Radzhab Butaev challenged Jamal James Saturday night for the WBA regular welterweight championship. The chance to prove he is a relevant name in the division was also at stake. Butaev stopped James in the ninth round to leave the ring with the belt. He also positioned himself for a chance at the WBA’s highest welterweight championship.
Jamal James was active at the onset of the fight and did well in the early rounds. Butaev was patient and worked the body until his opponent began to slow. The momentum of the boxing match turned by the fourth round.
Butaev hurt James in the fifth round but lost a point a short time later by hitting James on the side of the head. Many ringside observers believe James caused the foul by turning away from his opponent. In any event, the point deduction and subsequent stop in action did nothing to deter Butaev.
Radzhab Butaev continued to pour on punches throughout the middle rounds. James fought gamely, but a series of hard shots in the ninth round caused referee Celestino Ruiz to halt the action.
Butaev was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage. The new champion was ahead 77-74 on two scorecards. The third judge saw the action 76-75 after eight rounds.
“I felt it could’ve ended a lot worse,” Butaev responded to people who might feel the stoppage was premature. “I felt it was the right thing to do.”
“If I’m going to go out, I’d rather go out on my shield,” James disagreed with the stoppage. “He was catching me with nice shots, but it was still competitive.”
Radzhab Butaev was an accomplished amateur with more than 400 amateur bouts. The fight with James is his biggest to date as a professional. The victory raises his professional record to 14-0 with 11 knockouts. Butaev is also in line to fight the winner of Yordenis Ugas and Eimantas Stanionis to become the WBA super welterweight championship.
Jamal James falls to 27-2 as a professional. James has knocked out 12 of his 29 opponents.