Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch is one of the popular cult figures in boxing, but he never quite made the large bucks his star power could have warranted.
While promoter Bob Arum claims he eventually pocketed over $1million collectively, a slight dig under the surface indicates that it was not all riches. In spite of everything, he fought tons of of times including 13 bouts within the 12 months of his biggest payday against Peter McNeeley.
He has also develop into infamous for his appearances within the MMA cage where he fought the likes of Mariusz Pudzianowski in addition to on TV shows akin to Jackass. He’s currently pushing for one last big money fight against Jake Paul after getting himself under 300lb for the primary time in 30 years.
Butterbean’s profession earnings indicate he never made six figures for a fight
While lots of Butterbean’s purses are unknown, a cursory search online indicates that his highest payday was a $60,000 flat fee for a 1999 showdown with Peter McNeeley. 4 years after Medfield’s own faced Mike Tyson, he was given a shot at Butterbean on pay-per-view.
The bout didn’t last long as the large man landed a fast first round knockout, before returning to the ring just a couple of weeks later in Tijuana. Nonetheless, Esch was never in a position to parlay that payout into an enormous money fight with Mike Tyson as he had planned.
Promoter Bob Arum claimed that Esch was ‘honing in on’ having made $1million in his profession by around fight number 50 in an LA Times interview in 1999. But given how often he was competing and other expenses, it doesn’t quite mean Butterbean was ever a millionaire.
Indeed, the proven fact that he fought deep into the 2000s despite health issues and even forced himself to get within the cage would indicate that cash could have been tight. He once was inside touching distance of a $2million exhibition with Shaquille O’Neal amid rumors of an NBA lockout, but that never materialized.
Esch also famously pursued Mike Tyson within the late 90s, however the ‘King of the 4 rounders’ was never in a position to get that fight either.
Butterbean wants one last payday against Jake Paul
Now on the age of 59, Butterbean has dropped tons of of kilos and insists that he could get back within the ring another time. He wants that bout to be with controversial Jake Paul, who’s currently preparing to fight Gervonta Davis despite a greater than 90lb weight disparity.
“Butterbean’s back for another fight,” he said during a mock press conference. “There’s just one fighter on the market who desires to fight retired bald guys. Jake Paul, I’m coming for you. I need to fight Jake Paul because he runs his mouth too d— much.”
Esch claims that their feud dates back to 2020 when he was bed certain by health problems, and Paul mocked him at a press conference.