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LAS VEGAS – Radzhab Butaev barely had sat down for his post-fight press conference late Saturday night before he was asked about fighting Jaron Ennis next.
The newly crowned WBA world welterweight champion made it clear that he is preoccupied with another fight, not the emerging young star that knocked out Thomas Dulorme in the first round on his undercard. Now that he has knocked off Jamal James, the Russian-born Butaev is interested only in the opportunity to become the WBA’s legitimate 147-pound champ in his next fight.
Butaev, 27, expects to box the winner of the other welterweight title fight the WBA has ordered – Yordenis Ugas-Eimantas Stanionis. Cuba’s Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs) has publicly expressed his displeasure with the WBA requiring him to battle Lithuania’s Stanionis (13-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) as part of its four-fighter, 147-pound tournament.
Nevertheless, the WBA has indicated it will not grant Ugas an exemption for a welterweight title unification fight against Errol Spence Jr. once the unbeaten IBF/WBC champion is fully recovered from retina surgery. If Ugas moves forward with a defense of his WBA “super” welterweight title against Stanionis, Butaev will wait for the winner.
“To me, I don’t feel comfortable to say no, you know?,” Butaev replied when asked about facing Ennis (28-0, 26 KOs, 1 NC). “I love to accept any challenge and I will love to fight him. But we have a plan, and our plan is the tournament. I need to get the winner of Ugas-Stanionis. That’s my plan and I’m only looking forward to that fight. I don’t care about anyone else at the moment.”
An aggressive, stronger Butaev (14-0, 11 KOs, 1 NC) wore down the taller, rangier James (27-2, 12 KOs) on his way to winning by ninth-round technical knockout in Showtime’s main event Saturday night from Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena. He became the first fighter to stop James inside the distance since the 33-year-old former champion made his pro debut in May 2010.
Ugas upset Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision in their 12-rounder August 21 at T-Mobile Arena, but Butaev believes Stanionis would win if they actually square off next.
“It’s hard to predict,” Butaev said. “I don’t like to predict the fights or [say] something about that. But Ugas is a very experienced fighter. And Stanionis, I know him for a very long time. He’s young and very strong. So, if I have to choose [a winner], I will choose Stanionis because I think his youth and strength and power will overcome the experience.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.