Known for his knockout ability, Butterbean has a highlight reel that any fight fan would be entertained by.
Eric Esch, better known as Butterbean, has a resume of over 90 professional boxing fights and was a big fan favorite through the 90s and 2000s. One moment that fans will often recall is when Butterbean accidentally dropped a referee.
Spending most of his career only fighting in four-round bouts, Butterbean is one of boxing’s most unique and entertaining competitors. Butterbean even got his nickname in an unlikely fashion.
There was no limit to the competition that Esch involved himself with. The knockout artist even featured in a WWE boxing fight.
Butterbean delivered a brutal knockout in WWE match
In 1999, Butterbean would make an appearance in the WWE at Wrestlemania 15.
Facing Bart Gunn, who was WWE’s Brawl for All Champion at the time, the two engaged in a boxing match under the wrestling promotions banner.
Although not an official boxing match, that did not stop the result from being brutal.
It would take Butterbean just seconds to send the fight. An early knockdown would see Gunn momentarily get to his feet, before being delivered a knockout blow from Esch.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Butterbean looked back on his professional wrestling appearance.
Butterbean implied that he was brought into the event to issue a “punishment” to Gunn. “Bart, to my understanding, was supposed to lose to Dr.Death and he didn’t, he knocked him out. So I was brought in as punishment.
Ahead of the fight, Butterbean said that Vince McMahon told him, “Bean, give it all that you’ve got,” to which the boxer replied, “Okay, I’ll do what I can do.”
Speaking on the knockout itself, Esch described it as being one of the finest finishes of his career. However, feels that the stoppage was unnecessarily late.
“The knockdown prior to the last one, he probably shouldn’t have let him [keep fighting], cause his eyes were going everywhere. He was standing and he was out. It was a bad knockout. I was told he didn’t know which way he was walking for about two weeks.”
Butterbean on why he didn’t fight Mike Tyson
Both known as knockout artists in the 90s, Butterbean and Mike Tyson were involved in rumors to fight one another. However, the bout never came to fruition.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Butterbean explained why the showdown between the heavy punchers never happened.
“They never wanted Tyson to fight anyone that could punch,” Butterbean said. “They kept away from people that could punch.”
Butterbena would go on to add that there was never a point where he felt that a fight was close to being made with Tyson. However, he said that in 2023, that was the closest the fight ever was to happening.