Steven Butler vs Stéphane Fondjo: Boxing Result & Recap

Steven Butler won his duel against Stéphane Fondjo on Thursday evening at the Montreal Casino. But ultimately, it was perhaps the latter who was the big winner of this confrontation.

Butler (37-5-1, 31 KOs) defeated the Montrealer of Cameroonian origin by stoppage by the referee at the very end of the ninth round. A victory won with difficulty, with pain, and which probably gave his team a cold sweat at times.

Fondjo (14-2-1, 9 KOs), let’s remember, was not even supposed to fight in this gala. He was called to the rescue just a few weeks ago to replace Erik Bazinyan at short notice, victim of (another) injury resulting from poor physical condition, according to what his promoter Camille Estephan had explained.

The 27-year-old pugilist, however, was in the middle of training camp in preparation for a fight which would have taken place on November 8 when he was offered the opportunity to face Butler. Which surely goes a long way to explaining why he looked anything but a last-minute replacement during this clash.

Butler, 30, admitted it straight away: he didn’t expect his opponent to make his life so complicated. “He surprised me. I knew he was good, that he came to fight and to win. But not to that extent,” he candidly admitted when he left the ring.

His fairly swollen right eye was, to say the least, eloquent in this sense…

Three Falls

Fondjo, however, visited the canvas twice during the first three rounds. But each time, he got back up. Better yet, it seemed to gain in efficiency and power. So much so that by delivering an intelligent fight like the one he gave us, he managed to break through Butler’s guard and force the latter to draw from the depths of his energy reserves.

“The guy got really hurt. It kind of woke him up, but that’s because he was so motivated. He really didn’t want to give up his chance,” analyzed Camille Estephan.

“He has good striking power,” noted Butler. I respected him. It got me [obligé] to box rather than just wanting to knock him. »

In the final moments of the ninth round, Butler managed to shake his rival again with an effective left-right combination. And while Fondjo had his back in the cables, he put one knee on the ground. Referee Martin Forest signaled the end of the duel a few seconds later.

A discovery

Did the fact that Butler learned shortly before their fight that Fondjo would be his opponent have any influence on his performance? Is this a possible explanation for his painful exit? The winner swears no.

Fondjo did not meet with reporters after the fight. According to what we were told, he was still too shaken by his defeat to speak to the media.

We can of course understand that the setback is difficult to digest, but Fondjo need not have been so hard on himself. At no time was he unworthy. Even with his three falls, he looked great in the arena, and fought with panache and conviction.

To be honest, the one who was practically unknown in the boxing world just a few days ago made a name for himself on Thursday evening. We’re going to see him again in the arena, and probably sooner than we think.