by James Slater: Two interesting developments took place in the heavyweight division last night. In The Cayman Islands “Fast” Eddie Chambers returned to the ring for the first time since his sole career loss, to stop Raphael Butler in six rounds, and in Las Vegas Friday “The 13th” Ahunanya became the first man to beat the previously untested Alonzo Butler – unanimously out-pointing “Big Zo” over ten rounds..
With his win the 26-year-old Chambers, who improved to 31-1(17) not only scored his first win this year, he also scored his first stoppage since February of last year. In seeing off dangerous 24-year-old Raphael Butler, “Fast” Eddie got himself back on track following his disappointing performance against Alexander Povetkin in January. Is Chambers a guy still capable of wining a version of the heavyweight title? It’s too early to tell. Chambers looked good and weighed a light 217 pounds last night, but Butler, while dangerous, is no monster. The jury is still out on whether or not Chambers will run out of gas in another 12-rounder against a guy who is as resilient as Povetkin.
What Chambers needs is to keep busy and hopefully he will work on whatever shortcomings he may have of the stamina/self belief variety. A talented fighter, Chambers remains a heavyweight to keep an eye on. With his loss, Raphael Butler fell to 31-5(24).
As for the 28-year-old Alonzo Butler, his first real test as a fighter was one he failed last night. Butler, who fell to 26-1-1(19) showed heart, though. Getting up from a knockdown in the fourth round and battling bravely with a badly swollen left eye that has had retina trouble recently, “Big Zo” made it to the finish line against the determined Ahunanya. The fight was close, with two of the three judges awarding Ahunanya the win by one point only, but the older man by eight years was a more than worthy winner. Now sporting a record of 24-5-3(13) Ahunanya may well have put himself in line for some good paydays.
With upset wins over two unbeaten fighters in his last two bouts – Butler and before him Shane Cameron – “The 13th” has proven he is no guy to be taken at all for granted. It will certainly be very interesting to see who the Las Vegas based Nigerian boxes in his next fight.
All in all two decent performances were seen in the heavyweight division last night – performances that once again showed how interesting the heavyweight division can be.
Here’s an idea – how about Chambers and Ahunanya squaring up against each other next!