What's the deal with Butterbean Esch??

Question

I just got through watching Espn show four of his

fights!

Was that the most fraudulently racist

load of bull plop in boxing history?

Did he ever fight any Caucasians, or just

African Americans, to make the Southern

Bigots feel good after he kicked their butts?

My second question is, the announcers

kept talking like his fat butt was the second coming

of Ali, when they had to have known he

was a bum, fighting other bums?

My third question is, was Larry Merchant the

reason Butterbeans fights were yanked off

HBO's undercards? I remember he used

to be a staple of HBO fights, but I recall

Merchant complaining about having to be

continuously subjected to Butterbeans farces,

and soon after, there was no more Butterbean!?

My fourth question is, was Butterbean the

biggest joke since Primo Carnera, or was

he really supposed to be taken seriously

fighting guys with 1-3 records???

Answer 1

He was just a novelty.

Answer 2

Okay...I fail to see how any aspect of Butterbean was racist ?......As has been said previously; Butterbean was basically a four round fighter with virtually no stamina enabling him to go beyond four rounds. As far as an " oddity "; Butterbean resembled Two-Ton Tony Galento more than he did Carnera who was not even aware that most of his fights had been fixed by the mob.----- Lastly; Larry Merchant's true sports background evolved from his " prose " as a sportswriter which evolved from his athletic background which consisted of putting on his jockstrap & lacing his sneakers correctly in his High School gym class.

Answer 3

Bean was a side show act.  He was just a big fat guy that had no skill but fought hard.

Answer 4

He is a four rounder. The best four rounder in the world.

Answer 5

First question:  Peter McNeily got whacked by the Bean, and he was Caucasian, there isn't a racist bone in Eric's body.  

Second question:  Announcers are paid to talk up the fighters, and call Bean what you will, he hit hard, knocked people out, and that is what most superficial fans come to see.

Third question:  When Larry Merchant called Bean "a fat fraud", and complained about the farce Bean was making of boxing, Merchant was 100% ccorrect from a boxing purist stand point.  Larry, for all his abrasive commentary, has always been a man of integrity who calls em like he sees them with no regard for political correctness, he has never compromised where the truth is concerned.   Boxing needs more people like Merchant, they are a dying breed.  Integrity is that scarce in boxing.

Fourth question:  Bean was a bigger joke than Carnera, or for that matter Valuev, but at least Eric acknowledged the joke and laughed along with you.  Esch never made any pretense of being anything more than what he was, and you can like or dislike his career all you want, but you have to respect the man for making a living in a difficult sport, most fighters, even those with much more talent than Eric work second jobs just to pay the bills.  Enjoy Eric for what he was, and don't take it too seriously.

Answer 6

OK, here are all your answers:

Yes he has fought caucasions.  He fought a guy named Lineberger or something like that, and that dude was white.  

The announcers were obviously less than up to speed on their boxing knowlege.

Yes! Merchant had a lot to do with it.  To his credit, Butterbean did have like 50 something consecutive fights without a loss.  (I didn't believe it either, but my friend showed me on BoxingRec).  Merchant said to either get him a title fight (and he got one against Larry Holmes) or not to televise his fights anymore.  I think HBO dropped him very quickly after that.

I don't think many folks ever looked at him as anything more than just a sideshow.