Cult Hero ‘Butterbean’ Teases Boxing Return, Offers To Fight Jake Paul Next Year

Jake PaulCult hero former professional boxer, Eric Esch, otherwise known as ‘Butterbean’ has confirmed he plans to return to the squared circle for the first time in over a decade come the turn of next year – offering to share the ring with undefeated professional boxer, the polarizing, Jake Paul.  Butterbean, who called time on his […]

Jake Paul

Cult hero former professional boxer, Eric Esch, otherwise known as ‘Butterbean’ has confirmed he plans to return to the squared circle for the first time in over a decade come the turn of next year – offering to share the ring with undefeated professional boxer, the polarizing, Jake Paul. 

Butterbean, who called time on his professional career back in 2013 following a third consecutive defeat, retired from the sport – boasting an impressive 77-10-4 professional record.

The Atlanta native, who competed at the super heavyweight limit and weighed in at an excess of 400lbs before, managed to mint himself as the IBA (International Boxing Association) back in 1997 with a knockout win over Ed White.

Esch, who turns 56-years-old in August of this year, has also featured prominently in many film and movie roles, as well as featuring during an earlier release of Jackass – achieving worldwide acclaim.

Teasing a return to professional boxing next year, Butterbean has revealed that with the help of former professional wrestler and WWE star turned health guru, Diamond Dallas Page, he managed to drop weight significantly.

“I’m working with DDP (Diamond Dallas Page) to get up walking and running around again and I’m feeling the best shape I ever have,” Butterbean said on social media. “I’m at fight weight. You’ll have to listen to my podcast coming up to find exactly how much weight I have lost, but I haven’t weighed this in over 20 years so that’ll give you an idea.”

‘Butterbean’ offers to share the squared circle with Jake Paul in his potential return

Mentioning his intentions to box professionally again in the new year, Butterbean called out the outspoken Ohio native, Paul.

“The big announcement is I’m gonna fight one last fight,” Butterbean said. “It’s gonna be one year from now. Jake Paul, if you’re ready, I’m here for you, my friend. Let’s get it on, me and you Jake Paul.” (Transcribed by Daily Mail)

Targeting his own return to professional boxing come August of this year, Paul, who currently touts a 5-0 unbeaten record, most recently defeating former UFC welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley with a December one-punch knockout in the pair’s rematch.

‘Butterbean’ Feels U.S. Commission Won’t Approve McGregor-Mayweather

Eric “Butterbean” Esch doesn’t see a United States athletic commission giving the greenlight to a boxing match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather. Esch was recently interviewed on MMA Junkie Radio. The former combat sports attraction is well aware of the hype surrounding a potential boxing bout between McGregor and Mayweather. He doesn’t believe it’ll […]

Eric “Butterbean” Esch doesn’t see a United States athletic commission giving the greenlight to a boxing match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather. Esch was recently interviewed on MMA Junkie Radio. The former combat sports attraction is well aware of the hype surrounding a potential boxing bout between McGregor and Mayweather. He doesn’t believe it’ll […]

10 Sports Stars Who Fell Flat In MMA

Many sports stars and athletes have tried their hands at mixed martial arts with varying degrees of success. For every Brock Lesnar, there’s 15 other crossover athletes who did not have such a smooth transition into the world’s most violent and dangerous sport. We here at LowKick MMA have compiled a solid list of 10 crossover […]

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Many sports stars and athletes have tried their hands at mixed martial arts with varying degrees of success.

For every Brock Lesnar, there’s 15 other crossover athletes who did not have such a smooth transition into the world’s most violent and dangerous sport.

We here at LowKick MMA have compiled a solid list of 10 crossover sports stars who just couldn’t make it in mixed martial arts.

10. Jose Canseco

Jose Canseco had a long and storied career in baseball before trying his hand at mixed martial arts. The Cuban-American was a six time all-star and won two World Series championships with the Oakland Athletics in 1989 and New York Yankees in 2000 before a steroid scandal in 2005 tarnished his reputation as a professional athlete.

Four years after the steroid scandal, Canseco attempted a career in MMA. The former baseball star took on Korean giant Choi Hong-man at DREAM 9 back in 2009. It was the perfect freak-show fight for its’ Japanese audience, which was hosting DREAM’s Hulk Grand Prix.

Canseco, while a sturdy 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, was dwarfed by Choi, who weighed in at 320 pounds while standing at a massive 7-foot-2. Canseco tried to stay light on his feet, at times running from Choi to reset at the center of the ring, but the big man eventually caught up to him, forcing Canseco to tap to strikes at just 1:17 minutes into the first round.

“That’s a big man,” Canseco said of Choi at the time. “I ran into one of his left jabs and that almost knocked me out. You have no idea how scary it was facing a man that big.”

Canseco would never fight in mixed martial arts ever again, and if his performance against Choi is any indication, he probably never will again. However, he did participate in a celebrity boxing match with former child star Danny Bonaduce in a match that went to a draw.

But, with 462 home runs to his name and 17 seasons in the MLB, Canseco will be remembered as a baseball player rather than a fighter.

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10 Boxing Champions Who Fought In MMA

Speculation about a money-spinning mega fight between MMA superstar Conor McGregor and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. has only been intensifying in early 2017, but it remains to be seen whether the sides will ever be able to jump over all the hurdles necessary to make this dream match-up a reality. Even if a deal

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Speculation about a money-spinning mega fight between MMA superstar Conor McGregor and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. has only been intensifying in early 2017, but it remains to be seen whether the sides will ever be able to jump over all the hurdles necessary to make this dream match-up a reality.

Even if a deal could be reached, it’s already clear there’s no chance Mayweather would risk his undefeated 49-0 boxing record by agreeing to fight ‘The Notorious’ under MMA rules, but there are examples of other boxing champions in the past who threw caution to the wind and put their reputations on the line by testing themselves in the cage.

Of course, that’s led to some well known boxing stars being handed humbling defeats over the years, and that’s no great surprise given that MMA is such a multi-faceted sport with kicks, knees, and elbows bringing a completely different dynamic to striking, while grappling disciplines like wrestling and jiu-jitsu are the stuff of nightmares for the untrained.

That being said, as you’ll read in the pages to follow, there are also a few boxing champions who have successfully managed to compete in the sport of MMA, whether it’s due to having had previous martial arts experience in the past, having benefited from favorable match-ups, or simply being in the right place at the right time to land a fight-ending punch!

James Toney

A three-division champion who held IBF titles at middleweight, super-middleweight and cruiserweight, James Toney is considered to be one of the best boxers of his generation.

In fact, famed boxing coach Freddie Roach once stated that Toney had the most natural ability of anybody he’d ever trained, and with more discipline could have been the best of all-time.

Toney has always been known for being outspoken and supremely confident, two attributes which led to him talking Dana White into giving him a fight in the UFC back in 2010 despite him being 42 years old and having no prior MMA experience at the time.

White paired Toney up against 47 year-old UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, who was only too eager to disprove ‘Lights Out’s’ pre-fight boasts that MMA fighters were “inferior” and that he’d become a UFC world champion.

Within seconds of the fight commencing at UFC 118, Couture had effortlessly managed to take the boxer down and from there, he toyed with him for several minutes like he was a small child before forcing him to tap out due to an arm triangle choke.

Toney earned $500,000 for what would prove to be his only MMA fight, though the IRS confiscated his fight purse that same night due to the fact he was under investigation by them at the time.

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10 Real-Life Giant vs. Giant Fights In MMA

There have been numerous examples of ‘David vs. Goliath’ fights over the years, as we’ve discussed in previous articles, but the only way to really know for sure what these larger-than-life fighters are capable of is to match them up with someone their own size. That’s no easy task as there’s not exactly a whole

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There have been numerous examples of ‘David vs. Goliath’ fights over the years, as we’ve discussed in previous articles, but the only way to really know for sure what these larger-than-life fighters are capable of is to match them up with someone their own size.

That’s no easy task as there’s not exactly a whole lot of fighters out there that measure up to the kind of jaw-dropping physical dimensions that would result in a worthy, ‘Clash Of The Titans’.

Nevertheless, in this article we’ll delve deep into the sports history to revisit 10 real-life examples of living giants going head-to-head in the cage or ring, from 7′ 2″ wrestlers to 520-pound sumo stars, super-heavyweight boxers to former world’s strongest man champions, all competing under MMA rules.

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Top 10 Largest Fighters In MMA History

When stepping into the Octagon, size can be a key advantage to emerging victorious when it’s all said and done and the horn blows for the final time. Throughout the years we have had the opportunity to see some of the most gifted athletes and amazing physical specimens take center Octagon, but only a handful have

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When stepping into the Octagon, size can be a key advantage to emerging victorious when it’s all said and done and the horn blows for the final time.

Throughout the years we have had the opportunity to see some of the most gifted athletes and amazing physical specimens take center Octagon, but only a handful have truly left us in awe with their various ridiculous sizes.

From big belly’d brawlers, to sky scraping smashers, all the way to the massive behemoths we’ve seen throw down inside of an MMA cage, we’ve compiled a list of some of the biggest men to ever put on a pair of 4 oz. gloves and throw down.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at the top ten largest fighters in MMA history…..

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