Knockout boxing phenomenon Butterbean has aired his views on a potential fight with fellow heavyweight hitter Mike Tyson.
The four-round wonder, who enjoyed a career selling early KOs during the 1990s, never got to share a ring with his destructive nemesis. Several promoters mentioned an exhibition clash in the media. However, Mike Tyson vs Butterbean never made it to the first bell.
If it did with both in their prime, Butterbean is sure the battle would have been hellfire in a squared circle.
Mike Tyson vs Butterbean
“I’ve never been knocked out. He’s been knocked out quite a few times,” Butterbean told Chris Van Vliet in an interview. “But I’m not trashing Mike Tyson. I like Mike Tyson.
“He’s actually small. He’s not a big guy, but he’s powerful, I got no doubt. The reason me and Tyson would be a good fight is that he would come right at me. We’d go to the center of the ring and beat the s*** out of each other.
“It would be a hell of a fight to watch,” he added.
Despite claiming he’d never been knocked out, Butterbean has been stopped before more than once. That loss came in 1995 when Esch fought Mitchell Rose at Madison Square Garden. Rose stopped him in two, although technically, it wasn’t a knockout. This defeat, only the second of his career then, prompted Butterbean to put on more weight to avoid getting stopped. It worked as he went undefeated in boxing for six years after that and didn’t get stopped again until his last, about eighteen years later.
At the height of his powers, a benchmark between 310 and 340 pounds seemed to be Butterbean’s plateau.
Butterbean, real name Eric Esch, is down two hundred pounds after ballooning to over five hundred in retirement. The KO icon is trimming the weight, hoping to land one final bout inside the ring. Esch aims to cash in on the current exhibition fad despite not having a professional boxing match in a decade. That’s unlikely to change, but he could campaign on something similar to the Celebrity Boxing circuit thanks to WWE Hall of Famer ‘Diamond’ Dallas Page.
Butterbean loses weight with Diamond Dallas Page
There’s certainly no lack of ambition on Esch’s part. He’s been discussing the possibility of a comeback for years. This time, dropping timber from his weight of 500 pounds plus was essential. Butterbean started to weigh himself publicly on social media to prove his intent and document his mission. His latest public scaling last August showed the 57-year-old was down to a slimmer 303 pounds.
However, in the video, Butterbean displayed what all people who lose weight rapidly show—excess skin. The main problem of getting rid of the fat is the skin, but he is heading in the right direction. Butterbean was only three pounds off his lowest-ever fighting weight, but it’s been almost a year since then.
Discussing his journey, Esch said, “Look, I’ve never done a public weigh-in, first time. I was 515 pounds about a year and a half ago. Maybe two years ago, so let’s see what I weigh now. I’ve been working out with DDP-Y. Mr. Diamond Dallas Page [WWE wrestler and Yoga teacher] has helped my buddy Joshua and me. So, let’s see what I weigh.”
He added: “Come back next week to see what I weigh again,” despite no further scaling on his Instagram.
In 2022, Esch reiterated his desire to compete again, stating, “The big announcement is I’m going to fight one last fight,” in an interview alongside professional wrestling legend Al Snow on Hannibal TV. It never transpired then, but maybe this time, it will.
Butterbean hopes to erase the memory of losing to two-fight novice Kirk Lawton at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre in Australia. Looking bloated even by his standards, Esch labored through the first two rounds until pulling out of the fight with a shoulder injury.
The slugger hung up his gloves with a 77-10-4 record, which included an impressive tally of 58 knockouts, 15 of which came in the first round alone. Esch will now look to roll back the years as Tyson himself plans to fight at 58 against YouTuber Jake Paul.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
