NEWS: BUTLER LOOKING TO PLAY DOUGLAS TO INOUE'S TYSON IN TOKYO
By: Jay Calderon
Bantamweight titlist Paul Butler has a tough test ahead of him. On December 13 (a Tuesday) at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, and live on ESPN in the States, Butler will battle undefeated pound-for-pound champion Naoya Inoue in a 118 pound unification bout.
While every unification bout will certainly have it's difficulties, the Inoue-Butler encounter seems particularly challenging for the latter. Inoue, 23-0 with 20KOs, is a hard-hitting, yet skilled fighter capable of ending seemingly any contest in a moment's notice. Coupling all that with Butler, 34-2, with 15 KOs, being in his mid-30s, having been stopped in the past, and having never seemingly faced anyone as dynamic as Inoue, and one clearly sees the struggles Butler may face.
However, despite what the odds might say, Butler feels he's in a great place and has the ability to pull off this massive upset.
Butler claims the biggest issues for opponents of Inoue is the fear factor, the fact that many fighters walk into the ring as beaten men. But Butler, recalling the thrilling upset win by Buster Douglas over the heavily favored -- and feared -- Mike Tyson back in 1990 at the Tokyo Dome, feels he has nothing to be afraid of on the night.
"Sort of like the Mike Tyson days, they were beat before they got in [the ring] until Buster Douglas beat him in Tokyo," Butler told RingTV's Anson Wainwright. "I don't fear no man, and I think that plays a big part. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. Yes, he can punch. Yes, he's very good. Yes, he's pound-for-pound. But I don't care. I've grown up in boxing; this will be my 24th year in the sport. I've seen everything."
Butler certainly has a point in regards to a fighter needing to believe in himself and fight without fear, so to speak. However, the mountain will still be a tough one to climb.
Unlike Tyson, a man on the verge of slipping completely out of control in 1990, Inoue seems poised, primed and completely committed to the sport. Of course, anything can happen, and Butler is talented. However, the odds say Inoue completely unifies the division by year's end.
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