THE VIEW'S BOXING REVIEW
JUNE
mixing the right cross and left hook to the body at will. Hall to his credit finished the first with an excellent right hand which landed flush on the ever moving Butler.
As both guys tried to seize the centre of the ring it was then evident that Butler would win this mini battle. As he achieved this position it seemed like Hall was beginning to run out of options as he was unable to set up his shots with the jab as Butler's constant counters off the said jab stopped him in his tracks.
So on flowed the action and as the middle rounds kicked in, it was clear the crowds tickets were becoming worth their value as Butler's movement begin to decrease (just a little), Hall began to land his own heavy shots. But as these shots landed, Butler was coming straight back with his own, pushing Hall back.
Butler's workrate began to fall in the eighth and Hall, as before, took full advantage. The ropes began to feel the skin of Paul Butler's back and as the target was now stationary, the straight right from Hall began to land to Butler's head.
Hall began to bank the next few rounds on workrate alone, Butler tightening up his defence rather than using his feet as much as he did at the start. In rounds ten and eleven Hall showed the true grit as a champion should, but Butler wasn't going to give up the chance to become one himself. The rounds were almost impossible to score as each fighter had a fantastic 1 minute and 30 seconds in each round before letting the other unleash their shots.
The twelfth round was just as thrilling but there was a warning sign that Hall had very little in the tank and Butler seized the moment and the second wind flowed. They both stood and exchanged shots, most of which weren't landing cleanly but hats off to them for their determination to win.
Butler Arrives On The World Scene
By Paul Hampton
One week on from the big all British IBF (and WBA) world title fight, we then had another all British IBF fight down at Bantamweight at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle. The rugged Stuart Hall (16-3-2, 7 KOs) making the second defence of his title against the talented Paul Butler (16-0, 8 KOs). There was plenty of needle in the build up to this fight and maybe should have been highlighted more by the media who jumped on the boxing bandwagon last week.
The fight began as many expected with Butler showing superb speed and landed first with the jab even though he was the smaller of the two,
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