Steven Butler vs Erik Bazinyan

I fancy Butler to stop Bazinyan before the tenth. Steven’s recent performances at super middleweight have given me the impression of a fighter who’s found fresh belief. He looks like a man determined to make something of a second chance, and I expect that urgency to matter here.

Bazinyan has the jab and straight right to make Butler pay for careless entries. Steven must move his head coming in, get his feet underneath him and work the body before chasing the finish. Loading up from outside would give Erik time to settle.

But I don’t like this long absence for Bazinyan. Gym rounds help, but they don’t reproduce the decisions you make under sustained pressure. I expect Butler’s activity to force Erik into exchanges before he’s comfortable, particularly once those body shots start making movement harder.

Steven still needs discipline after landing. Admiring his work would leave him open to the straight right, and he cannot afford to treat Bazinyan as a man who’s forgotten how to box. Even so, I see Butler setting the harder pace, taking away the space and forcing a stoppage in the eighth.