooo woooo hoo hooooos" when a top guy lands impressively :-X. It's pretty annoying ;D. Inoue vs Fulton would be an absolute blockbuster when Inoue moves up. If of course Fulton doesn't opt out of division. Good on Butler staying afloat into the late rounds. He was just massively outgunned and outclassed so didn't really expect him to die on his shield right off. Can be a tricky question about what the opponent "chooses" to do and how they approach an offensive force like Inoue or any similar fighter. Also has to be asked of Inoue I suppose as if the dominance is that clear and all boxes checked in his favor he's able to work around any fighter just trying to survive. Could be Butler was a tougher more stubborn nut than previously thought. He'll never have a fight as big as this was. Though the outcome was never in doubt tbh.