Paul Butler

Professional Career

Butler began his career on December 11, 2010, with a points victory over Anwar Alfadi at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. This debut win set the tone for a series of successful bouts. His early career was marked by a series of decisive victories, including knockout wins against David Kanalas and John Donnelly, the latter earning him the British super-flyweight title on November 9, 2012.

Butler continued to rise through the ranks, capturing the Commonwealth super-flyweight title by defeating Yaqub Kareem on April 20, 2013. His dominance in the super-flyweight division was further solidified with wins over Miguel González and Ruben Montoya, securing the WBO Inter-Continental super-flyweight title and the WBA Inter-Continental bantamweight title, respectively. One of Butler’s career highlights came on June 7, 2014, when he won the IBF bantamweight title by defeating Stuart Hall via split decision at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England.

Despite a setback on March 6, 2015, when he lost to Zolani Tete for the IBF super-flyweight title, Butler bounced back with a string of victories. Notable wins during this period included defeating Gustavo Molina and Silviu Olteanu, capturing the WBO European super-flyweight title. His resilience was evident as he continued to climb back to the top, eventually winning the WBA Continental bantamweight title by defeating Stuart Hall again on September 17, 2017. Butler’s career took another significant turn on April 22, 2022, when he won the vacant WBO interim bantamweight title by defeating Jonas Sultan via unanimous decision at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool. This victory set up a high-profile bout against Naoya Inoue on December 13, 2022, for multiple bantamweight titles, including the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, and The Ring titles. Despite a valiant effort, Butler lost by knockout in the 11th round.

Undeterred by the loss, Butler returned to the ring with renewed determination. He secured a series of impressive victories in 2023, including a first-round technical knockout against Jeison Cervantes in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and a second-round knockout of Nabil Ahmed in Manchester, England.