Photo: Vincent Ethier – It was the worst-kept secret in the country, but Butler-Rolls was not just a Quebec-Ontario showdown, it was two men playing for their careers at the Montreal Casino, where Steven Butler hadn’t come to play.
Steven Butler stepped into the ring to the tune of “Many Men” by 50 Cent, the story of a man who was tried to be shot down. Tried, that’s what Steve Rolls did for exactly 65 seconds. The Ontarian then ran out of ammunition, and still standing, the Quebecer closed the books with just one right hand.
“Bang Bang is back baby!” said the Montrealer triumphantly, yet emotionally.
In fact, his comeback had already happened last November, when he knocked out Ivan Alvarez in the 10th round, in a fight that raised even more questions. But this time, it was the real comeback: no room for questioning, just a pure exclamation.
There’s an old saying that goes: “You can love boxing, but boxing won’t love you back.” Yet, on Thursday night, boxing loved Steven Butler.
Old tape, best movie
We know this story. Steven Butler (34-4-1, 28 KOs) has fallen before, has risen before, and has promised to change before. “I will knock out the Steven of three years ago,” he even told me in September 2022. I believed him then, and I still do, but that didn’t stop him from falling harder than ever, eight months later, against Janibek.
To rise again, seen it before, Butler had a new coach. The difference is that this time, the Montrealer made changes but promised not to change anymore. That’s how his new cornerman, ‘Iceman’ John Scully, sold him the project to come train with him, away from his family, promising to work on his strengths above all. Those that would allow him to go all the way to his dream.
Until then, all of this was still just words. Thursday night, it changed. Steve Rolls (22-4, 12 KOs) didn’t fall for the words.
A new peak reached
It’s the old cliché, actions speak louder than words. We were promised a future great champion in Steven Butler from his professional debut at 18. Ten years later, he achieves his greatest career victory and makes us dream again.
“For the timing, the way, the feeling, it’s my best victory. Steve Rolls is a name, and I don’t want to hear anyone say he was old, he was this, he was that, because I’ll just tell them to fuck off,” he says with a smile. “The guy went 10 rounds with ‘Ammo’ Williams six months ago, we all know Rolls was alright.”
Yes, Rolls went 10 rounds with Williams, 10 other – very close – with Berlanga, and 4 with the illustrious Gennady Golovkin. No, we’re not saying Butler is better than “GGG” because he stopped the Ontarian 4 times faster, or even that he will be a world champion one day. What we’re saying is this victory, it was darn impressive.
We’ll talk about it later
With 28 KOs to his name, Steven Butler will always have the ability to turn the lights out with a single punch. In his 28 years of life, he has also always proven that he is not afraid of anyone. However, Murata and Janibek proved that these two attributes were not always enough to triumph. So, even after his greatest career victory, there’s no question of skipping steps.
“Even with this fight, between me and Rolls, we could have invested in titles and reviewed the top 15. We talked about it with Camille [Estephan], believe me, it wasn’t a question of money. It’s just about taking it one step at a time,” comments the young veteran.
“I’m 28, I’m more mature, and I think it’s starting to show.”
So, to the question “what’s next?”, after two months in New England, it’s up to him to answer “time with family.” “My son cries at school because daddy isn’t home. These are tough choices that I make for everyone, so right now, I just want to spend time with them.”
Triumph and agony
Steven Butler was motivated to see bookmakers, and even some of his Quebec colleagues, siding with the Ontarian for his duel. They were all wrong. According to his coach, Samuel Décarie-Drolet, Rolls “didn’t understand what was happening” in the moments after being knocked out.
Rolls had also been the first to say that the loser would have some tough decisions to make about his future. The knockout was brutal, but the awakening promises to be even worse. Thursday night, boxing didn’t love Steve Rolls.
