by David P. Greisman
This Saturday’s preliminary undercard to the Sergey Kovalev-Jean Pascal rematch will feature a number of local boxers, including junior middleweight prospect Steven Butler.
Butler’s manager, Camille Estephan, has also worked with fighters such as David Lemieux, Dierry Jean and, until recently, Bermane Stiverne. He sees big things for Butler’s future.
“He’s a great, great fighter. A lot of power with both hands. A lot of talent,” Estephan told BoxingScene.com shortly before Butler weighed in for his bout with Antonio Hoffman. “He’s very young still; he’s 20 years old. One of the youngest Canadian champions in the amateurs. He just knocks people out. You’re going to love to watch this guy.”
Butler is 13-0-1 with 11 KOs. He turned pro as an 18-year-old in March 2014 and rattled off 12 straight wins before being held to a draw against Jaime Herrera this past June. That was followed with a 139-second stoppage of Teemu Tuominen in December. Hoffman, 21, is 13-0 with 9 KOs. BoxRec lists him as originally from Angola and now fighting out of Germany.
“We might steal the show,” Estephan said. “He needs to stay composed. We want to see him get some rounds. And if he hurts him, he’ll knock him out. But if not, I want him to win all eight rounds.”
All the ingredients are there for a bright future, he said, one that Estephan believes will bring world titles from junior middleweight all the way up to super middleweight as Butler’s body matures and fills out.
“His boxing IQ is a very high for a young kid like that. He has a lot of power. And it’s in his blood. His grandfather was Marshall Butler, an accomplished boxer himself,” Estephan said. “He has everything that it takes. And he has a great coach. He trains with our conditioning coach. He does all the right things, eats well, sleeps well, doing what he needs to do as a professional fighter.
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