Yama Bahama was born William Horatio Butler, Jr. on February 16, 1933 in Bimini in the Bahamas. He was the youngest in a large family consisting of three sisters and four brothers. His father was a first mate on a cargo ship that operated between Bimini and Miami Beach. At the age of six he began to participate in Battle Royals. Battle Royals consist of six or more boys fighting blindfolded, and the last one standing is declared the winner. At the age of 12 he started to tag along after his brothers Herman and Louis when they went to the local gym to train. Although both were top-notch amateurs neither turned professional. The Butler boys were fight fans and hooked up a short wave set so they could listen to the boxing broadcasts from the United States. Yama always wanted to be a boxer. When he was old enough, he joined the boys club where he began his formal fistic education. When Yama turned 20 he moved to Florida and started training at the Miami Beach Gym. When he was ready to turn pro his manager George Lyon decided he needed a unique ring name. Lee Evans a reporter on the Miami Herald was also trying to think up a catchy ring name when he happened to glance at Lyons boat which was named Bahama Mama. The idea came to him to put the last name first and to change the first letter of the new first name M to Y. And thats how William H. Butler, Jr. became Yama Bahama. Yama made his pro debut on November 17, 1953 in Miami Beach with a first round technical knockout over Harry Irwin. He went undefeated in his first fourteen bouts, with only two draws blemishing his perfect record, before losing a six round decision to Jimmy Ford. Yama then shifted his base of operations to Detroit, Michigan where he became a big fan favorite because of his aggressive style and pleasing personality. After winning three fights in a row, he was dropped for the first time in his career and suffered a first round kayo loss to Bob Hoffman. This was the only clean knockout defeat he was to suffer in 89 professional fights. Showing no ill effects from the knockout loss, Yama won 19 of his next 21 fights over good competition. During that stretch he defeated Battling Douglas (for the welterweight championship of the Bahamas), Mickey Savage, Jimmy Ford(avenging two earlier losses), Hector Peralta, Gene Parker, and Howard Calloway. His stirring knockout victory over Gene Parker convinced his manager that he was ready to step up in competition. Up until then Yamas biggest victory was winning the welterweight championship of the Bahamas by stopping Battling Douglas in seven rounds.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 01:18:45 +0000
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