Dr. Charles Butler is Elected USA Boxing President

[by Julie Goldsticker/USA Boxing]

Dr. Charles Butler (Kalamazoo, Mich.), a long-term ringside physician and AIBA committee member, has been elected to serve as the President/Chair of USA Boxing. Butler was chosen by his fellow USA Boxing Board of Directors members to fill the role following the removal of Hal Adonis as President.

“It is a great honor to be elected President of USA Boxing 16 days before our team leaves for London. The time is critical for USA Boxing. We have a great and proud tradition. Now we must support that tradition with achievement,” Butler said. “We will provide for all needs of our athletes and coaches in this short preparation period. Once the Olympic Games are over, we will work to increase the number of both men and women boxers in our country and work to restore boxing to its rightful and historic place among all sports in the United States.”

In his first days as President of the organization, Butler implemented a financial incentive program for the 2012 Olympic Team, encouraging the team members to train and perform at their highest levels. The athletes will be rewarded for their efforts both in training camp as well as medal performances in London per Butler’s new program. Following the Olympic Games, he will turn his attention to updating USA Boxing’s rulebook and bylaws to ensure they are consistent.

Butler has served on the medical committee from 2003 to the present date, holding numerous positions on the board. He currently holds positions within numerous Ringside Physicians organizations both in the United States and abroad. Highly respected throughout the globe, Butler has been heavily involved at the international level over the past decade. He is a member of the AIBA Executive Committee, AIBA Reform Committee and AIBA Executive Bureau as well as serving as the Chair of AIBA’s Medical Commission and is the AIBA Medical Representative to the IOC. Butler was elected to USA Boxing’s Board of Directors in 2010 in the role of AIBA Director prior to being elected President on Monday.

Dr Butler is a highly respected Cardiac Surgeon who has held teaching positions at Harvard University, the Mayo Clinic, the University of Alabama, University of Utah, LSU, and Michigan State. He was the Director of Cardiac Surgery at Michigan State University’s Bronson Methodist Hospital from 1985-2005. Butler is a father of three, and he and his wife, Penny, live in Kalamazoo, Mich.