GATINEAU, QUEBEC, Canada – Highly-touted light middleweight prospect Steven Butler will make his professional debut this Friday night against Jean-Francoise Plourde (1-0) in a four-round match airing live on pay per view from Lac Leamy Casino in Gatineau, Ontario, Canada.
The 18-year-old Butler is the youngest Canadian National Champion ever, in addition to being the grandson of former Canadian junior middleweight Marshall Butler (20-5, 15 KOs). Steven probably wouldn’t be making his pro debut if boxing hadn’t replace Ritalin in his life.
“When I was in fifth grade,” Butler explained, “they labelled me as hyperactive and put me on Ritalin. Today, I’ve found piece of mind through boxing. Even though I played other sports, nothing releases my anger, my energy and provides me with true clarity except boxing. I no longer take meds. The moment my glove makes contact, I am free. Boxing is my new prescription.”
Butler started boxing at the age of 12 along with his brother. It didn’t take long for Steven’s natural raw talent to emerge. He went on to win 48 of 54 amateur bouts with one draw, including only one loss in his last 35 matches. His impressive lists of accomplishments includes four-time winner of the Bronze Glove Tournament, as well as gold-medal performances at the Silver Glove, Adidas and Golden Gloves tournaments.
World welterweight title challenger Antonin Decarie (29-2, 9 KOs), currently rated No. 8 by the WBC No. 13 by the IBF #13, headlines the seventh installment of the popular Fight Night Series ) against former Mexican champion Pablo Munguia (19-4, 11 KOs).
Up Close with Antonin Decarie – Question: Do you worry how you look while you are in the ring? |
Lebanese-born Montreal super featherweight Baha Laham (12-1-2, 5 KOs) faces southpaw Roody Pierre-Paul (8-1, 5 KOs) for vacant WBC Continental Americas title in the 10-round co-feature.
The undercard also features many of Canada’s most exciting prospects includingSchiller Hyppolite (8-1, 5 KOs) vs. Bahamian super middleweight Jermain “Choo Choo” Mackey (18-7, 14 KOs) in a 10-round bout; super middleweight Pascal Villeneuve (3-0, 2 KOs) vs. Francois “The Tank” Miville (6-1, 2 KOs) and Mitch Louis-Charles (3-1-1, 2 KOs) vs. Guillaume Tremblay-Coude (2-0, 1 KO), cruiserweight Samer Baraket (2-0, 2 KOs) vs. Sandy Pembroke (3-7, 1 KO), and heavyweight Zack Bunce (2-0, 1 KO) vs. Steven Harvey (4-1, 2 KOs) in four-round fights.
All fights and fighters are subject to change.
For further information about Butler and Friday night’s show, please visitwww.eottm.com, www.PunchingGrace.com or www.IntegratedSportsNet.com, or follow on Twitter @eotmvd and @IntegratedPPV.