IN a good fight this weekend Iain Butcher takes on Thomas Essomba for the Commonwealth flyweight title on May 7 in Edinburgh. We spoke to Iain ahead of the bout at the Meadowbank Sports Centre.
What do you think of Essomba?
He’s a very, very good boy. I wouldn’t say he’s the most physical of operators but what he does, he does very well. He closes the gap very well. He’s not got the biggest reach out there but he knows how to move his feet in well enough, closes the gap down and then when he gets in he knows how to unload.
I would say he’s got a good pedigree from the amateurs.
Who’s your trainer?
It’s my older brother, Eddie. He trained me from just before I went to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. He used to box himself but his shoulders kept dislocating and he had to retire from actually boxing and he took up the training side of things.
We’ve never looked back, he’s been on board since then.
Did the Board order a rematch with Kevin Satchell for the British title?
We negotiated the rematch but it never came through, maybe about two months after the board put me into a mandatory position and then before Christmas I lost my mandatory position, I had to pull out [with an injury].
What did you learn from the Satchell fight?
I learned quite a lot, that was my first 12 round fight, which was a new experience for myself. I’d only done eight rounds previous to that, so that was a new experience.
First of all I hurt him, I had him down in round two. I never went in for the finish because as I say it was my first 12 round fight, I never knew what I was going to have left if I didn’t get him out of there if I put everything into it. I’ve learned I know if I’ve hurt somebody to go in for the finish.
Plus general wee things I did wrong in the fight, switching off for some rounds, I couldn’t afford to do now. Little things I’ve learned.
Could you see yourself fighting Andrew Selby down the line?
I’m open to all options, as long as I’m involved in title fights, then I’m more than happy. As long as I win this title, I’m open to all offers.
He’s not been rounds, he was a very, very skilful amateur. I shared loads of rings with him on the GB squad, very talented boy but I know from training with him, he blows hot and cold. He’s just one of those, if he shows up on the night, he’s very hard to beat. But if he shows up and is not himself, he’s very easy to beat actually. Because he just switches off.
But as I say, if the right Andrew Selby turns up on the night, a very, very talented boy. If I turn up on the night, it would make for a cracking fight, it would be a fight that I’m interested in.
