Eric Esch

Eric "Butterbean" Esch
Eric Esch in 2006
Born	Eric Scott Esch (1966-08-03) August 3, 1966 Bay City, Michigan, United States
Other names	Butterbean
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m)
Weight	442 lb (200 kg; 31.6 st)
Reach	78.0 in (198 cm)
Style	Boxing
Stance	Orthodox
Fighting out of	Jasper, Alabama
Team	American Top Team Team Butterbean
Trainer	Murray Sutherland
Years active	1994–present
Professional boxing record
Total	89
Wins	77
By knockout	58
Losses	8
By knockout	1
Draws	4
Kickboxing record
Total	7
Wins	3
By knockout	2
Losses	4
By knockout	2
Mixed martial arts record
Total	25
Wins	16
By knockout	5
By submission	11
Losses	8
By knockout	2
By submission	4
Draws	1
Other information
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Eric Scott Esch (born August 3, 1966) is an American heavyweight boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist commonly referred to as Butterbean.

He is the former IBA Super-Heavyweight Champion and also held the WAA Heavyweight title. Esch's round body, bald head and vicious scowl make him a menacing (yet highly entertaining) fight figure, along with his sporting of American flag trunks. His combined professional fight record currently stands at 95 wins with 65 knockouts, 19 losses and 5 draws. Butterbean currently resides in Jasper, Alabama where he owns a restaurant, Mr Bean BBQ.

Fighting career

Boxing

Known as the "King of the 4 rounders", Butterbean developed a cult following after he burst onto the Toughman Contest scene in Texarkana, AR before entering the world of professional boxing in 1994. He was a five time World Toughman Heavyweight Champion with a record of 56-5 with 36 knockouts (not counted towards pro career). It has been said that he got his nickname when he had to go on a diet (consisting mostly of chicken and butterbeans) to meet the Toughman 400-pound weight limit.

Butterbean is one of the most popular boxers of all time, having more televised matches than most professionals. He stated in an interview with BoxingInsider: "It took off pretty quick (his popularity), my second pro fight was on national TV—it don’t happen like that, normally you get 15, 20 fights and then you get a TV fight unless you’re very fortunate to win a gold medal or something like that. Or unless you’re an absolute remarkable thing that God threw on the earth to really just do boxing like Mike Tyson. Tyson, his second pro fight wasn’t on TV. He probably had five or six, seven fights before he got on TV. Me, my second pro fight was televised, it was on a Tommy Hearns undercard. Then a couple more fights and I’m on TV again, and every fight since then was televised. It just don’t happen like that. I’ve probably had more televised fights than any world champion out there.".

While a majority of his opponents were technically limited club-level fighters early in his career, he did move up the ranks to win the IBA Super-Heavyweight Championship on April 12, 1997 (which he never lost before relinquishing the title). Butterbean faced former WBC and IBF World Champion 52 year old Larry Holmes in 2002, and while Holmes won a unanimous 10-round decision, Butterbean was credited with a controversial knockdown in the final round. Holmes fought a fight on points, playing on his reach advantage, fearful of Butterbean’s knockout punch. Butterbean was quoted as saying: “Homes just used his jab and tried to stay away. It’s probably the worst fight I could have picked but it was a good payday, and a good chance if I do catch him, he’s in trouble and they knew that going into the fight. I’d fight him again, it would be less than a six round fight—we’ll schedule it for however many he wants but I’m gonna give it everything I’ve got right off the bat. In a 10 round, in the back of your mind is, ‘You gotta save a little bit.’ I wouldn’t save nothing, I’d go for broke. Without catching him and knocking him out, he’s gonna win, It’d be that simple next time”.".. This was one of only three fights in a 109 fight career that was scheduled for more than four rounds. Esch's most recent title shot came on October 15, 2005 when he lost a split decision against George Linberger for the NABC Super-Heavyweight title (whom Esch had beaten in March 2000 in his final defense of the IBA title, taking Linberger's WAA Heavyweight title).
On March 9, 2007, Esch defeated Joe Siciliano at the Palladium. That same night, Esch's son, Brandon "Babybean", lost in his professional debut against Matthew Eckerly.

Esch lost via 1st round KO for the EBF title against Mark Potter at the Syndicte Nightclub in Blackpool, England on the 14th September 2008. This fight has not been recorded on boxrec.com or any other site of the same nature, as Potter was not licensed at the time.

On October 3, 2009 Esch lost a four round split decision to Harry Funmaker whom he earlier beat on two occasions. After the bout he announced his retirement.

Mixed martial arts

Butterbean's previous fighting experiences led him to venture into mixed martial arts. At K-1 Premium 2003 on December 31, 2003, Butterbean lost his first MMA bout to 155-pound Japanese fighter Genki Sudo via tap out to a heel hook. Esch regrouped, going 6-0-1 in appearances in King of the Cage, Gracie Fightfest, and Rumble on the Rock including a TKO stoppage of Cabbage Correira. Esch returned to Japan with the PRIDE Fighting Championships on August 26, 2006 to compete at Bushido 12 against Ikuhisa Minowa, a 185-pound fighter, to whom he lost via armbar at 4:25 of round one. Less than two months later, Butterbean was scheduled to fight K-1 legend Mark Hunt at Pride FC's first North American show on October 21, 2006. Due to an injury Hunt sustained in training, Esch was matched up against Irish-American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist Sean O'Haire, whom he defeated via knockout at 30 seconds in the first round.

Besides his two submission losses to much smaller opponents (Genki Sudo and Ikuhisa Minowa), Butterbean's only other loss came to then Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion Rob Broughton. On February 10, Butterbean rebounded by knocking out James Thompson 43 seconds into the first round at Cage Rage 20. Butterbean then defeated Zuluzinho via submission at PRIDE 34 on April 8, 2007. Although he's been overweight throughout his career, at the time of the fight, Esch weighed an astonishing 407 pounds (185 kg) to match his opponent's weight, who also weighs 185 kg but is 8 inches (20 centimeters) taller.

Butterbean's next fight was on July 14 against current Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion Tengiz Tedoradze at Cage Rage 22, losing via TKO. Global Fighting Championships had scheduled a main event bout between Esch and Ruben Villareal for their inaugural event, but the event was canceled when half the scheduled matchups could not take place due to medical issues (Esch vs Villareal was the only viable main event). He was then scheduled to fight Jimmy Ambriz as the main event of Xcess Fighting's debut card, but was a no show for the weigh-in citing scheduling conflicts. Esch most recently defeated Tom Howard by submission around 4:47 in the first round in an exhibition in his hometown of Jasper, Alabama. His youngest son Caleb (19) lost that night, whilst his oldest son Brandon "Babybean" Esch (22) making his Pro MMA debut won, via 22 second TKO.

Esch has said he has fought his final US fight, and will be fully retired soon, after other international obligations are completed.

Butterbean was due to take on Tank Abbott at the Alababma Pride event on 29 Sept 2009, but Abbott pulled out at last minute.

On September 18, 2010, Esch was defeated by Mariusz Pudzianowski by submission due to strikes at KSW XIV. After several exchanges of strikes on the feet, Pudzianowski attacked and took Esch down, proceeding to throw numerous punches from side control in a ground-and-pound attack. Esch, unable to get to his feet, submitted at just 1:15 into the first round.

Esch was next scheduled to take on up and coming super heavyweight Deon West at the “LFC 43: Wild Thang” MMA internet pay-per-view on 12/10/2010. The main event of LFC 43: After a heated contest, Deon did not rise for the third round. Butterbean humbled Deon West via TKO at 5:00 of Round 2.

Professional Wrestling

Butterbean won the Pro Wrestling Syndicate Heavyweight Championship on May 29, 2009 after defeating Trent Acid. Butterbean lost the belt to Kevin Matthews on May 8, 2010 in White Plains, NY.

Butterbean has appeared twice in WWF events competing in boxing matches. In 1997, at the In Your House 19: D-Generation X pay-per-view event, he defeated Marc Mero (former Golden Gloves champion) via disqualification in a worked match. Two years later, Butterbean defeated "Toughman" Bart Gunn in a legitimate shootfight at WrestleMania XV, defeating the Brawl For All champion with ease, knocking him out in 27 seconds.

Media appearances

Movies

Butterbean appeared in the film Jackass: The Movie, where he fought Johnny Knoxville in a department store. Knoxville was floored by Esch and received several stitches in his head after the encounter (the camera catches Knoxville snoring). Knoxville stated that Esch is actually quite friendly outside of the ring, despite his fearsome ringside demeanor.

Butterbean also appeared in the film Chairman of the Board as the Museum Security Guard with the "chia hair", a fact that is pointed out on the DVD commentary by the movie's star Scott "Carrot Top" Thompson.

Television

Butterbean appeared on Adult Swim's Squidbillies where he sang the national anthem, and ended up beating up a fan for not taking off his hat.

Butterbean also appeared on CMT's Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling television show, on Team Beefcake.

Butterbean was referenced on NBC's "Parenthood". The episode aired on October 5, 2010 and was titled "Date Night."

Radio

On July 16, 2005, Butterbean fought Dominic Dieter of Rover's Morning Glory, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio in a bout billed as "War on the Shore".

Video games

Butterbean was featured as the cover character as well as the final boss character in the EA Sports title Toughman Contest released in July 1995 for the Sega Genesis and Sega 32X. He also appeared as a playable character in all of the EA Sports boxing video games in the Knockout Kings series.

In the 2007 PC game The Witcher, the main character, Geralt of Rivia, can challenge a tavern fistfighter by the name of Butter Bean during the second chapter of the game. Butter Bean has a body structure similar to that of Eric Esch. The game also contains references to other fighters such as Andrew Golota.

Butterbean will be a playable fighter in the upcoming game Fight Night Champion.

Personal life

Eric was born in Bay City, Michigan. He is married and has three children: sons Brandon and Caleb, and daughter, Grace.

Mixed martial arts record

Completed contests

Date	Result	Record	Opponent	Event	Method	Round, Time
05/07/2011		16-8-1	Dean Storey	Elite-1 MMA: Moncton
12/10/2010	Win	16-8-1	Deon West	LFC 43: Wild Thang	Submission (Exhustion)	Round 2, 5:00
09/18/2010	Loss	15-8-1	Mariusz Pudzianowski	KSW XIV	Submission (Strikes)	Round 1, 1:15
03/06/2010	Loss	15-7-1	Jeff Kugel	Xtream Cagefighting Championship 46	Submission (Strikes)	Round 1, 0:40
12/11/2009	Win	15-6-1	Chris Cruit	Moosin: God of Martial Arts	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	Round 1, 1:38
09/09/2009	Win	14-6-1	Tom Howard	Extreme Cage Fighting	Submission (Neck Crank)	Round 1, 1:40
06/26/2009	Win	13-6-1	Jefferson Hook	LDIL - Lockdown in Lowell	TKO (Punches)	Round 1, ?:??
04/11/2008	Loss	12-6-1	Pat Smith	YAMMA Pit Fighting 1	Submission (Strikes)	Round 1, 3:17
12/28/2007	Loss	12-5-1	Nick Penner	TFC: First Blood	Submission (Kimura)	Round 1, 2:47
12/01/2007	Win	12-4-1	Tom Howard	The Final Chapter MMA- A&A Arena Jasper	Submission (Armlock)	Round 1, 4:47
10/13/2007	Win	11-4-1	Pete Sischo	Combat Warfare X	Submission (Keylock)	Round 3, 2:35
07/14/2007	Loss	10-4-1	Tengiz Tedoradze	Cage Rage 22: Hard as Hell	TKO (Punches)	Round 1, 4:26
04/08/2007	Win	10-3-1	Zuluzinho	PRIDE 34: Kamikaze	Submission (Keylock)	Round 1, 2:35
02/10/2007	Win	9-3-1	James Thompson	Cage Rage 20: Born 2 Fight	KO (Punches)	Round 1, 0:43
01/18/2007	Win	8-3-1	Charles Hodges	Palace Fighting Championships: King of the Ring	KO (Punch)	Round 1, 0:45
12/09/2006	Loss	7-3-1	Rob Broughton	Cage Rage 19: Fearless	Submission (Strikes)	Round 2, 3:43
10/21/2006	Win	7-2-1	Sean O'Haire	PRIDE 32: Real Deal	TKO (Punches)	Round 1, 0:29
08/26/2006	Loss	6-2-1	Ikuhisa Minowa	PRIDE Bushido 12	Submission (Armbar)	Round 1, 4:25
07/15/2006	Win	6-1-1	Rich Weeks	Fightfest 5: Korea vs USA	Submission	Round 1, 1:29
05/20/2006	Win	5-1-1	Matt Eckerle	Fightfest 4	Submission	Round 1, 0:56
04/21/2006	Win	4-1-1	Aaron Aguilera	Rumble On The Rock 9	Submission (Choke)	Round 2, 1:15
04/14/2006	Win	3-1-1-	Leo Sylvest	Fightfest 2: Global Domination	Submission (Choke)	Round 1, ?:??
01/20/2006	Win	2-1-1	Wesley Correira	Rumble on the Rock 8	TKO (Doctor Stoppage)	Round 2, 5:00
12/09/2005	Win	1-1-1	Walley Keenboom	Fightfest 1: Royce Gracie Fightfest	Submission	Round 1, 2:37
02/25/2005	Draw	0-1-1	Michael Buchkovich	King of the Cage: Payback	Draw	Round 2, 5:00
12/31/2003	Loss	0-1	Genki Sudo	K-1 Premium 2003 Dynamite	Submission (Heel Hook)	Round 2, 0:41

Kickboxing record

Butterbean ventured into the sport of kickboxing in 2003. His first bout was a 1st round knockout of two-time K-1 World Champion Yusuke Fujimoto at K-1 Beast. Esch lost a controversial decision to Armada, as quoted “Armada, he’s tough. He’s more of a boxer than a kicker, I beat him pretty good, but they gave the decision to him. It was his hometown, his home country. After the fight he ended up in the hospital and I was fine”. Esch was scheduled to take on Bob Sapp one week later, but Sapp’s management pulled out of the fight after watching the Esch – Armada fight. Butterbean said “They (Sapp’s management) found out that Armado went to the hospital and canceled the next week. They looked at the damage I installed on Armado”.. Most recently he beat Bo Lam Moon in the first round by KO. His record currently stands at 3 wins 4 losses.

3 Wins - 4 Losses - 0 Draw (2 KO's)
Date	Result	Record	Opponent	Event	Method	Round, Time
07/29/2009	Win	3-4	Bo Lam Moon	Moosin II	KO (Right punch)	Round 1
08/09/2008	Loss	2-4	Wesley Correira	K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii	KO (Left high kick)	Round 2
07/29/2005	Win	2-3	Marcus Royster	K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Hawaii	Decision 3-0	Round 3
06/26/2004	Loss	1-3	Montanha Silva	K-1 Beast 2004 in Shizuoka	Decision 0-3	Round 3
03/14/2004	Loss	1-2	Hiromi Amada	K-1 Beast 2004 in Niigata	Decision 0-3	Round 3
09/21/2003	Loss	1-1	Mike Bernardo	K-1 Survival 2003 Japan Grand Prix Final	KO (Right High Kick)	Round 2, 1:01
06/29/2003	Win	1-0	Yusuke Fujimoto	K-1 Beast II 2003	KO	Round 1, 1:02

See also

• King Hippo

External links

• [6]
• Boxing record for Eric Esch from BoxRec (registration required)
• Professional MMA record for Eric Esch from Sherdog
• PRIDE Fighter Bio
• K-1 Fighter Bio
• Eric Esch at IMDb
• Oct 30 2008 Audio Interview with In Your Head
• Interview recap