Butterbean was a fan-favorite heavyweight for years, delivering some incredible knockouts in the ring.
Considered to be a master of four-round heavyweight fights, Eric Esch, better known as Butterbeanm had over 90 boxing fights as a professional.
From Esch knocking out WWE stars to delivering huge punches to TV heroes, there have been some crazy moments in the life of Butterbean.
Although he never fought for a world title, Butterbean did fight Larry Holmes in his career, before retiring with a 77-10-4 record. However, one of his losses came brutally and surprisingly.
Butterbean lost his first professional fight in Madison Square Garden
In December 1995, a 15-0 Butterbean was performing on one of the biggest stages of his career. At 29 years old, Esch would take on Mitchell Rose, who had an unimpressive 1-7-1 record.
Rose had lost his last three in a row, all in the space of three months, before facing Butterbean.
Although the knockout artist Esch was a huge favorite in the bout, it would not be a 16th win for Butterbean.
An unconvincing opening round would see one of the heaviest boxers of all time get caught by numerous punches by Rose, potentially even getting saved by the bell.
In the second round, things would worsen for Butterbean. The opening minute of the round would see Butterbean receive several significant unanswered blows. Despite protests from the losing fighter, the referee stepped in to wave off the bout.
The fight was the first loss of his career. However, Butterbean would go on a six-year unbeaten run after the defeat.
- READ MORE: Butterbean accidentally dropped referee with monstrous punch that convinced opponent to quit
Butterbean lost at event that included Oscar De La Hoya, Arturo Gatti, and Shannon Briggs
Butterbean was not the only notable name competing at Madison Square Garden on December 15th, 1995.
In another non-title bout, Shannon Briggs improved his unbeaten record to 25-0. ‘The Cannon’ earned a first-round stoppage over Calvin Jones, at age 24.
The event would also be headlined by two world title fights. Arturo Gatti was successful when competing for the IBF World Super Featherweight title, defeating Tracy Harris Patterson.
Also on the card was record-setting Oscar De La Hoya, who retained his WBO World Lightweight title in the main event. He defeated Jesse James Leija by stoppage to improve his record to 20-0.