Knockout Artist From Huntley Gym Turning Pro

Two nights a week he works as a bouncer.

“The bar I work at, I don’t get much trouble,” Simon Buettner said. “The customers are all regulars. They know I’m a fighter.”

Buettner, 23, is short for a light heavyweight, only 5-foot-9, but he’s got guns for arms and a jaw-rattling left hook.

He’s won 11 tournaments as an amateur boxer and as a kick-boxer.  He has scored 19  boxing and kickboxing knockouts since he started fighting in 2004. He's won a Chicago Golden Glove novice title. He’s been in the ring in such faraway places as Croatia, Italy and Ireland. His title belts adorn a wall at Z’s Martial Arts Academy in Huntley, where Buettner works as an instructor.

Buettner’s trainer and manager is Rob Zbilski, the owner of Z’s. Zbilski said is negotiating a deal with Bobby Hitz, a Chicago boxing promoter, for Buettner’s debut bout as a professional, a four-rounder.

Buettner’s first pro fight will be in May or June at either the Horseshoe Casino in Indiana or at a banquet hall in Elk Grove Village, Zbilski said.

Zbilski swells with pride when he talks about his prize pupil’s accomplishments.

“I’ve been his trainer since he walked in here eight years ago,” Zbilski said.

A deep-felt loyalty is mutual.

“I’d quit boxing before I’d leave Rob for another manager,” Buettner said. “I trust him. He sets up everything.”

Buettner said he needs two more classes to earn an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Elgin Community College, but is not in a rush to get a diploma.

He wants to see how far he can go as a professional boxer. His idol is Roy Jones Jr.

Asked if he’s considered cage fighting, Buettner grimaces and shakes his head.

“I don’t like being on the ground,” he said.