1943 - 1949

Salvatore Butera, born Dec. 11, 1927 and raised on Buffalo's West side.
Known as "The Atomic Muscle" during his boxing career in the U.S. Army for his ability to jar his opponent when connecting. Sam started training for boxing at the age of fourteen at a time when there were plenty of role models of boxers to look up to. One in particular, that he met while training at Singer's gym was a former top lightweight contender named, Bobby Tracey. Sammy learned the fundamentals of boxing and was soon managed by Bobby.

Sam started out in the bantamweight class and went on to win the 1943 New York State Golden Gloves novice Bantamweight title. After racking up a string of knockouts, Sammy went on to win the 1944 New York State Golden Gloves open class Bantamweight Championship. Sammy had an opportunity to fight for the British Empire Bantamweight title up in Toronto at the Maple Leaf Gardens late in 1944 and wound up knocking out his opponent from London in 39 seconds of the first round. Sam moved up to the featherweight division in early 1945 and unanimously won the 1945 New York State Golden Gloves Featherweight Championship.

Sam was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1945 and was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. Had he not been drafted, Sammy would have begun a world tour in the fall of 1945 at the request of the United States government. He would have started his world tour in England and then traveled through South America. During his two- year service in the U.S. Army from 1945-1947, Sammy made his mark on the Northern West coast. He won the U.S. Army featherweight titles in three different army divisions, the 6th Army title, 8th Army title, and the 25th division Army title. In 1947, he was selected as one of ten contestants representing the U.S. Army at Fort Lewis, Washington in the A.A.U. Junior Boxing Tournament. One of the other fellow army contestants was an up and coming boxer who would eventually go on to become the Undefeated Heavyweight Champion of the World, Rocky Marciano. Sam cherishes his U.S. Army Boxing team photo with him and Rocky in it. Sam also was a boxing instructor at the North Fort Sports Arena at Fort Lewis.


Sam Butera holds a very impressive amateur record, in 105 amateur bouts, he won 103 fights, 100 of them by knockout, 3 by decision, while losing two by decision. After being honorably discharged from the service in 1947, Sam returned home to Buffalo and decided to turn pro. He met and married wife, Arlene in 1947 and had one daughter. Sam hung up the gloves after a two- year professional career, as his interests were in the restaurant business. Over the years, Sam has owned four successful restaurants serving Italian cuisine. He is well known for his many tasty Italian dishes, especially his meatballs! Sam has resided all his life in the same house he grew up in on Buffalo's West side. Sam is truly an inspiration for his dedication to the sport of boxing and his Buffalo area community. Tonight, we are very proud to honor Sam Butera for his achievements and contributions to the sport of boxing by inducting him into Ring 44's Boxing Hall of Fame.