Zolani Tete has defended his IBF Super Flyweight title after an eighth round knockout of Paul Butler at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on Friday. Tete went to work with his jab and dominated the opening round with his superior reach. The second was a similar story with a few exchanges of punches in which the champion managed some good combinations without successfully landing what appeared a potentially deadly uppercut.
The third round was similar to the second with Butler simply unable to land a proper punch. “Last Born” easily evaded the Brit’s best while landing the odd left to go with a series of jabs. The “Baby Faced Assassin” came out all guns blazing in the fifth and while he did land more blows than in any of the previous four, it was the South African whose combinations looked more impressive as he continued to boss the bout.
Round 6 was a toe-to-toe affair and the challenger caught the champion on two occasions, including in a corner, but the Mdantsane man bested his opponent on the ferocious punches front. The fight was over in the eight round after 1 minute and 34 seconds when the southpaw knocked Butler out with a devastating left uppercut. Although the Brit managed to get to his feet, referee Phil Edwards waved the fight over.
The South African advances to a career record of 20-3 after upsetting the odd in a contest British bookmakers gave him no chance in. This is also Butler’s first professional defeat.