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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.
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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. In 2004, Butler was arrested for the murder of Sam Kellerman and was sentenced to 29 years and four months in prison.
201:. 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 was scheduled for ten rounds and went the distances, with all three judges scoring the bout for Grant.
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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
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called out for Butler to be arrested on assault charges. 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
225:
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
294:
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.
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268:. 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
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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
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and was part of a charity event designed to raise money to help assist New York police and fire department personnel that survived the
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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
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Butler's next bout earned him infamy. On
November 23, 2001, Butler took on Richard Grant on a special edition of
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Butler was arrested for the
Kellerman murder on October 27. Two days later, he pleaded not guilty to murder and
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judge ruled there was sufficient evidence for Butler to stand trial on charges of murder and arson.
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On
October 12, 2004, writer Sam Kellerman (brother of sports analyst
246:. His body was not found until October 17. Butler was considered a
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1671:""BOXING; Boxer Barred and Charged For Sucker Punch After Loss""
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1699:"A sucker no longer boxer back after punch led to jail, ban"
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since he had been friends with
Kellerman for over 10 years.
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who competed from 1996 to 2004. He challenged once for the
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Video of James Butler's sucker punch against
Richard Grant
1730:"Boxer pleads guilty to death of sportswriter Kellerman"
230:, which he lost by split decision on August 10, 2004.
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1762:"Boxer sentenced to nearly 30 years for killing"
152:(born December 18, 1972) is an American former
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286:On March 27, 2006, Butler pleaded guilty to
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1899:20th-century African-American sportspeople
1894:21st-century African-American sportspeople
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1854:American sportspeople convicted of crimes
1849:American people convicted of manslaughter
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253:On October 20, Butler, accompanied by a
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176:who beat Butler by unanimous decision.
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1874:Prisoners and detainees of California
1809:James Butler Deserves Ban From Boxing
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1844:American people convicted of assault
257:, sought treatment for his alleged
1869:American people convicted of arson
1669:Wong, Edward (November 27, 2001).
18:American boxer and convicted felon
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242:) was killed at his apartment in
86:6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
1697:Smith, Tim (February 24, 2004).
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1797:Boxing record for James Butler
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932:Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
936:Hampton Beach, New Hampshire
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1864:Sportspeople from Manhattan
1915:
815:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
302:Professional boxing record
272:apartment in an attempted
189:, which emanated from the
1889:Boxers from New York City
1030:Leominster, Massachusetts
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104:
100:
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1839:Light-heavyweight boxers
884:super middleweight title
826:super middleweight title
765:super middleweight title
653:super-middleweight title
234:Killing of Sam Kellerman
1834:African-American boxers
1804:(registration required)
1489:Port Chester, New York
1385:Port Chester, New York
1334:Port Chester, New York
1128:Port Chester, New York
871:Farm Bureau Building,
488:Farm Bureau Building,
288:voluntary manslaughter
1589:Hartford, Connecticut
873:Indianapolis, Indiana
754:Kansas City, Missouri
490:Indianapolis, Indiana
270:Hollywood, California
1879:American male boxers
536:Key Skating Center,
387:Essex County College
199:September 11 attacks
1704:New York Daily News
1369:September 19, 1997
1232:Tunica, Mississippi
1163:September 11, 1998
738:September 29, 2000
279:On July 8, 2005, a
186:Friday Night Fights
1676:The New York Times
1645:Professional debut
1009:Jose Hiram Torres
626:September 1, 2001
589:New York, New York
573:November 23, 2001
525:February 27, 2004
468:Reggie Strickland
438:PromoWest Pavilion
391:Newark, New Jersey
161:super middleweight
154:professional boxer
77:Super middleweight
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1626:October 18, 1996
1577:November 2, 1996
1540:Yonkers, New York
1524:January 31, 1997
1436:Yonkers, New York
1318:October 10, 1997
1267:January 24, 1998
1179:Yonkers, New York
860:October 29, 1999
585:Roseland Ballroom
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41:December 18, 1972
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375:August 10, 2004
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259:bipolar disorder
150:James Butler Jr.
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56:Other names
48:Harlem, New York
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426:June 4, 2004
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240:Max Kellerman
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220:Rikers Island
216:
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195:New York City
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106:Boxing record
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75:
69:
66:
62:
59:Harlem Hammer
58:
54:
49:
43:(age 51)
33:
29:
22:
16:
1776:. Retrieved
1765:
1756:
1744:. Retrieved
1733:
1724:
1702:
1692:
1680:. Retrieved
1674:
1360:Louis March
1228:Grand Casino
516:Thomas Reid
477:May 7, 2004
417:Dan Sheehan
331:By decision
320:By knockout
296:
285:
278:
263:
252:
237:
224:
203:
184:
178:
171:
149:
148:
112:Total fights
105:
64:
15:
1829:1972 births
1103:Rufat Baku
907:Merqui Sosa
363:Omar Sheika
281:Los Angeles
244:Los Angeles
228:Omar Sheika
215:Teddy Atlas
1823:Categories
1712:Retrieved
1653:References
1279:Elks Lodge
1205:Tim Dendy
616:Sven Ottke
174:Sven Ottke
128:Wins by KO
65:Statistics
37:1972-12-18
1772:ESPN Inc.
1740:ESPN Inc.
822:Retained
761:Retained
702:, Germany
700:Magdeburg
644:, Germany
642:Magdeburg
315:5 losses
168:Biography
72:Weight(s)
1778:March 8,
1767:ESPN.com
1735:ESPN.com
1714:March 8,
1077:Virginia
914:2 (10),
854:7 (12),
793:2 (12),
732:6 (12),
312:20 wins
274:cover-up
211:Bob Papa
95:Orthodox
1682:May 28,
1062:1 (10)
1015:7 (10)
248:suspect
1801:BoxRec
1640:, U.S.
1623:1 (4)
1591:, U.S.
1542:, U.S.
1491:, U.S.
1470:1 (4)
1438:, U.S.
1417:6 (6)
1387:, U.S.
1336:, U.S.
1285:, U.S.
1264:3 (4)
1234:, U.S.
1181:, U.S.
1160:6 (8)
1130:, U.S.
1079:, U.S.
1032:, U.S.
985:, U.S.
968:2 (6)
938:, U.S.
875:, U.S.
817:, U.S.
756:, U.S.
591:, U.S.
540:, U.S.
492:, U.S.
444:, U.S.
393:, U.S.
255:lawyer
136:Losses
91:Stance
83:Height
50:, U.S.
1799:from
1502:Loss
1093:10–1
1046:11–1
999:12–1
952:13–1
896:14–1
838:15–1
777:16–1
716:17–1
665:18–1
605:18–2
602:Loss
554:18–3
551:Loss
506:18–4
503:Loss
458:19–4
407:20–4
352:20–5
349:Loss
292:arson
266:arson
181:ESPN2
1780:2017
1748:2011
1716:2017
1684:2020
1605:1–0
1602:Win
1556:2–0
1553:Win
1518:PTS
1505:2–1
1452:3–1
1449:Win
1401:4–1
1398:Win
1363:PTS
1350:5–1
1347:Win
1312:PTS
1299:6–1
1296:Win
1248:7–1
1245:Win
1195:8–1
1192:Win
1157:TKO
1144:9–1
1141:Win
1090:Win
1043:Win
1012:TKO
996:Win
965:TKO
949:Win
916:1:02
911:TKO
893:Win
882:USBA
880:For
856:0:55
835:Win
824:USBA
795:2:03
790:TKO
774:Win
763:USBA
734:0:59
729:TKO
713:Win
662:Win
649:For
455:Win
404:Win
290:and
213:and
120:Wins
31:Born
1619:TKO
1570:PTS
1414:KO
1261:KO
1138:10
1109:10
1106:UD
1087:11
1059:KO
1040:12
993:13
946:14
890:15
851:KO
832:16
771:17
710:18
678:UD
659:19
651:IBF
623:12
620:UD
599:20
570:10
567:UD
548:21
519:UD
500:22
471:UD
452:23
420:UD
401:24
372:10
346:25
323:12
193:in
183:'s
158:IBF
1825::
1770:.
1764:.
1738:.
1732:.
1707:.
1701:.
1673:.
1661:^
1599:1
1574:4
1550:2
1538:,
1521:4
1499:3
1487:,
1466:KO
1446:4
1434:,
1395:5
1383:,
1366:4
1344:6
1332:,
1315:6
1293:7
1281:,
1242:8
1230:,
1213:6
1209:UD
1189:9
1177:,
1126:,
934:,
813:,
752:,
698:,
681:8
640:,
587:,
522:8
474:6
440:,
423:6
389:,
368:SD
337:5
334:8
326:0
276:.
261:.
222:.
131:12
123:20
115:25
39:)
1782:.
1750:.
1718:.
1686:.
139:5
35:(
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