Paul Butler relinquishes IBF bantamweight title to return to super-flyweight

Paul Butler

PAUL BUTLER plans to relinquish his IBF bantamweight title, just four weeks after taking it from countryman Stuart Hall via tight 12-round decision. The unbeaten Ellesmere Port star was pushed hard by Hall, and plans to return to super-flyweight as he aims to become Britainโ€™s first boxer to win a second world title at a lighter weight in over a century.

Although sad to give up his world title belt, undefeated Butler, who won the world title in only his 16th fight – the quickest ever by an English boxer – is excited at the prospect of carving out a piece of modern boxing history in his quest to become a British great.

โ€œItโ€™s a beautiful belt and itโ€™s hard to relinquish it seeing as itโ€™s the first world title that Iโ€™ve won, but I knew that it was always going to be the case if I won it Iโ€™d have to return it and go back to down to super-flyweight,โ€ said Butler

โ€œWhen the opportunity came to fight Hall for the title I knew that it was a fight that I could win and I grabbed the chance with both hands.ย To become a world champion in only my 16th fight was an absolute dream come true.ย Obviously there was a big size difference between me and Hall, but I said to everybody that I could overcome him with my speed and work-rate and that proved to be the case, but Iโ€™m a natural 115 pounder.

โ€œNow I aim to win a world title at super-fly and achieve another dream of becoming a two-weight world champion in reverse.ย Most of the British greats have gone up through the weights like Duke McKenzie, David Haye, Ricky Hatton, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank to name a few, but only Bob Fitzsimmons has achieved the feat of dropping down a weight and that will be a big incentive for me.

โ€œIโ€™d like to thank the IBF for allowing me to fight for their prestigious world title and to Stuart Hall, who put up a tremendous battle, and to my manager and promoter Frank Warren and Hallโ€™s promoter Dennis Hobson for putting the fight together and giving me and the fans something special to remember.

โ€œOf course, another return to bantamweight isnโ€™t out of the picture in the future.ย Iโ€™m still only 25 and in the next couple of years I could fill out and mature some more and be more comfortable at that weight, but for now Iโ€™m focused on winning and unifying titles at super-flyweight.โ€

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