Cello Renda and Danny Butler
clash for the English middleweight title in Peterborough on Saturday - and it
looks a 50-50 fight.
Both turned professional in
their teens and have done their fair share of fighting on the right-hand side
of the bill. The pair have both reinvented themselves recently.
Renda (pictured above fighting
Max Maxwell) used to put everything into every punch and would take one to land
one.
BoxRec News’ Martin Supple
recalls being ringside for Renda’s epic first clash with Paul Samuels in 2009:
“Renda and Butler both
appeared on a cracking Hatton Promotions bill- topped by Matthew Hatton against
Lovemore Ndou. Danny was outpointed over ten rounds by Darren McDermott for the
English middleweight title, but it was Cello’s clash with the dangerous Paul
Samuels which grabbed all the headlines and ultimately became a cult classic
with boxing fans around the world.
“In-the-know punters ensured
an early arrival at the Fenton Manor Leisure Centre, as with both men being
powerful, vulnerable fighters, it always promised fireworks. In an
extraordinary battle, Renda decked Samuels in the opening round. In round two,
the two big hitters landed simultaneous left hooks on each other’s chins and
with nobody present quite believing their eyes, both fighters crashed over flat
on their back - a double knockdown. Renda rose on wobbly legs at four, whilst
Samuels barely beat the count, getting up at nine, looking finished. But
Samuels rallied and caught the tiring Renda with several unanswered shots in
the third to score an unlikely stoppage.”
These days, Renda can box and
bang, and puts his faith in trainer Jon Pegg:
“I’m ready for anything. We’ve
got Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and Plan D if I need them. I have instructions when
I box now when in the past I was just told to get my hands up, chin down and
get stuck in.”
Butler says he’s benefitted
from working with Andy O’Kane. He headed to O’Kane’s gym following a fourth
loss in five fights at a good level, including a short-notice defeat to Darren
Barker for the British and Commonwealth belts. He has gone on to hand both
Frankie Borg and Tom Costello their first losses, with the 10th-round
stoppage of Costello in March securing the vacant English middleweight title.
O’Kane said: “I think a lot of
people wrote Danny off, but I really do genuinely believe the best is yet to
come.
“The lads in the gym who had
been handling him comfortably are nowhere near him now. A lot of guys who have
known Danny for a long time say he is a different fighter now.”
Butler moves better, Renda
boxes more and both have everything to fight for at the Peterborough Arena.
Renda says this is the biggest fight of his 10-year career, while Butler is
desperate to make a title defence in Bristol, then challenge for bigger
honours.
Both expect a tough fight. and
Renda says home advantage gives him the edge:
“In the closing rounds when
you’re gasping for breath and short of energy, hearing the crowd cheering me on
will lift me and push me on.” (Source)
