Steven Butler has an early candidate for Knockout of the Year.
Butler slept Steve Rolls with a devastating right hand across the jaw for a statement first-round knockout Thursday night at the Casino de Montreal in Montreal, Canada. The two-time middleweight world challenger cranked back and added four left hooks before the referee stopped the action, though the right hand was the shot that knocked Rolls out on his feet only 65 seconds into the main event bout.
"BANG BANG is back!" Butler said live on ESPN+ after his scintillating victory.
The win improves Butler's record to 34-4-1 with 28 KOs in an eye-opening performance as it took Gennadiy Golovkin three more rounds to dispose of Rolls back in June 2019, while Edgar Berlanga and Austin Williams were forced to go the distance with the durable veteran.
The 28-year-old Butler has now won two fights in a row after losing to Zhanibek Alimkhanuly back in May. Perhaps the spectacular victory will put Butler in position to land another world title shot in the near future.
Here's how the entire Butler vs. Rolls main card went.