'Butterbean' Eric Esch Wins His Biggest Fight at Nearly 60 Years-Old

Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch has been defying expectations ever since he graced the sport of boxing in 1994. The American tank found immense fanfare through his spectacular boxing knockouts, where he, a portly man of 5’11.5″, flatlined adonis after adonis. Soon enough, the name Butterbean was unanimously adored and his superstardom was inevitable.

Well over 100 fights later, dipping his toes into kickboxing and MMA in the process, a 57-year-old Butterbean has scored the biggest win of his life – a victory against time.

Though Butterbean enjoyed immense success in his fighting career, it came as a double-edged blade. Esch inched closer and closer to record weight, and as time went on, he eventually crossed the threshold, capping off his boxing career at 426.5 lbs.

“He didn’t train for probably his last 10 to 15, 20 fights,” explained Esch’s son Caleb. “He just wasn’t able [to].”

The wear and tear Butterbean endured throughout his career, paired with the weight gain resulted in the American fighter being bed-bound with a fused hip. Surgery wasn’t possible since Butterbean was too heavy; he needed to lose weight drastically, but where to start?

Butterbean grew to over 500 lbs. Credit: DDP Yoga

“He just couldn’t get up,” Caleb said. “We didn’t think he’d live much longer.”

“I’d honestly given up,” Butterbean remarked.