Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer 10y

Butler eyes second belt

England’s Paul Butler is not a well-known fighter, nor is he considered a legit top-10 fighter in the bantamweight or junior bantamweight division, but he is about to attempt something unusual in boxing: going down in weight to try to win a second world title.

Butler (16-0, 8 KOs) won a split decision over countryman Stuart Hall in June to win an alphabet bantamweight belt and vacated soon after in order to challenge junior bantamweight titleholder Zolani Tete (19-3, 16 KOs) of South Africa, who had claimed a vacant title by decision against Teiru Kinoshita in July.

Tete and Butler meet Oct. 25 at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. In Great Britain, Butler’s attempt is being portrayed as a big deal as he would be the first British boxer since Hall of Famer Bob Fitzsimmons to win a title and then move down to win another. In 1903, Fitzsimmons, the former middleweight and heavyweight champion, dropped down to light heavyweight and also won that world title (thus becoming boxing’s first three-division champion).

Butler certainly won’t rank along with Fitzsimmons as one of boxing’s all-time greats, and in this era of numerous titles, the attempt should be taken with a grain of salt. But it's a big deal to Butler.

"I can't wait to face Tete and take that world title from him," Butler said. “He gets my full respect for being world champion and for coming to Liverpool to defend his title against me, but when he gets in that ring he will be in against a man who is totally focused and driven to win the world title. Winning one world title is every boxer's dream. To win a second world title would be just unbelievable and to do it in back-to-back fights makes it more special. To become a two-time and two-weight world champion and to join other British champions like Duke McKenzie, David Haye, Ricky Hatton, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank in the history books is a massive motivator for me.

"By beating Tete I will achieve another feat not done since Bob Fitzsimmons well over 100 years ago and win a second world title in a lighter division which, again, would be an honor. Breaking records is great, but my primary focus is beating Tete and becoming world champion."

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