Athletes - James Butler

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	Athletes - James Butler

James Butler Jr. (b. December 18, 1972 in Harlem, New York) is an American light heavyweight boxer, and former USBA Super Middleweight champion. He has a career record of 20-5-0, with 12 wins coming by way of knockout.

Butler's infamy began with his actions after a nationally-televised bout on November 23, 2001 at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan, New York. After losing by unanimous decision to Richard "The Alien" Grant, Butler had his gloves removed and went to Grant's side of the ring for an expected exchange of congratulations. Suddenly, Butler hit the unsuspecting Grant with a right hook to the jaw. Grant went down and dripped blood from his mouth onto the mat. Butler was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

On October 12, 2004, writer Sam Kellerman, brother of boxing analyst Max Kellerman, was murdered. (His body was found on October 17.) Butler, whose last bout was a split-decision loss on August 10, 2004, was considered a potential suspect. (Butler and Kellerman had been friends for ten years.) On October 20, Butler, accompanied by a lawyer, sought treatment for his alleged bipolar disorder.

On October 29, Butler pleaded not guilty to murder and arson, following his arrest on October 27. He is being held on $1.25 million bail. Prosecutors claim that Butler, currently the only suspect in the case, repeatedly struck Kellerman in the head with a hammer, then torched Kellerman's Hollywood apartment in an attempted coverup. (Coincidentally, Butler fought under the nickname "The Harlem Hammer.")

On July 8, 2005, a Los Angeles judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence for Butler to stand trial on the charges of murder and arson.

On March 27, 2006, Butler pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and arson in the 2004 death of freelance sports writer, Sam Kellerman. Butler will be sentenced to 29 years, four months in prison by Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor on April 5, according to Deputy Public Defender Jack Keenan.

cite news |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2386235 |publisher=ESPN |title=Boxer pleads guilty to death of sportswriter Kellerman |date=March 27, 2006

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