Right now, the super middleweight division runs through Montreal.
After years of control by Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, and the brief period of the now-retired Terence Crawford at its helm, the belts have been scattered, with several of them landing in Quebec province. The WBC belt is currently held by Christian Mbilli, while the vacant IBF title will be contested by his Eye of the Tiger Management stablemate Osleys Iglesias when he faces Pavel Silyagin on April 9.
With his promotional stablemates likely to control those two belts, Steven Butler sees his path to a title going the WBA route, with the belt currently held by Jose Armando Resendiz, the Mexican brawler who shocked Caleb Plant last May to win a split decision and put himself in line to be elevated to full titleholder.
Butler, 37-5-1 (31 KOs), likes his chances if he gets an opportunity to face Resendiz.
“He’s nothing special. I can take him yesterday, so it's gonna be a gift for me if I can fight with him,” Butler, 30, tells BoxingScene. “He made a surprise with Caleb Plant and credit to him. But I know I can be in the ring with him and win this fight.”
Butler's trainer, former pro John “The Iceman” Scully, is on the same page.
“I definitely like the fight for Steven is with Resendiz,” said Scully. “He’s looking like a real force at 168lbs, and I just feel like the fight would make sense, and all things considered, I believe we would come out on top.”
First, Butler needs to handle the business in front of him. He will face Ramadan Hiseni on Thursday night at Montreal Casino in Montreal in a 10-round fight with a minor WBA title at stake. The belt would put him in striking distance of a title opportunity with Resendiz, 16-2 (11 KOs), but Butler knows better than to look too far ahead. He has seen Hiseni, 22-2-2 (8 KOs), of Switzerland, pull off a few surprises in recent years in his home province of Quebec, most recently with his unanimous decision win over Alexandre Gaumont last December. In his only prior trip to Canada, Hiseni held Shamil Khataev to a majority draw in 2024 in a fight that Butler felt the visitor should have won.
Butler says he believes Gaumont simply got overcome by the moment of headlining in his hometown, and says the same won’t happen to him.
“I'm a veteran, I travel all over the world to fight, so I will not be nervous, no excuses. No matter what he brings to me, I'm gonna break him down. I'm confident about the matchup, and it’s an important fight for me,” said Butler.
“My goal is to be a world champion one day. It’s a big step closer to my goal, because when you are in the top 15, you can receive a call from a champion anytime.”
The fight will be Butler’s fourth since moving up to 168lbs, after years of struggling to make the 160lbs limit. He says that the move up in weight hasn’t only helped his performances in the ring but outside of it as well, as he’s able to train throughout camp while remaining in good spirits and having the energy to crack jokes with his friends over the phone, and talk over video calls with his wife and two children back home. His greater nutritional habits also mean he can spar 10 full rounds with different sparring partners without struggling the way he used to. He feels his most recent performance, in which he was able to stop the durable Stephane Fondjo in the ninth round, showed he’s a different fighter at his new weight.
“My last fight showed everybody that I don't break down after five rounds,” Butler said. "I’m a 10- to 12-round fighter. I stopped the guy in the ninth round with a strong combination. I see the difference in the training camp and not only in professional boxing. I see it in myself too, like I don't lose my smile."
Butler also feels confident knowing that the power that made him a formidable threat at middleweight has followed him to his new weight class. Wilkens Mathieu, an unbeaten prospect in the Eye of the Tiger stable, recently said on a podcast that Butler was the hardest puncher of everyone he sparred among the group, which includes Mbilli, Moreno Fendero and Mehmet Unal.
“If I go up to heavyweight, my power is going to be high, too. You know, I know my power can knock out everybody if I can touch them on the chin,” said Butler, who cited the facial damage he was able to inflict on then-WBA middleweight champ Ryota Murata during his first title fight, a fifth-round stoppage loss, as proof.
“I didn’t lose my power,. I feel even stronger now. I’m confident that my power is spectacular, and then, like my last fight, I don't force the knockout. The knockout is gonna come if it comes. And I think that’s the best way to do it.”
With his stablemates making their marks on the division, Butler feels it’s only a matter of time before he joins them at the top of the super middleweight division.
“Christian Mbilli is doing well, Iglesias is doing well, too. They’re the top dogs at 168, but no, I don't see myself as less than them. I know what I can bring to the table, what I can do,” said Butler.
“We have the WBC with Mbilli, IBF and IBO with Iglesias. And for myself, I’m going for the WBA, and when we're gonna get all the belts, we're gonna need to fight each other 100 per cent and make some good paydays, and the best man is gonna win. But I don't want to look past Hiseni because I know he’s gonna come to fight and try to make a surprise again in Quebec, so I will be prepared and ready for him, and I’m gonna watch and see what we're going to do next.”
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
