Eric “Butterbean” Esch in an online interview with Ariel Helwani, in which the topic of his weight and appearance was brought up, and how it affected the freak show fighting icon as he came of age, with the brutal slugger speaking on it, with the following statements.
“I was always bullied as a kid. Don’t ever judge a book by its cover. I was always a big kid, but if you notice when I’m fighting, I’m very fast. I had a killer knockout punch with either hand. I knocked as many out with the left as I did with the right. Boxing is my true love. That’s why I want to have one more fight, just to prove to myself I can do it—and to prove to the world, people that say somebody cannot do something.”
Despite never managing to reach the top of the boxing world. Butterbean would still prove his bravery by fighting against top-level talents in MMA, such as Genki Sudo, and even in kickboxing against Mike Bernardo, in addition to his boxing pedigree. His most significant win in boxing was against former title challenger Peter McNeeley.
Butterbean is part of the sideshow that makes combat sports unique
With the freakshow aspect of combat sports being taken over by influencer fights, which often have their promotions, typically in Eastern Europe. Characters like Butterbean have evolved in different ways. With fighters who are not body beautiful, such as Andy Ruiz, managing to become a unified champion in boxing, and even promotions like Rizin and ONE holding special rules matches that break the orthodox of more rigid combat sports organizations. To the infamous and much derided Power Slap, freakshow fighters aren’t gone; they have just evolved. And thanks to men like Butterbean, they are here to stay.
