JAMAL JAMES FACES RADZHAB BUTAEV IN A FIGHT HE HOPES WILL SET UP A MAJOR WELTERWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT.
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JAMAL JAMES (27-1, 12 KOs) VS. RADZHAB BUTAEV (13-0, 10 KOs)
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 30
- Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas
- TV/Stream: Showtime
- Division: Welterweight
- At stake: No major titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: Even (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Jaron Ennis vs. Thomas Dulorme, welterweights; Michel Rivera vs. Matias Romero, lightweights; Jean Carlos Torres vs. Darwin Price, junior welterweights
- Prediction: James UD
- Background: James has quietly built a strong resume at 147 pounds, defeating a string of solid opponents and losing only to current titleholder Yordenis Ugas in a fight he took on short notice in 2016. The polished boxer from Minneapolis has won seven consecutive bouts since the setback, including victories over Abel Ramos, Antonio DeMarco and Thomas Dulorme. The Dulorme fight took place in August of last year, meaning James will have been out of the ring for more than 14 months. James, who holds a secondary belt, has his eye on the biggest names in the division. That includes a possible meeting with the winner of a projected title fight between Ugas and Eimantas Stanionis for the WBA belt. Butaev, a Brooklyn-based Russian, reportedly finished his amateur career with a record of 392-8. He lost a unanimous decision (116-112 on all three cards) to countryman Alexander Besputin for the secondary title Ugas owns in November 2019 but the result was changed to a no-contest after the winner tested positive for a banned substance. Otherwise, Butaev is unbeaten against second-tier opposition. He’s coming off a third-round stoppage of Terry Chatwood in a scheduled eight-rounder last December. On the undercard, rising star Jaron Ennis (27-0, 25 KOs) faces Dulorme (25-5-1, 16 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round welterweight bout.
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