A large number of Russian boxers, who played in amateur competitions for some time, eventually move to the professional league, where they also achieve success. Among them is Rajab Butaev - the champion of the 2013 Summer Universiade has been playing in the professional rings for two years and during this time he has never been defeated.
The first steps of an amateur
Butaev Rajab Yusupovich was born on December 15, 1993 in the city of Salsk, Rostov Region. From childhood, his parents instilled in him a love of sports, and even at school age, the Russian began to go to the sports section in boxing. Coaches discerned the talent of Rajab right away - a brisk boxer with a fighting character and stamina showed more hope for a brighter future. As a result, Butaev repeatedly participated in youth competitions, where he was among the best athletes of the tournament.
Way to success
The first major competition where Butaev Rajab took part was the Russian junior middleweight championship. Confidently passing the entire tournament bracket and becoming the country's champion, the Russian got into the national team for the upcoming European Championship. At his first international championship, Rajab again demonstrated his talent, also taking a gold medal.
A year later, Butaev made his debut at the adult level, having claimed the Russian boxing championship in the middle weight category, up to 64 kg. Then the boxer was able to confidently reach the finals, where in a bitter struggle he lost to the Novosibirsk athlete Armen Zakaryan, who had also just begun his career path. Nevertheless, the athlete’s potential, taking into account his young age, character and junior successes, allowed him to be among the candidates for a trip to the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan.
To such an important tournament, Rajab Butaev approached the most tuned and ready to fight. The Russian began to take the first steps in the tournament bracket in the 1/16 finals - as an opponent he got the Azerbaijani athlete Gaybatulla Gadzhialiev, who the “master” of the ring did not leave a chance. In the quarterfinal, Sanjarbek Rakhmanov from Uzbekistan was among the defeated Rajabs. Despite the confident victory of the opponent at the previous stage over the technical Mexican boxer, in the duel with Rakhmanov, the Russian hero also did not experience serious problems, becoming one of the main contenders for the “gold” of the Universiade.
In the semifinals, Butaev figured out the Ukrainian Denis Berinchik without any problems, and in the final he demonstrated excellent technique, leaving no chance for the Armenian athlete Arthur Kirajyan. Thanks to this victory, Rajab brought another medal of the highest dignity to the piggy bank of the Russian national team, and also became quite popular both in his homeland and abroad.
Going to the pros
In 2014, Rajab Butaev, the champion of the Universiade, decided to develop personal success and take the “gold” at the Russian boxing championship. Rich experience and a constant desire for development allowed the 21-year-old athlete to confidently add another personal award of the highest standard to his piggy bank. A year later, Rajab reappeared for the national championship and was the main favorite, easily reaching the final. But defeated a year earlier in the final battle of the championship, Andrei Zamkova this time did not allow the Rostov athlete to succeed.
After the fight, Rajab Butaev, along with a number of experts, called the decision of the judges unfair, and in November 2015 he signed a contract with the American promotion company Fight Promotions, thereby moving into the professional boxing category.
Professional career
The debut on the world stage of professionals for Rajab took place in March 2016. The rival of the Russian was the American Robert Siyam, who could not hold out for 80 seconds in the battle against Butaev. At the beginning of the second minute, a debutant from Russia knocked out the opponent. Three weeks later, the athlete’s second fight took place - another American, Tychy Sadler, acted as his counterpart . And again, the battle did not even reach the second round - after a minute and a half, Rajab became the winner thanks to a technical knockout.
The promoters managed to diversify the countries representing the rivals of the Russian in the third fight - in October 2016, the Dominican boxer Jonathan Batista entered the ring with Butaev, but he could not finish the fight. In the second minute of the fourth round, Rajab knocked out his opponent, celebrating the third Victoria in a row. The final fight at the moment for the Russian athlete was a meeting with the Hungarian Gabor Gorbich, which ended with the victory of Rajab by decision of the judges. This success allowed Batuev to become the NABF champion in North America in the 1st middleweight title, and the boxer does not intend to stop there.
Personal life
For a long time, almost nothing was known about the personal life of a talented boxer. But in 2016, news about the wedding of a Russian athlete thundered throughout the country. On August 28, Rajab Butaev became engaged to his beloved Madina. A happy couple is just starting a life together and has no children. Despite such a difficult sport as boxing, the wife supports her husband in all competitions, but Madina prefers not to come to the fights themselves.