Russian boxer Rajab Butayev won the WBA light-middleweight title by a technical knockout in the ninth round against American Jamal James, the holder of the belt.
Former IBF and IBO world champion Eduard Troyanovsky commented on his fellow national’s victory.
Rajab acted in his usual style: going, punching and breaking his opponent physically, like the Mexicans do. He may be technically and speed-wise inferior to his opponent in some way. But he gets his way in the end. He managed to break Jamal James. After that the referee intervened and stopped the fight. Initially, while he was still strong and fresh, the American was doing well with some uppercuts, but as soon as he became tired, Rajab changed the course of the fight and started to push. Whoever is weaker in stamina and cannot fight him for the whole distance, will break down. That is how it happened in the end. Then, under the pressure he became gradually tired, could not fight back and was afraid to miss punches.
Eduard Troyanovsky
Also Eduard shared his opinion on a potential fight of Butayev against Ugas.
Now that would be cool. It's going to be a completely different movie. The of Ugas’s class is much higher, and it will be a test of strength for Rajab. Ugas knows how to choose his tactics for his opponent. In his last fight with Manny Pacquiao, which I commented on, he did exactly the same. He didn't go forward. He also knows how to work as the number one and hits a lot more. The fight with Ugas could be very good. The Cuban has a good defense and is very uncomfortable for any opponent.
Eduard Troyanovsky
Russian boxer Rajab Butayev, 27, is undefeated and has 14 wins under his belt.