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 Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. 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 Cristobal Arreola (born March 5, 1981) is an American professional boxer who has challenged three times for the WBC heavyweight title. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's No.8 heavyweight at the conclusion of 2007 and as No.7 heavyweight from ...

Boxing career

Amateur career

Butler had a stellar amateur career, winning the 2004

National Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nationa ...

Super Heavyweight Championship. 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 losses against journeyman fighters in 2005. In 2006 he took on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

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 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 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 ...

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 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 Heavyweight, ...

on May 9, 2014. Butler then faced

Javy Ayala Javier "Javy" Ayala (born August 22, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, he has also competed for Tachi Palace Fights. Background Born and rai ...

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 2016 in Bellator MMA was the eighth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promoter based in the United States. Bellator held 23 events in 2016. Background 2016 is notable for the launch of sibling promotion Bellator Kickboxi ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:24 ,

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1–1 ,

, Submission (standing guillotine) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 ,

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the New England town, town of Montville, Connecticut, Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a Administrative divisions of Connecticut#Village, neighborhood, section of town, village in southeastern Montville, at the ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:03 ,

, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 8–0–1 , Nick Rossborough , Draw (majority) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Rama, Ontario Rama is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations community on the Chippewas of Rama First Nation reserve in Ontario, Canada. It is the home of Casino Rama. The community sports complex is called the Mnjikaning Arena Sports Ki, which was the ho ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 ,

Josh Burns Josh Burns (born May 15, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist and current bare-knuckle boxer. Since 2017, Burns has competed in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Bellator MMA Burns faced TNA wr ...

, 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 ch ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:14 ,

Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma. It is located in South Central Oklahoma. The population was 445 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Thackerville is located at (33. ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Joseph Bryant , TKO (strikes) ,

Bellator 105 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 ch ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 ,

Rio Rancho, New Mexico Rio Rancho ( es, Río Rancho) is the most populous and only city in Sandoval County, New Mexico, Sandoval County, part of the expansive Albuquerque metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of New Mexico. A small portion of the city extends into north ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Jeremiah O'Neal , KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:19 ,

, 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, 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 Maplewood is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 42,088 at the 2020 census. Maplewood is ten minutes' drive from downtown Saint Paul. It stretches along the northern and eastern borders of Saint Paul. Maplewo ...

, 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 Red Wing is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, along the upper Mississippi River. The population was 16,547 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Goodhue County. This ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Gabe Hobbs , KO (punch) , Brutaal: Fight Night , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 ,

Welch, Minnesota Welch is an unincorporated community in Welch Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States. Welch is along County 7 Boulevard near Highway 61, 36 miles southeast of St. Paul. The Cannon River flows through the community. The Canyon Valle ...

, 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