Raphael Butler (born January 4, 1984) is an American retired

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and mixed martial artist. A professional boxing competitor from 2004 until 2011, he fought fighters the likes of David Price,

Malik Scott Dohonna Malik Scott (born October 16, 1980) is an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2016. Amateur career Scott started boxing at the age of 11 and had a stellar amateur career. In 1997, he won the ...

Eddie Chambers Edward Chambers (born March 29, 1982) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged once for a unified world heavyweight title in 2010. He was ranked as the fourth best heavyweight in the world by '' The Ring'' at the conclusion of 200 ...

, and Chris Arreola.

Boxing career

Amateur career

Butler had a stellar amateur career, winning the 2004 National Golden Gloves

Super Heavyweight Champion This is a list of United States national Golden Gloves champions in the super heavyweight division, along with the state or region they represented. There was originally no weight limit for heavyweights until 1982, when the super heavyweight di ...

ship. Butler represented the 4th Street Gym in his hometown of

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

Professional career

Butler turned professional in 2004. He was seen as a future star in the sport early on, but suffered two

TKO TKO may refer to: Sports * Technical knockout, a professional fighting term * Total Knock Out, a professional wrestling move Music Artists * TKO (band), a rock band from Seattle, Washington * TKO, a pop group led by Katie White Albums * ''TKO ...

losses against journeyman fighters in 2005. In 2006 he took on ESPN house fighter Jason Gavern, and lost a decision. After the loss, Butler ran off a string of victories against marginal opposition before taking on

Art Binkowski Artur "Art" Binkowski (; born February 19, 1975) is a Polish-born Canadian heavyweight boxer who competed for his adoptive country Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Background Binkowski came to Canada from Poland at th ...

in a nationally televised showcase bout on ShoBox. Despite dropping Binkowski three times in the first round, Butler tired as the fight went on, and the referee stopped the fight with just 30 seconds left before the final bell, awarding Binkowski a TKO. After six more wins against lesser competition, Butler was knocked out in 6 rounds by contender "Fast" Eddie Chambers on June 20 in the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Butler made his professional MMA debut in 2010 and compiled an undefeated record of 5–0 before being signed by

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

Bellator MMA

Butler made his promotional debut on June 19, 2013, at Bellator 96 against Jeremiah O'Neal and won via first-round knockout. Butler then won his next two fights under the Bellator banner before fighting Nick Rossborough to a draw at Bellator 119 on May 9, 2014. Butler then faced Javy Ayala at

Bellator 125 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweigh ...

on September 19, 2014. Butler was handed his first professional loss via rear-naked choke submission in the first round. Butler next fought

Josh Diekmann Josh Diekmann (born October 9, 1976) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2016, Diekmann fought in Bellator MMA, the WEC, and CES MMA. Known for being an exciting heavyweight, only one bout during ...

Bellator 134 2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015. Background In June 2014, Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney parted with the company. ...

on February 27, 2015. Butler won via a first-round standing guillotine choke submission.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 9–2–1 , Tony Johnson , TKO (punches) , Bellator 148 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:24 , Fresno, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1–1 ,

, Submission (standing guillotine) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1–1 , Javy Ayala , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:03 , Fresno, California, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 8–0–1 , Nick Rossborough , Draw (majority) , Bellator 119 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Rama, Ontario, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Josh Burns , TKO (retirement) ,

Bellator 107 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight cha ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:14 , Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Joseph Bryant , TKO (strikes) , Bellator 105 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 , Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Jeremiah O'Neal , KO (punches) , Bellator 96 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:19 , Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Brett Murphy , KO (punch) , Driller Promotions/ SEG: Throwdown at the Crowne 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:13 ,

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

, United States , Won the Minnesota Heavyweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Steven Shaw , Submission (armbar) , Brutaal Fight Night: Violent Night , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:35 , Maplewood, Minnesota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Richard White , Submission (punches) , Brutaal Fight Night: Rochester , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:18 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Jeremy Beck , KO (punches) , Brutaal: Fight Night , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:36 , Red Wing, Minnesota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Gabe Hobbs , KO (punch) , Brutaal: Fight Night , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 , Welch, Minnesota, United States ,

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Raphael 1984 births Living people Heavyweight boxers Boxers from Minnesota National Golden Gloves champions American male boxers Sportspeople from Rochester, Minnesota