After his third straight victory, Steven Butler is taking a well-deserved break.
The 30-year-old super middleweight from Montreal, Canada is heading to warmer environs – the Dominican Republic, to be exact – after scoring a ninth-round knockout of determined underdog Stephane Fondjo. It was a closet classic of a fight, where Butler scored early knockdowns, only for Fondjo to stage a mid-fight comeback before Butler closed the show with his right-hand power, treating fans at Casino de Montreal to an exciting shootout.
“A little bit too much,” Butler, 37-5-1 (31 KOs), said with a laugh. “I knew he was coming to fight and it was a good challenge.”
Even if the fight was more competitive than most expected, there was plenty for Butler to feel good about with his technical knockout victory. The win was just the fourth stoppage of his 31 total that came after the eighth round, demonstrating he has greater stamina since moving up in weight to 168lbs. The last time Butler had been to the ninth was in June 2024, when he was stopped by Patrice Volny in the fight that prompted him to move up due to his fading later in fights.
Given that he has established himself in a new weight class, who does Butler want to fight next? He says he has spoken with his promoter, Camille Estephan of Eye of the Tiger Management, and expects to be back in the ring in March or April. While he’s not interested in calling anyone out, there is one name he doesn’t want to discuss again – his stablemate Erik Bazinyan.
Bazinyan, 32-1-1 (23 KOs), has three times been scheduled to fight the 30-year-old Butler, only to withdraw through injury. Butler believes the real reason is that Bazinyan just doesn’t want to step in the ring with him.
“I will never take the fight back again – I will be focused on my fight but never on Erik again,” said the two-time middleweight world-title challenger.
“I don’t think he wants to fight me and in the end he’s one of my friends in boxing. At the beginning I was not too hot to fight him too but business is business. But now after three canceled fights, I lost a lot of money, so no.”
Trainer John “The Iceman” Scully understands why Butler wouldn’t be interested in revisiting a fight with the 30-year-old Bazinyan, but sees how big a domestic clash the fight could be – if they can get Bazinyan in the ring. As it is, Scully says he hopes to keep his fighter busy and continue his winning streak before stepping up to the highest level once more.
“I’d like to see him get a fight or two before getting another championship fight if that could work out,” said Scully.
Butler’s entry into the super-middleweight division adds one more addition to Eye of the Tiger’s deep roster at 168lbs, with WBC interim titleholder Christian Mbilli and IBF mandatory challenger Osleys Iglesias leading the way – plus rising homegrown prospect Wilkens Mathieu, and Bazinyan.
With all of the super-middleweight belts around the waist of Terence “Bud” Crawford – and Butler yet to enter the rankings at 168lbs – there is no rush to get back into a world-title fight. Still, Butler hopes his next fight can take place outside of Canada as he seeks to rebuild his stature in the sport towards another championship opportunity.
“I want to go back to the international level and fight outside to represent my country because I’m a proud Quebecois,” said Butler. “I would like to go outside but we’re going to see what is the best way to put me in the position where we want to be.
“I never turn down fights. When the phone rings, I respond. Anybody, anywhere – I’m a warrior. I’m confident that we’re going to have a good 2026 and maybe next year we will be in a top fight.”
