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 W ...

boxer 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, incorpo ...

. A professional boxing competitor from 2004 until 2011, he fought fighters the likes of David Price, Malik Scott, Eddie Chambers, 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 fr ...

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 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. Ac ...

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 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.

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 founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Glob ...

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 ch ...

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 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 Heavyweight ...

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 durin ...

at Bellator 134 on February 27, 2015. Butler won via a first-round standing guillotine choke submission.

Mixed martial arts record

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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 ...

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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