Butler: Fight with Filipino Sultan is for friend who died in car crash
Paul Butler | Boxrec photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Despite the series of setbacks, former world champion, Paul “Baby Faced Assassin” Butler remains upbeat and dedicates his interim world title fight against Filipino Jonas Sultan to a friend who passed away recently.
The 33-year-old Butler was supposedly going to fight WBO world bantamweight champion Johnriel Casimero but the latter was replaced at the last minute by another Filipino in Sultan after Casimero violated the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) medical guidelines a few days before their fight on April 22, 2022.
In a statement from Probellum, Butler dedicates the fight to his friend, Ali Tazeem, who passed away from a vehicular accident earlier this week. The 18-year-old Tazeem was a boxing prospect who recently entered the professional boxing scene.
However, Tazeem died last Sunday due to a vehicular accident.
“I will be dedicating this fight to my friend Ali Tazeem who tragically died last week. I have been training with him since we came over to the UK to prepare for this fight and I am 100 percent focused on bringing the belt home to his family when I win on Friday night,” said Butler.
Sultan and Butler will square off at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England on April 22, 2022 (April 23 Manila Time) for an interim world bantamweight title of the WBO.
Casimero was removed from the fight after violating the BBBofC’s medical guidelines for using sauna to shed off weight within the fight week.
READ: GAB wants Casimero to explain England controversy
This kind of setback didn’t happen for the first time as Casimero also withdraw from their fight last December after suffering from viral gastritis in Dubai, UAE.
Probellum replaced Casimero with Joseph Agbeko, but the bout was eventually scrapped. Probellum decided to reschedule the bout on April 22, but the incident involving Casimero happened.
On paper, Butler has more experience than Sultan with the record of 35 wins, 15 knockouts, and two defeats. Sultan sports a record of 18-5 (win-loss) with 11 knockouts.
However, Sultan remains a dangerous opponent despite being a last minute replacement. He has already defeated Casimero via unanimous decision last 2017 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino for the world title eliminator.
Sultan earned a world title shot against former IBF world super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas who is now his current stablemate with MP Promotions.
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