James Butler (boxer)

Template:Use mdy dates Template:Short description Template:Infobox boxer James Butler Jr. (born December 18, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2004. He challenged once for the IBF super middleweight title in 2000, but he is best known for his infamous bout on November 23, 2001 against Richard Grant where he was arrested after the fight for assault.<ref name='nyt'/> In 2004, Butler was arrested for the murder of Sam Kellerman and was sentenced to 29 years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Biography

Butler started off his career by scoring 18 wins and only 1 loss in the super middleweight division. This led to a title fight against Sven Ottke who beat Butler by unanimous decision.

Butler's next bout earned him infamy. On November 23, 2001, Butler took on Richard Grant on a special edition of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights, at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. The card was part of a charity event designed to raise money to help assist New York police and fire department personnel that survived the September 11 attacks. The two had met earlier in their careers, fighting in 1996 when they were first starting out as professionals, with Grant winning a four-round decision. The fight went the ten round distance, with all three judges scoring the bout for Grant.

As the two men waited for the results, Butler asked for his gloves to be cut off. After Grant was announced the winner, Butler stood in his corner seeming unpleased by the decision. Grant then made his way over to Butler to congratulate him for his effort, but Butler sucker punched the unsuspecting Grant with a right hook that dropped him to the floor. Grant lay dazed on the ring mat and bleeding from the mouth while broadcasters Bob Papa and Teddy Atlas called out for Butler to be arrested on assault charges. <ref name='nyt'/> Grant suffered a dislocated jaw and lacerated tongue from the unprotected bare knuckle punch, and Butler was eventually convicted of assaulting Grant and spent four months in Rikers Island.<ref name='nydn' />

After Butler's assault, he would not return to boxing for three years. Returning as a light heavyweight, he fought four times and lost twice. His last fight was on another ESPN card against former super middleweight contender Omar Sheika, which he lost by split decision on August 10, 2004.

Killing of Sam Kellerman

On October 12, 2004, writer Sam Kellerman (brother of sports analyst Max Kellerman) was killed at his apartment in Los Angeles. Kellerman died of blunt-force trauma to the head, and his body was not found until October 17.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Butler was considered a suspect since he had been friends with Kellerman for over 10 years.

On October 20, Butler, accompanied by a lawyer, sought treatment for his alleged bipolar disorder.

Butler was arrested for the Kellerman murder on October 27. Two days later, he pleaded not guilty to murder and arson. He was held on $1.25 million bail. Prosecutors claimed that Butler, the only suspect in the case, repeatedly struck Kellerman in the head with a hammer, then torched Kellerman's Hollywood, California apartment in an attempted cover-up.

On July 8, 2005, a Los Angeles judge ruled there was sufficient evidence for Butler to stand trial on charges of murder and arson.

On March 27, 2006, Butler pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and arson in the 2004 death of Kellerman. On April 5, Butler was sentenced to 29 years and four months in prison by Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor, according to Deputy Public Defender Jack Keenan.<ref name='espn_1'/>

Prosecutors speculated Butler was having relationship issues with his girlfriend while also struggling to revive his boxing career when Kellerman asked Butler to move out. A disagreement ensued on how long Butler could stay when he picked up a hammer and killed Kellerman, then torched his house.<ref name='espn_2' />

Professional boxing record

25	Template:No2Loss	20–5	Template:Flagicon Omar Sheika	Template:Abbr	10	August 10, 2004	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
24	Template:Yes2Win	20–4	Template:Flagicon Dan Sheehan	UD	6	June 4, 2004	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2Win	19–4	Template:Flagicon Reggie Strickland	UD	6	May 7, 2004	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
22	Template:No2Loss	18–4	Template:Flagicon Thomas Reid	UD	8	February 27, 2004	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
21	Template:No2Loss	18–3	Template:Flagicon Richard Grant	UD	10	November 23, 2001	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
20	Template:No2Loss	18–2	Template:Flagicon Sven Ottke	UD	12	September 1, 2001	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
19	Template:Yes2Win	18–1	Template:Flagicon Jerry Williams	UD	8	March 24, 2001	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
18	Template:Yes2Win	17–1	Template:Flagicon Jose Spearman	TKO	6 (12), Template:Small	September 29, 2000	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
17	Template:Yes2Win	16–1	Template:Flagicon Arthur Allen	TKO	2 (12), Template:Small	March 24, 2000	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
16	Template:Yes2Win	15–1	Template:Flagicon Bryant Brannon	KO	7 (12), Template:Small	October 29, 1999	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
15	Template:Yes2Win	14–1	Template:Flagicon Merqui Sosa	TKO	2 (10), Template:Small	July 16, 1999	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2Win	13–1	Template:Flagicon Thomas James	TKO	2 (6)	June 24, 1999	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
13	Template:Yes2Win	12–1	Template:Flagicon Jose Hiram Torres	TKO	7 (10)	May 15, 1999	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
12	Template:Yes2Win	11–1	Template:Flagicon Calvin Moody	KO	1 (10)	April 22, 1999	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
11	Template:Yes2Win	10–1	Template:Flagicon Rufat Baku	UD	10	October 9, 1998	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
10	Template:Yes2Win	9–1	Template:Flagicon Hector Rosario	TKO	6 (8)	September 11, 1998	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
9	Template:Yes2Win	8–1	Template:Flagicon Tim Dendy	Template:Abbr	6	March 24, 1998	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	7–1	Template:Flagicon Knowledge Bey	KO	3 (4)	January 24, 1998	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
7	Template:Yes2Win	6–1	Template:Flagicon Malcolm Brooks	PTS	6	October 10, 1997	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2Win	5–1	Template:Flagicon Louis March	PTS	4	September 19, 1997	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	4–1	Template:Flagicon Robert Muhammad	KO	6 (6)	June 18, 1997	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2Win	3–1	Template:Flagicon Gerald Holmes	Template:Abbr	1 (4)	April 11, 1997	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
3	Template:No2Loss	2–1	Template:Flagicon Richard Grant	PTS	4	January 31, 1997	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	Template:Flagicon Derrick Whitley	Template:Abbr	4	November 2, 1996	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Template:Flagicon Eddie Johnson	Template:Abbr	1 (4)	October 18, 1996	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small

External links

• Template:BoxRec
• James Butler Deserves Ban From Boxing
• Video of James Butler's sucker punch against Richard Grant