Full-time is called on Butler
PAUL BUTLER has been ordered to stop playing football before his clash with pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue for the undisputed bantamweight world title.
WBO title holder Butler loves his footie and used to play on a Saturday for Sutton Athletic and for Sutton Casuals on a Sunday.
But trainer Joe Gallagher told him to pack it in because he used to be exhausted in training on a Monday.
“I don’t bother with the football anymore,” said the two-time world champion. “I was getting a good tellingoff on a Monday when I came into the gym.
“I’d come in on a Monday and if I’d had a bad spar, Joe would say, ‘What’s up with you?’.
“I’d say, ‘I played football Saturday and Sunday and my legs are killing me’. You know what the pitches are like. I’d be knackered on a Monday, so I thought I’d better knock it on the head.”
Butler believes his showdown with Inoue for all four belts in Tokyo on December 13 is the biggest fight of his life.
“Yeah, 100 per cent,” he said. “I’ve had some big nights in my career, but this tops the lot.
“We’ve got a poundfor-pound great in Inoue. We’re going to Japan and we’re challenging arguably the best fighter on the planet for every belt.”