Paul Butler got back to winning ways in the ring on Saturday night at Manchester Velodrome as he brushed of the disappointment of March's defeat IBF world title defeat to Zolani Tete with a fifth-round stoppage of Mexican Gustavo Molina.

Super-flyweight Butler, 26, overcame a slow start, showing visible signs of ring rust early on, to register the 18th triumph of his professional career, turning on the style in the fifth to end the Mexican's challenge with a barrage of shots.

It was Butler's first foray into the ring since his defeat to Tete in March at Liverpool's ECHO Arena, where his dreams of becoming a two-weight world champion were ended in the eighth round by the South African with a brutal uppercut.

The opening two rounds of his comeback fight suggested that Chester-born Butler may not have it all his own way against Molina, who boasted a 19-5 winning record going into the contest, with the 26-year-old Mexican landing some decent shots on the former Vauxhall ABC man.

Paul Butler's camp celebrate the win over Gustavo Molina
Paul Butler's camp celebrate the win over Gustavo Molina

But Butler came into his own in the third and launched a sustained attack on Molina, catching him with hooks to the head and body to leave the Mexican reeling.

Butler, from Great Sutton, continued to press in the fourth but it was the fifth round where he finally put an end to the challenge of Molina, putting together a flurry of powerful shots in the centre of the ring to leave referee Howard Foster with no option but stop the contest with seven seconds of the round remaining.

"I felt good in there - I was just trying to relax in the first three rounds as there was some ring rust and I was struggling to find my range," Butler told Box Nation.

"The Tete loss is always in the back of my mind but after a few rounds I felt like myself again."