Photo: Punching Grace – Steven ‘Bang Bang’ Butler (34-4-1, 28 KOs) will face Patrice ‘Vicious’ Volny (18-1, 12 KOs), this Thursday, at Montreal Casino.
To quote Francis Paquin, ‘very clever’ the one who can predict the outcome of the long-awaited 100% Montreal duel between Steven Butler and Patrice Volny. To fight the unpredictable future, Punching Grace collected 15 predictions from 15 different platforms.
Anson Wainwright: Ring Magazine
‘Both guys are coming off strong performances. Butler iced Steve Rolls in 65 seconds and Volny stopped DeAndre Ware in 10-rounds, so I think both enter with confidence. That said, I expect Volny to be a little weary of Butler because of the power he has especially early. I think Butler will box and Volny will look to counter. By the mid-rounds the action will have heated up and that suits Butler who will have more openings and will hurt Volny around six or seven. That will send Volny into a defensive mode and Butler will go on to win a points 10-round decision.’
Butler by unanimous decision (1-0 Butler).
Laurent Poulin: Boxingtown Quebec
‘Shane Mosley, Vernon Forrest and Ricardo Mayorga all advised me to stop making my predictions with the famous rule of 3 in boxing. You know me… I hardly listen to anyone. I saw Patrice Volny work hard to defeat Uriel Gonzalez and take Janks Trotter to the 5th round. Butler unscrewed the 2 in the 1st round… I seemed crazy predicting a victory for Steve Rolls over ‘Bang Bang’ Butler and I won’t make the same blunder twice. I’m no longer betting against the John Scully version of Steven Butler.’
Butler by KO in 6 rounds (2-0 Butler).
Tim Boxeo: Tim Boxeo
‘Anyone reading this preview is very familiar with ‘Bang Bang’ Butler. Come forward & all action, Butler makes for must see TV. While only 28, most fighters can only survive so many stoppage loses before the wear on the tires just becomes too much to overcome. For me, that’s the big question with the 5’11” power puncher from Montreal who is on his 4th rehabilitation tour. Volny, is an awkward 6’1” puncher with a decent right hand that he uses to both the head and body. When pressed, Volny has a tendency to shell up and weather the storm, perfect for a come forward attacker like Butler. Volny may have some success in a few early rounds keeping Butler off of him with movement. But, by mid-rounds I expect Butler to cut off Volny and punish his fellow Montreal resident. I see a Butler mid-round stoppage in this scheduled 10-round regional title contest,’
Butler by KO. in 5 or 6 rounds (3-0 Butler).
Mario Larouche: Passion-Boxe
‘The fight between Butler and Volny represents for me the first step before seeing the winner face Brandon Cook to clean up Canada. If Butler wants to win, I think he will have to do it with the 5th round, because then I see Volny succeed in tiring him out and connecting him before the 10th round to see him win by knockout. and thus inflict a 5th defeat before the limit on Steven Butler.’
Volny by KO (3-1 Butler).
Boog Williams: LDUBB Boxing
‘Steven Butler surprised everyone with his first round KO over Steve Rolls last time out. I believe Butler’s power will be the difference against the lanky boxer Patrice Volny. I can see Butler scoring a couple of knockdowns, leading him to decision victory. 96-92 is my prediction.’
Butler by unanimous decision (4-1 Butler).
Francis Paquin: RDS
‘The clash between Steven Butler and Patrice Volny looks ’50-50’ on paper, could go one way or the other. On the other hand, its progression seems fairly predictable, namely that Volny will let Butler shout in the first rounds before opening the machine in the second half of the duel. That said, Butler and his team know this very well, and it’s a safe bet that ‘Bang Bang’ will exert a lot of pressure at the start of the match. Will Volny be able to fend him off? If not, expect Butler to shut it down quickly. Otherwise, this will obviously be to the advantage of the one nicknamed ‘Vicious’. But since the aim of the exercise is to make a decision, let’s split the pear in two in a very, very tough fight.’
Butler by unanimous decision (5-1 Butler).
Jean-François Chabot: Radio-Canada
“Volny has been on the international stage less often, but if Butler is thinking of using this as a little fitness fight, he has to be ready, because Volny is going to want to use this as a springboard. The two of them may be their last chance to create the sparks to make people’s eyes widen elsewhere on the planet… Also knowing the style of the two, it won’t go all the way. If we look at what Steven did on his last outing, it was quite expeditious thank you… it wasn’t Volny in front of him, but I think Steven is going to pull a rabbit out of his hat for us!”
Butler by KO in 6 or 7 rounds (6-1 Butler).
William Dumoulin: BoxingNews QC
‘Volny should be expected to start slowly. On the other hand, Steven Butler should start fairly quickly behind his jab and win the first 2-3 rounds. Volny will start to increase the pace in the following rounds, work on the counterattack and win the middle rounds. The last 2-3 rounds should be hotly contested, with a lot of punches thrown from both sides. However, I believe that Patrice Volny will emerge the winner of the fight by a narrow margin of 96-94.’
Volny by split decision (6-2 Butler).
Dave Lévesque: Journal de Montréal
‘Steven Butler must continue to prove that he can regain his place at middleweight. After a knockout striking against Steve Rolls, three months ago, he must serve the same medicine to Patrice Volny if he wants to send a clear message to the category to say that ‘Bang Bang’ is indeed back and in great shape . Will Butler be the first to be knocked out? to his compatriot? It could well be.’
Butler by KO (7-2 Butler).
Frédéric Daigle: The Canadian Press
‘Since the “Jose de Jesus Macias debacle”, Butler has won 6 of his last 7 outings, his only defeat coming in the world championship against Alimkhanuly. But what the fights against Alimkhanuly, Murota and Cook showed us is that Butler can be stopped. On the other hand, Volny only suffered its only defeat in a controversial (and widely criticized) technical decision and Volny, with 12 knockouts. in 18 victories, has power. In this fight, he wants to be a bit of a gatekeeper for Butler. Not for a belt, but if Butler can’t get through the Volny hurdle, what can he hope for next? Age and experience are on Butler’s side. I still see a close fight, until Butler finds a loophole in the second half.’
Butler by KO between 6 and 10 rounds (8-2 Butler).
Cole Whiston: Boxing World Weekly
‘My prediction for Butler-Volny is pretty simple. It’s hard to bet against Butler right now and with Volny’s inactivity, having only 2 fights since 2021. And even if Volny were more active, it would still be a tall order. I think Butler will win before the limit.’
Butler by KO (9-2 Butler).
Anthony Marcotte: BPM Sports
‘What a fascinating fight. As much as I have long believed that Patrice Volny would have the upper hand in a fight against Steven Butler, I am far from convinced today. Obviously, Butler’s performance against Rolls threw us off our chairs, except that a knockout. in the 1st round doesn’t offer us much on the general improvement of Butler’s defense. In Volny’s case, he has boxed very little in 3 years and that could hurt him against a guy as hungry as Butler. I have difficulty making a choice, but I keep my initial choice.’
Volny by decision (9-3 Butler).
Carlos Linares: All In 1 Deportes
‘This will be the third fight for ‘Bang Bang’ after his tough loss to Alimkhanuly. I think it will be a very even fight in the initial rounds where Butler will have to decipher the game of Volny who is a man of greater size and reach, so he will fight behind the jab and try to keep the distance from Butler. From round four Butler must take the initiative in the fight and the pressure, he manages to impose will be decisive in his victory. I’m leaning towards a victory for Butler by unanimous decision, given that he is adapted to big battles, and he knows that a convincing victory could put him back on the stellar plane and Volny has never been knocked out.’
Butler by unanimous decision (10-3 Butler).
Saadeq Ahmed: Big Fight Weekend
‘Butler will have youth and power on his side, but that does not mean Volny will be an easy opponent. I expect this fight to go to the later rounds with both fighters having success at varying points of the bout. Eventually, the power of Butler will be too much and the fight will be stopped. Butler by late knockout.’
Butler by KO in 9 or 10 rounds (11-3 Butler).
Matt Casavant: Punching Grace
‘Steven Butler has the offensive advantage and Volny has the defensive advantage in this fight. I believe Butler will start strong and win the first few rounds. What will be fascinating is the 2nd half of the fight. I believe Volny will be able to counterattack successfully and we are likely to see some hotly contested rounds, but I see Volny winning 6-4 in terms of rounds… No matter the result, the fans will want to see a rematch .’
Volny by majority decision (11-4 Butler).
Don’t miss the fight on Punchinggrace.com this Thursday to find out who’s telling the truth. Until then, to find out who has been right in the past, consult our previous ‘prediction files’ from Beterbiev-Smith and Butler-Rolls.
