Eric "Butterbean" Esch
Eric Esch in 2006
Born	Eric Scott Esch (1966-08-03) August 3, 1966 (age 45)[1] Bay City, Michigan, United States
Other names	Butterbean
Nationality	American
Height	5 feet 11+1⁄2 inches (1.82 m)
Weight	420 lb (191 kg; 30 st 0 lb)
Reach	78 in (198 cm)
Style	Kickboxing, Boxing
Stance	Orthodox
Fighting out of	Jasper, Alabama
Team	American Top Team Team Butterbean
Trainer	Murray Sutherland
Years active	2003 – present (MMA)
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	14
By knockout	6
By submission	8
Losses	10
By knockout	1
By submission	9
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, kick boxer, professional wrestler, and mixed martial artist commonly referred to as Butterbean.^[2]

He is the former IBA Super-Heavyweight Champion and also held the WAA Heavyweight title.^[3] His combined professional fight record currently stands at 97 wins with 67 knockouts, 20 losses and 5 draws. Butterbean currently resides in Jasper, Alabama where he owns a restaurant, Mr Bean BBQ.^[4]

Fighting career[link]

Boxing[link]

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.^[5]

Butterbean is a very popular fighter, 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. 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 Jed 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.".^[6]

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. 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.^[7] That same night, Esch's son, Brandon "Babybean", lost in his professional debut against Matthew Eckerly.^[8]

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.^{[9] [10] [11]}

Kickboxing[link]

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 Amada, as quoted “Amada, 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 – Amada fight. Butterbean said “They (Sapp’s management) found out that Amada went to the hospital and canceled the next week. They looked at the damage I installed on Amada”.^[6] Most recently he beat Bo Lam Moon in the first round by KO. His record currently stands at 3 wins 4 losses.

Mixed martial arts[link]

Butterbean holds the current Elite 1 MMA Super Heavyweight Title as of May 2011.

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).^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14]

Esch has said he has fought his final US fight, and will be fully retired soon, after other international obligations are completed.^[15]

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.^[16] 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.

Elite 1 MMA announced that former boxer turned Mixed Martial Artist Eric “Butterbean” Esch will take his 16-8 MMA record to Moncton, New Brunswick on May 7 to face Dean Storey (0-0 MMA; 8-16-2 Boxing) for the Elite 1 MMA Super Heavyweight Title.^[17]

Butterbean (Eric Esch) defeated Dean Storey at Elite 1 MMA: High Voltage on May 7, 2011 in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada to claim the promotions super heavyweight title. With the win, Butterbean runs his MMA record to 17-8-1, and is now on a two fight win streak. He knocked out Storey 24 seconds into the 2nd round.^[18] Esch credits his recent lack of weight as contributing to his recent two outstanding wins. “A lot of people don't realize that I lost a lot of weight recently," he said. "A year ago, I was over 500 pounds. It's not like I'm a big eater. I never have been a big eater. Everybody thought I was because of my size. I found out a year ago my thyroid was messed up. My body wasn't working right so I couldn't lose weight. I'm training, watching my diet and my thyroid is no longer a problem since I started taking medication. I'm losing six to eight pounds per week now. I've lost almost one foot and a half around me in the past year. The lowest I've been since age 12 was 300 pounds. My goal is to get back down to 300 pounds." ^[19] Esch, 44, figures he has one year left in the fight game. "I still have fun," he said. "I don't fight anywhere near as much as I used to. I'm down to four or five fights per year now compared to 12-15 in the past. I've accomplished pretty much everything I want in the fight game." Esch likes to consider himself different than most fighters. "After the fight, I'll shake hands with the fans and sign autographs," he said. "A lot of fighters think as soon as the fight is over they can go home and realistically that's all they have to do. I enjoy being nice to the fans. My reward is when people tell me they enjoyed watching me fight. The fans are what make it worthwhile. If it wasn't for the fans, I would be done." ^[19]

On October 7, 2011, Butterbean will take on the popular and undefeated Montreal boxer Eric Barrak, who has decided to try his hand at MMA. Barrak just finished up a two fight contract with Montreal’s SP Promotion and is looking to move up in the heavyweight boxing ranks, but is well suited for the MMA fight game with his raw power and quick reflexes. He has finished four of his five professional fights by way of 1st round stoppage. The show also features Patrick Cote, Crafton Wallace, Steve Bosse, and Houston Alexander.^[20]

Professional wrestling[link]

Butterbean made his independent wrestling debut at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, AL on March 28, 2009 at the ImagiCon horror movie, sci-fi movie, and comic book convention and was victorious against rapper/professional wrestler/film maker/actor Anthony "One Man Kru" Sanners via pinfall after smashing him with a vicious 400 lb. elbow drop.

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

Butterbean has appeared twice in WWF events competing in boxing matches. In 1997, at the D-Generation X: In Your House pay-per-view event, he defeated Marc Mero^[21] (former Golden Gloves champion) via disqualification in a worked match. Two years later, Butterbean defeated "Toughman" Bart Gunn^[21] in a legitimate shootfight at WrestleMania XV, defeating the Brawl For All champion with ease, knocking him out in 27 seconds.^[22]

On April 1, 2011, Butterbean teamed with his Walker County Sheriff Deputy partner Adam Hadder to take on Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and One Man Kru in a tag-team match at the Battle Against Drugs charity benefit which was taped for Butterbean's reality show Big Law. He appeared in February 2012 at Wrestlerama in Georgetown Guyana where on entering the ring he told the crowd Guyana is his second home and was booed off because he mispronounced Guyana.^[22]

Media appearances[link]

Big Law: Deputy Butterbean[link]

Esch is a reserve deputy sheriff in his hometown of Jasper, Alabama. He's the star in a new reality television documentary called Big Law Deputy Butterbean which will debut on the Investigation Discovery channel in August 2011. "They came to me wanting to do a reality documentary on my restaurant and I was in the process of closing my restaurant down," he said. "I said 'If you want something interesting and fun to watch, follow us on our drug busts in the sheriff's department.' They agreed people would be interested in this."They started following us, filming it and documenting us actually making the busts. You arrest somebody and say 'Look, if you don't want to go to jail you've got to help us bust a bigger guy.' We make a bigger bust from that. The whole goal is to get people on file and lessen the number of criminals on the streets." ^[19]

Season 1 of Big Law Deputy Butterbean has already been filmed."I think this show is going to prove that people really care about the communities they lived in," said Esch. "There's going to be more people calling (the police station) saying 'Hey, this guy is doing this crime. You should look into it.' We want people to step forward and help the police clean up our communities." ^[19][23]

The show has been cancelled as of 10/17/2011 due to low ratings. There will be no season 2.

Movies[link]

Butterbean appeared in the film Jackass: The Movie, where he fought Johnny Knoxville in a department store. After the fight began Knoxville fell got up and hit Butterbean. 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[link]

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[link]

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". ^[24]

Video games[link]

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.^[25] 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 is a playable fighter in play now, legacy mode and online modes in EA's fifth installment of the Fight Night series Fight Night Champion.

Personal life[link]

Eric was born in Bay City, Michigan. He is married and has three children: sons Brandon and Caleb, and daughter, Grace.^[26]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Boxing

• IBA Super Heavyweight title. (One time)
• WAA Heavyweight title. (One time)

MMA

• Elite-1 MMA
  • Elite-1 MMA Super Heavyweight Title (One time, current)

Professional boxing record[link]

77 Wins (58 knockouts, 19 decisions), 9 Losses (1 knockouts, 8 decisions), 4 Draws [7]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	7-1-1	Curt Allan	UD	4	13/01/2012	Elizabeth, Indiana, United States	36-40, 36-40, 37-39.
Loss	17-17	Harry Funmaker	SD	4	03/10/2009	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States	39-37, 37-39, 36-40.
Win	4-3	Joe Siciliano	TKO	2	09/03/2007	Worcester, Massachusetts, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:10 of the second round.
Win	4-2	Joaquin Garcia	KO	1	16/12/2006	Saginaw, Michigan, United States	Garcia knocked out at 0:48 of the first round.
Win	11-12	Ed White	TKO	1	23/09/2006	Belterra, Indiana, United States	Referee stopped the fight due to an injured shoulder at 1:46 of the first round.
Win	10-0	Daniel White	UD	4	24/03/2006	Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States	40-38, 39-38, 40-36.
Loss	4-3	Baden Oui	MD	4	18/11/2005	Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia	37-39, 38-39, 38-38.
Loss	28-8-1	George "The Terminator" Linberger	SD	4	15/10/2005	Akron, Ohio, United States	NABC Super Heavyweight Title. 39-37, 37-39, 37-39.
Loss	26-16	Kenny "The Raven" Craven	UD	4	20/08/2005	Beijing, China	37-39, 37-39, 37-39.
Win	6-5	Rick "The Rock" Zufall	KO	3	09/08/2005	Oceanside, California, United States	Zufall knocked out at 2:39 of the third round.
Loss	25-15	Kenny "The Raven" Craven	MD	4	14/05/2005	Jackson, Mississippi, United States	40-36, 39-37, 38-38.
Win	25-14	Kenny "The Raven" Craven	TKO	3	12/02/2005	Laurel, Mississippi, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:23 of the third round.
Win	6-8	Brian McIntyre	UD	4	20/11/2004	Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States
Win	7-15-1	Ritchie Goosehead	MD	4	24/09/2004	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada	40-36, 39-38, 38-38.
Win	3-5-3	Salvador Farnetti	TKO	1	22/07/2004	San Jose, California, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 0:50 of the first round.
Win	6-24-1	Marcelo Aravena	SD	4	15/05/2004	New Town, North Dakota, United States
Win	7-17	Rodney Phillips	KO	2	08/05/2004	Biloxi, Mississippi, United States	Phillips knocked out at 1:49 of the second round.
Win	8-9	Troy Roberts	TKO	1	13/06/2003	Lincoln City, Oregon, United States
Draw	8-11	Lewis "Hitman" Gilbert	PTS	4	28/03/2003	Westwego, Louisiana, United States	39-37, 37-39, 38-38.
Loss	68-6	"The Easton Assassin" Larry Holmes	UD	10	27/07/2002	Norfolk, Virginia, United States	92-97, 91-98, 93-96.
Win	--	Craig Wolfley	KO	4	02/02/2002	Gulfport, Mississippi, United States
Win	9-8	Kevin "The Rage" Tallon	UD	4	12/12/2001	Elizabeth, Indiana, United States
Loss	5-3-1	Billy "The Kid" Zumbrun	MD	4	19/08/2001	West Wendover, Nevada, United States	38-38, 37-39, 36-40.
Win	9-16-2	Shane Woollas	TKO	1	16/06/2001	Wembley, London, United Kingdom
Win	5-10-3	Tyrone Muex	TKO	2	19/04/2001	Tunica, Mississippi, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:49 of the second round.
Draw	20-18	Abdul Muhaymin	MD	4	17/11/2000	Biloxi, Mississippi, United States	38-38, 38-38, 37-39.
Win	14-14	Harry Funmaker	UD	4	03/11/2000	Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States
Win	24-17	Marcus "Big Tuna" Rhode	KO	3	15/09/2000	Denver, Colorado, United States	Rhode knocked out at 2:06 of the third round.
Win	17-22-1	Dan Kosmicki	TKO	2	28/07/2000	Fresno, California, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:40 of the second round.
Win	2-1	Kerry Biles	KO	2	17/06/2000	Los Angeles, California, United States	Biles knocked out at 2:52 of the second round.
Win	6-2-1	Bill Johnson	KO	2	19/05/2000	Beverly Hills, California, United States	Johnson knocked out at 2:49 of the second round.
Win	17-21-1	Dan Kosmicki	TKO	4	05/05/2000	Tucson, Arizona, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 0:52 of the fourth round.
Win	18-4-1	George "Terminator" Linberger	TKO	1	04/03/2000	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	IBA Super Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 0:19 of the first round.
Win	6-6	Kevin "The Rage" Tallon	UD	4	17/02/2000	Worley, Idaho, United States	40-36, 40-36, 40-36.
Win	13-13-2	Tim "The Sting" Ray	UD	4	10/12/1999	Tunica, Mississippi, United States	40-34, 40-34, 40-35.
Win	20-15-3	Allen Smith	TKO	2	23/11/1999	Rosemont, Illinois, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:16 of the second round.
Win	2-3	Melvin Lumzy	KO	3	11/11/1999	Biloxi, Mississippi, United States	Lumzy knocked out at 1:00 of the third round.
Win	5-1	George Chamberlain	TKO	3	21/10/1999	Washington, District of Columbia, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 1:25 of the third round.
Win	12-5	Kenny "The Raven" Craven	TKO	2	18/09/1999	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	IBA Super Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:55 of the second round.
Draw	5-2-1	Jason "Bad Boy" Farley	UD	4	06/08/1999	Columbus, Ohio, United States	38-38, 38-38, 38-38.
Win	3-3	Tim Burgoon	KO	2	31/07/1999	Tijuana, Baja California, United States	IBA Super Heavyweight Title.
Win	45-4	Peter "Hurricane" McNeeley	TKO	1	26/06/1999	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 2:59 of the first round.
Win	8-0	Russell "The Sandman" Chasteen	UD	4	11/06/1999	Ft Worth, Texas, United States	39-37, 39-37, 39-37.
Win	3-2-1	Jason Hurley	TKO	2	27/05/1999	Tunica, Mississippi, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 2:16 of the second round.
Win	14-49-1	Roy Bedwell	UD	4	16/04/1999	Burlington, Iowa, United States
Win	5-3	Kevin "The Rage" Tallon	TKO	3	02/04/1999	Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 2:50 of the third round.
Win	5-3-1	Patrick Graham	TKO	3	13/02/1999	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	IBA Super Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 0:46 of the third round.
Win	8-6	Troy Roberts	TKO	3	18/09/1998	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	6-4-2	Tim Pollard	KO	1	25/08/1998	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	12-2-2	"Cowboy" Billy Eaton	KO	3	23/03/1998	Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States	Eaton was knocked down once in the second and twice and out at 2:38 of the third round.
Win	--	Warrant Williams	KO	1	28/02/1998	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	9-9	Harry Funmaker	UD	4	16/01/1998	Boise, Idaho, United States	IBA Super Heavyweight Title. 40-36, 39-37, 40-37.
Win	6-1	Doug Phillips	PTS	4	06/12/1997	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	1-9	Ken Woods	TKO	4	30/10/1997	Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Draw	8-1-1	"Cowboy" Billy Eaton	MD	4	13/09/1997	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Butterbean was knocked down in the first round. 37-39, 38-38, 38-38.
Win	1-1-1	Enrique Ruiz	DQ	4	13/08/1997	Chester, West Virginia, United States
Win	8-8-1	Scott Lindecker	KO	4	09/07/1997	Tacoma, Washington, United States	Lindecker knocked out at 1:20 of the fourth round.
Win	4-0-1	Jason "Bad Boy" Farley	TKO	4	15/06/1997	Biloxi, Mississippi, United States
Win	13-9-1	Bill Duncan	KO	2	17/04/1997	Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States	Duncan was suspended after the fight for taking a dive.
Win	4-1	Ed White	TKO	2	12/04/1997	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	IBA Super Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:14 of the second round.
Win	6-3	Sean Jegan	TKO	3	02/04/1997	Kansas City, Missouri, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:33 of the third round.
Win	1-7	Ken Woods	KO	2	22/03/1997	Corpus Christi, Texas, United States	Woods knocked out at 1:29 of the second round.
Win	2-1-1	Nick "The Punisher" Phillips	UD	4	12/02/1997	New York City, United States
Win	5-0-1	Curt Allan	TKO	3	18/01/1997	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:56 of the third round.
Win	6-2	Sean Jegan	KO	1	06/12/1996	Reno, Nevada, United States	Jegan knocked out at 2:47 of the first round.
Win	2-4	William Harris	TKO	4	10/07/1996	Beverly Hills, California, United States
Win	4-1	George Clarke	KO	1	07/06/1996	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	1-6	Jonathan "Spider" Whitfield	TKO	4	14/05/1996	Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:44 of the fourth round.
Win	2-2	Richard "Elvis" Davis	KO	1	30/04/1996	San Antonio, Texas, United States	Davis knocked out at 1:10 of the first round.
Win	0-6	Jack Ramsey	TKO	1	22/04/1996	Altoona, Iowa, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:28 of the first round after Ramsey had been knocked down thrice.
Win	1-6	James Baker	KO	1	19/03/1996	Long Beach, California, United States	Baker knocked out at 0:18 of the first round. Baker admits to taking a dive in this bout.
Win	--	Billy McDonald	KO	1	13/03/1996	Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	1-3	Joe Wiggins	TKO	4	25/02/1996	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	4-2	Tim "The Sting" Ray	TKO	2	25/01/1996	Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, United States
Loss	1-7-1	Mitchell "The Cigarette Man" Rose	TKO	2	15/12/1995	New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 0:48 of the second round.
Win	1-0	Louis "The Facelifter" Monaco	KO	1	01/12/1995	Indio, California, United States	Monaco was knocked out at 1:50 of the first round after being down thrice.
Win	1-1	Pat Jackson	RTD	3	25/10/1995	Kenner, Louisiana, United States	Jackson failed to emerge from his corner for the third round.
Win	3-6-1	Kenneth Myers	MD	4	29/09/1995	Stateline, Nevada, United States	38-38, 39-37, 40-36.
Win	0-2	Anthony Hunt	TKO	2	16/09/1995	Chillicothe, Ohio, United States
Win	4-3	Adam Sutton	PTS	4	09/09/1995	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	--	Paul Springer	KO	1	15/08/1995	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	0-3	"Dangerous" Doug Norris	KO	2	28/07/1995	Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, United States	Norris knocked out at 1:19 of the second round.
Win	--	Rogelio Ramirez	KO	1	18/06/1995	Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
Win	0-5	James Robinson	TKO	2	21/04/1995	Lansing, Michigan, United States
Win	--	Jerry Michelson	KO	1	15/04/1995	Owensboro, Kentucky, United States
Win	0-3	Alvin Ellis	TKO	1	24/03/1995	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Win	1-15-1	Juan Ramon Perez	UD	4	11/03/1995	Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States	39-36, 39-36, 39-36.
Win	1-2	Ed Barry	PTS	6	01/03/1995	Saginaw, Michigan, United States
Win	0-2	"Dangerous" Doug Norris	TKO	4	30/11/1994	New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Win	2-1-1	Tim Daniels	PTS	4	15/10/1994	Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Mixed martial arts record[link]

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	17-10-1	Sandy Bowman	Submission (punches)	Prestige Fighting Championship 3	02011-10-21October 21, 2011	1	0:54	Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada
Loss	17-9-1	Eric Barrak	Submission (guillotine choke)	Instinct MMA	02011-10-07October 7, 2011	3	2:56	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win	17-8-1	Dean Storey	TKO (punches)	Elite-1 MMA: Moncton	02011-05-07May 7, 2011	2	0:20	Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada	Won Elite-1 MMA Super Heavyweight Title
Win	16-8-1	Deon West	TKO	LFC 43: Wild Thang	02010-12-10December 10, 2010	2	5:00
Loss	15-8-1	Mariusz Pudzianowski	Submission (punches)	KSW 14	02010-09-18September 18, 2010	1	1:15
Loss	15-7-1	Jeff Kugel	Submission (punches)	XCC - Beatdown at the Ballroom 9	02010-03-06March 6, 2010	1	0:40
Win	15-6-1	Chris Cruit	Submission (rear naked choke)	Moosin: God of Martial Arts	02009-12-11December 11, 2009	1	1:38
Win	14-6-1	Tom Howard	Submission (neck crank)	Extreme Cage Fighting	02009-09-09September 9, 2009	1	1:40
Win	13-6-1	Jefferson Hook	TKO (punches)	LDIL - Lockdown in Lowell	02009-06-26June 26, 2009	1	?:??
Loss	12-6-1	Pat Smith	Submission (punches)	YAMMA Pit Fighting	02008-04-11April 11, 2008	1	3:17
Loss	12-5-1	Nick Penner	Submission (punches)	TFC: First Blood	02007-12-28December 28, 2007	1	2:28	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Win	12-4-1	Tom Howard	Submission (armlock)	The Final Chapter MMA- A&A Arena Jasper	02007-12-01December 1, 2007	1	4:47
Win	11-4-1	Pete Sischo	Submission (keylock)	Combat Warfare X	02007-10-13October 13, 2007	3	2:35
Loss	10-4-1	Tengiz Tedoradze	TKO (punches)	Cage Rage 22	02007-07-14July 14, 2007	1	4:26
Win	10-3-1	Zuluzinho	Submission (keylock)	PRIDE 34	02007-04-08April 8, 2007	1	2:35
Win	9-3-1	James Thompson	KO (punches)	Cage Rage 20	02007-02-10February 10, 2007	1	0:43
Win	8-3-1	Charles Hodges	KO (punch)	PFC 1 - King of the Ring	02007-01-18January 18, 2007	1	0:45
Loss	7-3-1	Rob Broughton	Submission (punches)	Cage Rage 19	02006-12-09December 9, 2006	2	3:43
Win	7-2-1	Sean O'Haire	TKO (punches)	PRIDE 32	02006-10-21October 21, 2006	1	0:29
Loss	6-2-1	Ikuhisa Minowa	Submission (armbar)	PRIDE Bushido 12	02006-08-26August 26, 2006	1	4:25
Win	6-1-1	Rich Weeks	Submission (choke)	Fightfest 5 - Korea vs USA	02006-07-15July 15, 2006	1	1:29
Win	5-1-1	Matt Eckerle	Submission (punches)	Fightfest 4	02006-05-20May 20, 2006	1	0:56
Win	4-1-1	Aaron Aguilera	Submission (rear-naked choke)	ROTR 9 - Rumble on the Rock 9	02006-04-21April 21, 2006	2	1:15
Win	3-1-1	Leo Sylvest	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Fightfest 2: Global Domination	02006-04-14April 14, 2006	1	0:35
Win	2-1-1	Wesley Correira	TKO (doctor stoppage)	ROTR 8 - Rumble on the Rock 8	02006-01-20January 20, 2006	2	5:00		Correira broke his arm.
Win	1-1-1	Walley Keenboom	Submission	Fightfest 1: Royce Gracie Fightfest	02005-12-09December 9, 2005	1	2:37
vDraw	0-1-1	Michael Buchkovich	Draw	King of the Cage48: Payback	02005-02-25February 25, 2005	2	5:00
Loss	0-1	Genki Sudo	Submission (heel hook)	K-1 Premium Dynamite!!	02003-12-31December 31, 2003	2	0:41

Kickboxing record[link]

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	TKO (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

References[link]

External links[link]

• [8]
• Professional boxing record for Eric Esch from BoxRec
• Professional MMA record for Eric Esch from Sherdog
• PRIDE Fighter Bio
• K-1 Fighter Bio
• Eric Esch at the Internet Movie Database
• Oct 30 2008 Audio Interview with In Your Head
• Interview recap

Larry Holmes
Holmes with the Jaycees trophy in 1979
Statistics
Real name	Larry Holmes
Nickname(s)	Easton Assassin
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Reach	81 in (206 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1949-11-03) November 3, 1949 (age 62) Cuthbert, Georgia, USA
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	75
Wins	69
Wins by KO	44
Losses	6
No contests	0

Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin.

Holmes, whose left jab is considered one of the greatest weapons in the history of sports,^[1] was the WBC Heavyweight Champion from 1978 to 1983, The Ring Heavyweight Champion from 1980 to 1985, and the IBF Heavyweight Champion from 1983 to 1985. He made twenty successful title defenses, second only to Joe Louis' twenty-five.

Holmes won his first forty-eight professional bouts, almost matching Rocky Marciano's streak of 49 straight wins, including victories over Ken Norton, Muhammad Ali, Gerry Cooney, and Marvis Frazier.^[2] He is frequently ranked by many boxing experts as one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of all time.^[3]

Early life[link]

Holmes was the fourth of twelve children born to John and Flossie Holmes. When the family moved to Easton in 1954, Holmes' father went to Connecticut, where he worked as a gardener until his death in 1970. He visited his family every three weeks. "He didn't forsake us," said Flossie Holmes. "He just didn't have anything to give." The family survived on welfare.

To help support his family, Holmes dropped out of school when he was in the seventh grade and went to work at a car wash for $1 an hour. He later drove a dump truck and worked in a quarry.^[4]

Amateur boxing career[link]

When Holmes was nineteen, he started boxing. In his twenty-second bout, he boxed Duane Bobick in the 1972 Olympic Trials. Holmes was dropped in the first round with a right to the head. He got up and danced out of range, landing several stiff jabs in the process. Bobick mauled Holmes in the second round but couldn't corner him. The referee warned Holmes twice in the second for holding. In the third, Bobick landed several good rights and started to corner Holmes, who continued to hold. Eventually, Holmes was disqualified for excessive holding. ^[5]

Early boxing career[link]

After compiling an amateur record of 19-3, Holmes turned professional on March 21, 1973, winning a four-round decision against Rodell Dupree. Early in his career, he worked as a sparring partner for Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Earnie Shavers, and Jimmy Young. He was paid well and learned a lot. "I was young, and I didn't know much. But I was holding my own sparring those guys," Holmes said. "I thought, 'hey, these guys are the best, the champs. If I can hold my own now, what about later?'"

Holmes first gained credibility as a contender when he upset the hard-punching Earnie Shavers in March 1978. Holmes won by a lopsided twelve-round unanimous decision, winning every round on two scorecards and all but one on the third. Holmes's victory over Shavers set up a title shot between Holmes and WBC Heavyweight Champion Ken Norton in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 9, 1978.

WBC Heavyweight Champion[link]

The fight between Holmes and Norton was a tough, competitive fight. After fourteen rounds, all three judges had the fight scored dead even at seven rounds each. Holmes rallied late in the fifteenth to win the round on two scorecards and take the title by a split decision. ^[6]

In his first two title defenses, Holmes easily knocked out Alfredo Evangelista and Ossie Ocasio. His third title defense was a tough one. On June 22, 1979, Holmes faced future WBA Heavyweight Champion Mike Weaver, who was lightly regarded going into the fight sporting an uninspiring 19-8 record. After ten tough rounds, Holmes dropped Weaver with a right uppercut late in round eleven. In the twelfth, Holmes immediately went on the attack, backing Weaver into the ropes and pounding him with powerful rights until the referee stepped in and stopped it. "This man knocked the devil out of me," Holmes said. "This man might not have had credit before tonight, but you'll give it to him now."^[7]

Three months later, on September 28, 1979, Holmes had a rematch with Shavers, who got a title shot by knocking out Ken Norton in one round. Holmes dominated the first six rounds, but in the seventh, Shavers sent Holmes down with a devastating overhand right. Holmes got up, survived the round, and went on to stop Shavers in the eleventh.^[8]

His next three defenses were knockouts of Lorenzo Zanon, Leroy Jones, and Scott LeDoux.

On October 2, 1980, at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Holmes defended his title against Ali, who was coming out of retirement in an attempt to become the first four-time World Heavyweight Champion. Holmes dominated Ali from start to finish, winning every round on every scorecard. At the end of the tenth round, Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee, stopped the fight.^[9] After the win, Holmes received recognition as World Heavyweight Champion by The Ring magazine.

Ali blamed his poor performance on thyroid medication that he had been taking, claiming that it helped him lose weight (he weighed 217½, his lowest weight since he fought George Foreman in 1974), but it also left him drained for the fight.^[10]

After eight consecutive knockouts, Holmes was forced to go the distance when he successfully defended his title against future WBC Heavyweight Champion Trevor Berbick on April 11, 1981. In his next fight, two months later, Holmes knocked out former Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Leon Spinks in three rounds. On November 6, 1981, Holmes rose from a seventh-round knockdown (during which he staggered into the turnbuckle) to stop Renaldo Snipes in the eleventh.

Holmes vs. Cooney[link]

On June 11, 1982, Holmes defended his title against Gerry Cooney, the undefeated #1 contender and an Irish-American. The lead up to the fight had many racial overtones. Holmes said that if Cooney wasn't white, he wouldn't be getting the same purse as the champion (Both boxers received $10 million for the bout).^[11] Although Cooney tried to deflect questions about race, members of his camp wore shirts that said "Not the White Man, but the Right Man."^[11]

Many^[who?] felt Holmes was unfairly slighted leading up to the fight. In their fight previews, Sports Illustrated and Time put Cooney on the cover, not Holmes. President Ronald Reagan had a phone installed in Cooney's dressing room so he could call him if he won the fight. Holmes had no such arrangement. Lastly, boxing tradition dictates that the champion is introduced last, but the challenger, Cooney, was introduced last.^[11]

The bout was held in a 32,000 seat stadium erected in a Caesar's Palace Parking lot, with millions more watching around the world. After an uneventful first round, Holmes dropped Cooney with a right in the second. Cooney came back well in the next two rounds, jarring Holmes with his powerful left hook. Holmes later said that Cooney "hit me so damned hard, I felt it - boom - in my bones.|^[12]

Cooney was tiring by the ninth, a round in which he had two points deducted for low blows. In the tenth, they traded punches relentlessly. At the end of the round, the two nodded to each other in respect.^[12]

Cooney lost another point because of low blows in the eleventh. By then, Holmes was landing with ease. In the thirteenth, a barrage of punches sent Cooney down. He got up, but his trainer, Victor Valle, stepped into the ring and stopped the fight.^[12]

After the fight, Holmes and Cooney would become close friends.^[12]