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FIGHT RECORD:
WON: 33
LOST: 6
DRAW: 0
NC 1
KOs: 26
RANKING:
TITLES HELD: 2004 National Golden Glove Champion (Super Heavyweight)
NICKNAME: “The Silencer
As an amateur, Raphael competed in almost 50 bouts and culminated his amateur career by winning the 2004 National Golden Gloves Championship in the Super Heavyweight division.
In winning that title by four-round decision over Texan Greg Corbin, he became the first boxer from the state of Minnesota to win a Golden Gloves title in 17 years.
Butler turned pro in June 2004 and had a successful debut in stopping Royphy Solieau in three rounds in Reno, Nevada.
He went on to win his first ten official bouts (there was a no contest in his third fight) – knocking out his first seven opponents – before sustaining his first pro loss to Darrell Provo in April 2005 in Denver, Colorado.
Butler picked himself back up and rattled off five straight victories before being losing to John Clark in San Jose in November of that year.
He would rebound with successive knockout wins in Colorado over Ronnie Smith and Forrest Neal before being controversial out pointed by Jason Gavern in a bout, which was televised on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” where most ringside observers had Butler as the winner.
Admittedly upset by his performance before a national television audience, Butler – who is trained by the well-regarded Dickie Wood and managed by Steve Munisteri -- went back to the gym to rededicate himself to becoming a top-tier heavyweight.
That commitment has resulted in thirteen wins in his last fourteen bouts, including eleven of those by knockout. Only U.S. Olympian Art Binkowski managed to withstand Butler’s furious assaults and the 3-knockdowns he incurred in the first round to eventually overcome the tiring Butler in the last round, a fight Butler was well ahead of on the official scorecards.
Butler garnered worldwide attention for being the sparring partner who battered former world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko into retirement while the Russian behemoth was preparing to defend his title against Hasim Rahman in 2005.
MOST RECENT BOUT:
In St. Louis, Missouri on March 8, 2008. A hungry and aggressive Butler made short work of Kerry Biles by stopping him in just 45 seconds of the first round. That victory was his fifth straight.
FAMILY:
Raphael was born in Chicago, Illinois. The 24-year-old grew up in Rochester, Minnesota and his family consists of his mother, Stephanie Butler, sister Lynette, grandmother Patricia Butler and many close friends he considers family.
EDUCATION:
A product of the Rochester, Minnesota school system, Raphael attended five different schools before receiving his diploma from Rochester Off-Campus Charter School (ROC).
As a high school sophomore, he played football but decided not to play anymore because he couldn’t deal with the fact that he felt he was the only player on the squad who cared about winning.
WHY BOXING:
Butler took up boxing at the age of 15 because he needed to play a competitive sport after football. His friend, Dwayne Caldwell, was fighting at the local 4th Street Youth Boxing Gym and brought me there. I found out that I was so good at boxing that I continued to go down there and work at it.
LITTLE KNOWN FACTS:
CHILDHOOD HERO: “My mother, for keeping me level.”
PEOPLE MOST ADMIRED: “Anybody who works hard for what they have. Hats off to you.”
EARLIEST BOXING MEMORY: “My second amateur fight. I fought a close fight with a kid who had over 50 fights.”
GREATEST SPORTS MOMENT: “Winning the 2004 National Golden Gloves.”
PRE-FIGHT FEELING: “Time to get this job down.”
HOBBIES/INTERESTS: “Hanging out with friends and family when I can; video games and watching old boxing tapes.”
FAVORITE MOVIE: “It’s hard to say. I watch a lot of movies.”
FAVORITE MUSIC: “Rap/Hip-Hop.”
FAVORITE MEAL: “Anything my mom cooks.”
FAVORITE JUNK FOOD: “Chips.”
FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR: “Cookie Dough.”
FIRST JOB: “Children’ activity coordinator at the local park at age 13.”
FAVORITE BOXERS TO WATCH: “Early James Toney, Ali, Roy Jones, Jr., just to name a few.”
TOUGHEST OPPONENT: “Louis Monaco. He took a lot of hard shots. Everybody knew he was hurting but he didn’t want to quit.”
FAVORITE FIGHT: “None yet. I know I can always do better.”
MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: “My four losses as a pro. I brought them on myself.”
CHILDHOOD DREAMS: “To be able to take care of the people who have taken care of me.”
GOALS: “To be champion. To show there can be a great fighter from any state. Of course, make some money.”
THINGS YOU WOULD LIKE BOXING FANS TO KNOW ABOUT YOU: “If you haven’t heard of me yet, you will soon!”
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