January 23, 2025
Erik Bazinyan and Steven Butler faced off today ahead of their upcoming March gala
Just business. That was the mantra repeated by both Erik Bazinyan and Steven Butler on Thursday afternoon at Espace Saint-Denis, at a press conference held to discuss the upcoming boxing gala that will take place in just under two months time.
Bazinyan and Butler are friends and have been for many years. Their families are friends, and they fight for the same promoter – but the fight game sometimes brings surprises to the table, and friends step into the ring to fight one another.
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Both men are looking to propel themselves forward and up the boxing rankings. Bazinyan is coming off a tenth round knock-out loss to Jaime Munguia in Arizona while Butler defeated Fernando Ezequiel Farias by technical knock-out just two and a half minutes into his most recent bout at the Montreal Casino.
This will be a slight change of pace for Butler, who moves up in weight to fight at 168 pounds for the first time – and says that this is a weight he feels a lot more comfortable and stronger at. Saying he often felt like he had more power in training than he did in fights and attributes that to the weight cut. It’s no secret that Steven “Bang Bang” Butler packs a punch, but it will be very interesting to see how much more bang he can throw at this weight.
“I’ve trained with him and felt his power” Bazinyan says of Butler, “I know what he can do and he knows what I can do. I believe in myself and I will do whatever is necessary to win the fight.”
Still, fighting against a sparring partner and friend of many years has to feel different. Butler claims that while the two are friends, they aren’t so close that they call each other up to go hang out on weekends. Surely, the pair come into the fight already believing to know what the other might try to do, what combinations of punches to expect.
“At the end of the day”, says Bazinyan, “the fighting ring is different from sparring. Some people stress and some people don’t and for me, nothing changes. I’ll stay focused and I’ll win the fight.”
Bazinyan says he was surprised when he heard who his next opponent was to be, but that he has faith in his team and management and believes in their decisions.
“I don’t concentrate on my opponent too much, I concentrate mostly on myself. I think about my training and doing everything right and work hard” says Bazinyan.
“I’ll let him worry about me”.
The events undercard was also partially announced today, and will feature several noteworthy bouts such as Mary Spencer versus Ogleidis Saurez. One of the sports rising stars Jhon Orobio faces Sebastien Ezequiel Aguirre and Luis Santana will look to stay undefeated when he faces Boston’s Jonathan de Pina.
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There are still three fighters who haven’t had their opponents announced yet. Leila Beaudoin will be in action but her opponent can’t yet be named as she hasn’t signed her contract. Meanwhile, Wilkens Mathieu, who just turned twenty years old, is already struggling to find an opponent as no less than twelve fighters in his weight class have refused to challenge him. Undefeated Alexander Gaumont’s opponent is also as of yet announced.
Tickets for the gala can be obtained through this link for the March 14th gala that kicks off at 6:30pm.
