Alonzo Butler (October 30, 1979 – October 28, 2024) was an American heavyweight boxer. At the height of his career, Butler went unbeaten for 26 bouts, and would finish his career with 34 wins. He would later become the sparring partner of World heavyweight champion

Deontay Wilder Deontay Leshun Wilder (; born October 22, 1985) is an American professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020. By winning the title, Wilder became the first American world heavyweight champion si ...

, preparing him for his world championship bouts.

Background

Butler was born in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, where he described growing up in the "projects". He later moved to Knoxville, where he worked at the

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...

factory until 4 a.m. stacking beer to earn enough to support his boxing training. Butler committed to play football at

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a Public university, public research university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as ...

. He later chose a boxing career over football. In 2006, he signed with Art Pelullo to a promotional contract. At the time, he was managed and trained by Ace Miller. After a string of undefeated bouts, he was named the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame Professional Athlete of the year in 2006. The winning streak made waves in the boxing world at the time, with many speculating that Butler could be the sport's next star. In May 2007, Butler defeated Ray West with a knockout in the first round. In 2008, an unbeaten Butler was matched with

Friday Ahunanya Friday Chinedu Ahunanya (born 19 November 1971) is a Nigerian professional boxer. He is a journeyman heavyweight, best known for beating several undefeated prospects and for his appearances on ESPN fight cards. Amateur career * 1994: World Cup, ...

for a bout in Las Vegas. At the time, his record was 26–0–1. Prior to the match, he had taken nearly a year off of boxing to heal from a

detached retina Retinal detachment is a condition where the retina pulls away from the tissue underneath it. It may start in a small area, but without quick treatment, it can spread across the entire retina, leading to serious vision loss and possibly blindness. R ...

suffered in training. Ahunanya took advantage, pummeling Butler in his left eye until it was swollen shut. Butler lost the match after ten rounds. Butler returned to boxing over a year later, but he would not be able to match his earlier record, after a disappointing loss to

Travis Walker Travis Walker (born June 22, 1979) is an American professional boxer. As an amateur, he won the 2003 National Golden Gloves. Amateur career He became the 2003 National Golden Gloves Super Heavyweight Champion beating among others a 17-year-old ...

majority decision A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (at ...

in 2011 for the WBA-NABA

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

title. Butler knocked Walker down in the first round of the fight, but lost on points. Butler's next fight, a planned 2011 bout in Mexico to

Chris Arreola Cristobal Arreola (born March 5, 1981) is an American former professional boxer who 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 heavyweigh ...

went forward with fighter

Raphael Butler Raphael Butler (born January 4, 1984) is an American retired Heavyweight boxer and mixed martial artist. A professional boxing competitor from 2004 until 2011, he fought fighters the likes of David Price, Malik Scott, Eddie Chambers, and Chris ...

instead. Butler had one fight outside the United States, when he unsuccessfully faced Brice Ritani Coe in New Zealand in 2014. Butler was the longtime

sparring partner Sparring is a form of training common to many combat sports. It can encompass a range of activities and techniques such as punching, kicking, grappling, throwing, wrestling or submission work dependent on style. Although the precise form varies, ...

for eventual World boxing heavyweight champion

, helping the boxer prepare for the Olympic games and for his WBC heavyweight bouts. Wilder described Butler as the toughest sparring partner he was ever matched against, describing him:

"'Big Zo' was the fastest heavyweight I've ever seen, with his size, he was a solid 250 lbs, but he could move. If he had better management and handling he could've been heavyweight champion of the world...Alonzo was the man, he was the first guy that I ever felt a body shot from and I learned a lot from him during that time."

In 2016, Butler fought Roberto White to a win in his hometown of Knoxville. Later that year, he would fight Fred Latham to a close draw by

split decision A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split de ...

for the USA Tennessee State Heavyweight finals. Butler fought at a heavy weight of 312 lbs. In 2020, he fought twice, winning both bouts to Jesus Martinez Torres (at ) and to Ron Guerrero respectively. In 2021, he looked to make his professional comeback, enlisting promoter

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the ...

in an effort to return to the ring, despite his age. Butler fought his last bout against Brandon Spencer in

Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the " Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. It ...

on August 28, 2021. He won by unanimous decision after eight rounds. He died in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, on October 28, 2024, 2 days before his 45th birthday.

Professional record

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 40 fights, 34 wins (25 knockouts), 3 losses (0 knockouts), 2 draws, 1 no contest , - , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round, time , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , - align=center , Win , 31-3-1 (1) , align=left, Roberto White , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 30–3–1 (1) , align=left, Marvin Hunt , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , 29–3–1 (1) , align=left, Brice Ritani Coe , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 29–2–1 (1) , align=left,

Louis Monaco Louis "The Facelifter" Monaco (born April 28, 1968) is a professional boxer in the heavyweight division and the former CAM (Canadian American Mexican) heavyweight champion. Nicknamed "The Facelifter," Monaco is a clubfighter who fought several s ...

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Loss , 28–2–1 (1) , align=left,

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 28–1–1 (1) , align=left, Willie Perryman , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 27–1–1 (1) , align=left, Douglas Robertson , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Loss , 26–1–1 (1) , align=left,

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 26–0–1 (1) , align=left, Ralph West , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 25–0–1 (1) , align=left, James Walton , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , style="background:#ddd;", NC , 24–0–1 (1) , align=left, Troy Beets , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 24–0–1 , align=left, Maurice Wheeler , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 23–0–1 , align=left, Travis Fulton , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 22–0–1 , align=left, Zack Page , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 21–0–1 , align=left, Terry Porter , , , , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , Win , 20–0–1 , align=left, Cornelius Ellis , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 19-0-1 , align=left, Andrew Greeley , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 18-0-1 , align=left, Demetrice King , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , 17-0-1 , align=left, Brandon Cabell , , , , align=left, , align=left,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Alonzo 1979 births 2024 deaths Boxers from Tennessee Sportspeople from Chattanooga, Tennessee Sportspeople from Knoxville, Tennessee American male boxers Heavyweight boxers