James Butler is a mid-weight boxer from the United States of America. He earned the nickname "Jackhammer of Harlem" for his unprincipled and tough manner of fighting. Butler also became known throughout the world for his unsportsmanlike behavior and strange tricks that are cruel.
Biography of the "Harlem Sledgehammer"
James Butler Jr. was born on December 18 in 1972 in the city of Harlem (New York, USA). At the age of 14, he began boxing at the local sports section in Harlem. Two years later, he began to take part in various amateur tournaments, where he often won prizes. With the advent of the professional league, he began to play in the weight category “second average”. James Butler had several distinctive features in terms of combat. He had a left-handed stance with a puncher style. The boxer had good potential. Many experts predicted a great career for him, in which there would be many victories and belts. Spectators and fans gave him the nickname "Jackhammer of Harlem." This was due to the fact that the athlete was distinguished by extreme aggression and cruelty towards his opponents.
James Butler: scandal in a charity fight against Richard Grant
In November 2001, a battle took place between two prominent fighters - James Butler and Richard Grant. This boxing match was of a charitable nature, the box office of which went to the aid of survivors of the events of September 11 (a tragic terrorist attack in America, during which the World Trade Center - the Twin Towers was damaged).
During the fight, both boxers demonstrated excellent technique and sports excitement. Some rounds went to Butler, and some to Grant. However, in the last round, Richard Grant conducted a series of successful attacks, thanks to which he received several additional points from the judges. By a unanimous decision on points, Richard Grant defeated. The winner began to celebrate his triumph, after which he headed in the opposite direction of the ring in order to thank his opponent for the battle. This is the traditional etiquette of all existing martial arts. Richard went to Butler and held out his hand, expressing his respect and respect to him. But James Butler did not spit on all the foundations and customs of boxing etiquette, and instead of extending a hand in response, he simply struck a powerful blow to Richard's jaw with his bare hand (without a glove). Naturally, from such a lateral punch, Grant fell onto the ring platform and for a long time could not recover. As it turned out, Richard received serious damage to his face and a broken jaw.
This act shocked the entire sports community. Earlier, fans and boxing fans did not see such gestures. As a result, Grant was immediately hospitalized. As already mentioned, the boxer was left with a broken jaw, bitten tongue and a small concussion. With this unsportsmanlike act, James Butler crossed out his own career. On his account there were only 25 fights, among which 20 victories (12 by KO) and 5 defeats. He was disqualified, and then arrested and sentenced to prison.
Thirst for revenge or not?
Few people know that Grant and Butler had previously met in the ring in 1997. Then Richard won by unanimous decision by a significant margin in points and, apparently, became the main enemy for a psychopath from Harlem. However, having won against Butler for the second time, he became a victim of James' unsportsmanlike behavior and received a side blow to the jaw without a glove.
Accusation of assault and murder of American journalist Sam Kellerman
The punishment in the form of imprisonment in no way affected the worldview and behavior of James Butler. The ex-boxer did not take the path of correction and did not learn any lesson from the incident. The world sports community temporarily forgot about Butler, but he soon again reminded everyone of himself. Oddly enough, but this time in an even more cruel, "repulsed" and manic form. Here is what the media wrote about him:
“On October 20, 2004, American boxer James Butler was convicted by a Los Angeles court and sentenced to 29 years in prison for the brutal murder of journalist Sam Kellerman. On October 17, 2004, the body of American sports journalist Sam Kellerman was found in his home in Hollywood. During the investigation revealed that Kellerman died 5 days before the murder. He was hit about 30 times with a heavy blunt object on the head and other parts of the body."
The investigation revealed that the cause of this incident is James Butler. The details of this case are not advertised, as are Butler’s motives. However, there are many versions and assumptions about this that cannot be refuted or confirmed by facts.
James Butler: the ring is not motivation, or the story of a vile scumbag
It is noteworthy and surprising in this story that Kellerman and Butler were good friends. 30 days before the assassination, Butler settled in the house of an American boxing journalist. Kellerman, 29, also had a brother, Max, who hosted an analytical boxing program called ESPN.
As it became known later, Sam Kellerman in every possible way helped Butler after the events with Richard Grant. Kellerman appealed several times to James disqualification and prison term. As a result, even after the boxer's prison term, Kellerman provided Butler with his own housing and supported the talented boxer both morally and financially. James’s vile deed cannot be justified by anything - he took the life of a good person, moreover, as some say, he took a large amount of money with him and disappeared.
