Butterbean destroyed Jake Paul’s boxing skills back in 2022 while also discussing Mike Tyson, suggesting the former heavyweight champion will have an easy night’s work when the pair meet on July 20. The 57-year-old was talking two years before their fight was announced and went as far as to call the duo out in the interview, before later referring to Tyson as a “friend”.
Paul and Tyson will face off at the AT&T Arena in Texas. While Butterbean, real name Erich Esch, has not shared his thoughts on the event, his past remarks hint at how he expects the bout to play out.
In 2022, he told The Sun: “I’m not a typical boxer, I go out there to fight. I want to knock somebody out. Jake Paul or Mike Tyson. Jake Paul runs his mouth too much, he’s never fought nobody, I would love to fight him.”
Butterbean is a former MMA and professional wrestling star who last competed in 2013. After undergoing a significant lifestyle change, which saw him lose a large amount of weight thanks to the DDP Yoga programme, championed by WWE icon Diamond Dallas Page, he plans to make a return to boxing.
He added in 2022: “I think people would like to see me and Tyson go at it, which would be a hell of a draw. Me and Tyson are actually friends but I don’t mind fighting friends.” Despite previously being offered the chance to step into the ring with Tyson in 2020, Butterbean turned down the bout due to his weight hitting an alarming 500 pounds.
“I was in that dark place,” he admitted. “There was no way it was possible. I’m alive right now, I’m good to go. And Mike is in great shape, it would be a hell of a fight. We’d both come to fight, Mike ain’t going to run from me. That’s where his big mistake would be. I sparred with Buster Mathis a lot, so I know Tyson’s style.”
Notably, there have been health-related concerns surrounding Tyson taking on Paul, who is 30 years his junior. These concerns were intensified following an incident on May 27, where Tyson experienced a medical emergency while on a flight to Los Angeles.
The 57-year-old boxer became nauseous and dizzy during the flight, due to what reports suggest may have been a flare-up of a stomach ulcer. However, the New York native later put fans at ease by providing an update about his condition via X/Twitter, asserting: “Now feeling 100 per cent even though I don’t need to be to beat Jake Paul”.
