FORMER IBF world bantamweight champion Paul Butler has joined forces with trainer Joe Gallagher in a bid to win a second world title.
Earlier this year Butler parted ways with former trainer Anthony Farnell to team up with Oliver Harrison, though after failing to make weight in his last fight has made further changes to his team.
The Ellesmere Port man will now box out of Gallagher’s gym in Bolton, and is spurred on by training alongside the likes of Anthony Crolla, Scott Quigg and Liam Smith.
“Obviously I failed the weight with Oliver. After that I didn’t go back, I wasn’t in the gym. I didn’t feel comfortable there, I’d walk in, train, and then it’d just be ‘see ya later,'” he told Boxing News.
“I just didn’t feel comfortable, it wasn’t quite right. Instead of staying longer and having a fight while feeling like that I thought it’d be best to leave. So then we were obviously looking for trainers and Joe was the first person we looked at, we made a couple of enquiries, I came down for a couple of weeks to see if I got on with the lads and could work in the set up and I have so today we announced it.
“It was based on what Joe’s done, produced champion after champion, British champions and obviously others in the world rankings. He’s getting them all in good title positions, pretty much everyone in the gym is a champion.”
After winning the IBF bantam title from Stuart Hall in 2014, Butler dropped to super-flyweight and took on reigning IBF champion Zolani Tete, though was stopped in eight rounds.
Butler was scheduled to box in a title eliminator back in June, though the fight was scrapped after he failed to make the super-flyweight limit.
He will now return to bantam, and hopes to win another world title.
“It was a struggle making super-flyweight, I couldn’t get that last pound off. It was time to move up and crack on back at bantamweight again,” he said.
“I’ve won a world title at bantamweight before so the opportunities should come so hopefully, by the end of the year, we’ll be in another big title fight.”
Gallagher, whose stable also includes Callum Smith, Hosea Burton and Scott Cardle, was phoned by Butler and his representatives a few weeks ago while on holiday.
“We gave him a trial just to see if it was right for him, and right for us,” he told BN.
“I told him to come on board for a couple of weeks, see how he finds it and after a couple of weeks – he might not like the setup, or I might not like him. He’s settled in and settled in well, we’re pleased to add him to the team.
“He’s a good fighter, he has good ability, he’s a good trainer and we’re excited to see what we can do.”
