Эпизод про Баттербина

Butterbean (Eric Esch) knocked out a wrestler at WrestleMania in about 35 seconds and went ten rounds with Larry Holmes. By his own account, he stopped training for most of his last fights — and kept fighting anyway. This is the story of what that cost him, and what he says really wrecked his hips. In June 2013, in Newcastle, Australia, a 46-year-old Butterbean stepped onto a faulty weigh-in scale that flashed a single letter: E, for error. Two rounds into his fight, with his shoulder hurt and his right arm hanging, he quit on his stool to boos. It was the last professional fight of his life. In the early 1990s, Eric Esch was a mobile-home factory worker in Alabama who dieted on chicken and butter beans to get under the 400-pound limit for a Toughman contest. The diet didn't last. The name did. He won five World Toughman heavyweight titles, turned pro in 1994, and was signed by Bob Arum's Top Rank, which kept his fights short and billed him as the King of the Four-Rounders. He says he worked out early that a purse paid the same however long a fight lasted — so he learned to end them fast. He knocked out Bart Gunn at WrestleMania XV, stopped Peter McNeeley and called out Mike Tyson, fought Johnny Knoxville in Jackass: The Movie, and in 2002 went the full ten rounds with a 52-year-old Larry Holmes, losing a unanimous decision. After that he went wherever the money was: K-1 kickboxing in Japan, PRIDE, Cage Rage and smaller MMA shows. By his own count, of his last fifteen fights, there were maybe ten he didn't train for at all. He gives two reasons. In a 2018 interview, he described the difficulty of finding time to train while fighting often and dealing with persistent hip pain. In a 2025 podcast he was blunter: he says he lost the will, was doing it for a payday — and didn't care. After his career, by his account, his weight reached 515 pounds and he spent about three years in a wheelchair. He was told he was too heavy for hip surgery. In 2022 he joined Diamond Dallas Page's program for the series Change or Die, lost weight, had both hips replaced, and eventually got under 300 pounds for the first time in decades. So was it the skipped training that broke his body? That isn't what Butterbean points to. In his own words, he blames the pounding — the miles of road work on asphalt, the fights, and his size. That is his own explanation, not a medical finding. The training he skipped is the training he says he regrets. He turned 60 in August 2026, and he still says he wants one more fight. 👉 Subscribe to Athlete Central for more untold stories from boxing and MMA, the fights, the money, and what happened after the cameras left. 💬 Was Butterbean a real fighter or a sideshow? Tell us in the comments — and tell us which fighter we should cover next. Sources include Eric Esch's own interviews (Jaxxon Podcast, 2025; MEL Magazine, 2018; DDP Yoga, 2024), the Newcastle Herald, ESPN and published fight records. Quotes and accounts of his training, weight and health are his own, attributed as such; where official records differ from or don't confirm his account, the video says so. Disclaimer: This video is commentary and documentary analysis for educational purposes. Fight footage and clips are used under fair use for commentary, criticism and news reporting. Accounts of Eric Esch's training, health and finances are his own statements, attributed in the video, and are not medical or legal findings. Athlete Central is not affiliated with Eric Esch, Top Rank, WWE, K-1, PRIDE, DDP Yoga or any promotion mentioned. #Butterbean #EricEsch #Boxing #MMA #CombatSports