• Inside Boxing

How do you feed a professional fighter?

Paul Butler takes on Zolani Tete on Friday © PA Photos

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How does a boxer manage his weight when he steps down a division in a quest to win a second world title? ESPN asked Paul Butler what his daily intake of food has been as he prepares to face South African Zolani Tete for the IBF super-flyweight (eight stones three pounds) title in front of his home fans in Liverpool on Friday.

I've had 160g of protein, 100g of carbohydrates and 60g of fats per day. I start in the morning with five eggs, because it's better to burn off fats in the morning. When I get home from the gym I will have a protein shake, sweet potato and chicken.

Then I will go out to do my strength and conditioning at 4pm and around 5pm I will have a beef stir fry.

At 8pm, I will cook my own meal of 250g of rice with 200g of chicken, which is quite a big meal for a fourth meal of the day. Then I will have a Naked bar and a yoghurt.

I keep mixing the food up and as get closer to the fight those numbers come down. Some fighters stop the carbs as you get closer to the fight, say in the week of the fight.

I've got a strength and conditionist who weighs out all my food for me. They're called No Limits and are based in Liverpool, and everything is calculated to perfection. They make all my meals.

I made eight stone four pounds for my last fight in October so getting the extra pound off for the super-flyweight limit shouldn't be a problem. I've had a camp pretty much the same as every other fight.

My opponent is a tall, rangy southpaw and it's been difficult to get sparring partners like him so I've been sparring lightweights and featherweights. My hope will be easier against someone my own weight than some of the sparring I've had and I think I will be a lot stronger than him.

The fight was postponed because he broke his hand and I'm his first defence. He won the title a month after I beat Stuey Hall [June 2014] so he has been out of the ring a long time since then, where as I had 10 rounds in October [against Ismael Garnica last October] which will stand me in good stead.

He'll always have the left hand injury in the back of his mind against me. I hope it has healed properly for him because I want to beat the best of Zolani Tete.

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