James Butler Jr. (born December 18, 1972) is an American former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1996 to 2004. He challenged once for the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

super middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...

title in 2000, but he is best known for his infamous bout on November 23, 2001. Butler brutally

sucker punch A sucker punch (American English), also known as a dog shot, coward punch, king hit or one-punch attack (Australian and New Zealand English) or cold-cock (American English), is a punch made without warning or while the recipient is distracted, ...

ed Richard Grant after losing the fight and served four months at

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...

. In 2004, Butler was arrested for the murder of Sam Kellerman and was sentenced to 29 years and four months in prison.

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 Sven Ottke (born 3 June 1967) is a German former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2004. He was a unified super-middleweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 1998 to 2004, and the WBA (Unified) title from 2003 to 2004. W ...

who beat Butler by unanimous decision. Butler's next bout earned him infamy on November 23, 2001, at the

Roseland Ballroom The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theater district, on West 52nd Street in Manhattan. The venue, according to its website, accommodated ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The bout was a charity event to benefit surviving New York firemen and police officers of the

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

terrorist attacks in New York City and was televised live on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...

's ''

Friday Night Fights The cable television network ESPN has occasionally broadcast boxing events over the majority of its history, as part of several arrangements, including contracts with specific promotions and consortiums such as Golden Boy Promotions, Premier Box ...

''. Butler faced Richard "The Alien" Grant, a fighter who had decisioned him early in his career. After losing the rematch by unanimous decision, Butler had his gloves removed before the announcement of the winner, Grant then went to Butler's side of the ring for an expected exchange of congratulations. Instead, Butler sucker-punched Grant, nailing a bare-handed right hook to his jaw. Grant suffered a temporarily dislocated jaw and a lacerated tongue that required 26 stitches. Butler was arrested and charged with second degree

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

. Butler was later convicted and served four months at

detention facility. Butler's last bout was a split-decision loss on August 10, 2004, to

Omar Sheika Omar Sheika (born February 20, 1977) is an American former professional boxer and multiple time super middleweight world title challenger. He is of Palestinian descent. Raised in Paterson, New Jersey, Sheika attended Eastside High School and ...

Murder of Sam Kellerman and conviction

On October 12, 2004, writer Sam Kellerman (brother of sports analyst

Max Kellerman Max Kellerman (born August 6, 1973) is an American sports television personality and boxing commentator. He is the host of ''This Just In with Max Kellerman'' and the co-host of ''Keyshawn, JWill and Max'' on ESPN Radio. He previously was a co-h ...

) was killed at his apartment in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. His body was not found until October 17. Butler was considered a

suspect In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated U ...

since he had been friends with Kellerman for over 10 years. On October 20, Butler, accompanied by a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, sought treatment for his alleged

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

. Butler was arrested for the Kellerman murder on October 27. Two days later, he pleaded not guilty to murder and

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

. 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 Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

apartment in an attempted

cover-up A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational co ...

. On July 8, 2005, a

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 Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender acted during ''the heat of passion'', under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed to the point that they cannot ...

and

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. 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.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
James Butler Deserves Ban From BoxingVideo of James Butler's sucker punch against Richard Grant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, James 1972 births African-American boxers Light-heavyweight boxers American people convicted of assault American people convicted of manslaughter American sportspeople convicted of crimes Living people Sportspeople from Manhattan American people convicted of arson Prisoners and detainees of California American male boxers Prisoners and detainees of New York (state) Boxers from New York City 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople