LAS VEGAS – Radzhab Butaev beat Minneapolis boxer Jamal James via ninth-round technical knockout for the World Boxing Association world welterweight title Saturday night at Mandalay Bay.
James was taking a beating from Butaev when referee Celestino Ruiz stopped the fight at the 2:12 mark of the ninth round. At that point, two of the three judges had Butaev leading the fight 77-74, with the third putting James ahead 76-75.
"I still felt that I had strong will," said James, 33.
It was James' first fight since he beat Thomas Dulorme in August 2020, claiming the then-vacant WBA interim welterweight title.
Butaev, a 27-year-old Russian, improved to 14-0 with 11 knockouts as a professional and elevated himself into a position for bigger paydays. James fell to 27-2 with 12 KOs, with his only other loss coming to Yordenis Ugas in August 2016.
