Mitchell Rose knocks out Butterbean after being bribed to take a dive (Dec 15, 1995)

Will never not be funny that Butterbean's team avoided a rematch.

 

Is it just me or does Rose look decent here? He lacks majorly in hand speed but he controls the fight with a nice jab, accurate straight rights and actually feints and counters! I was honestly expecting Butterbean to just get caught with a shot but Rose dominated the entire bout.

 

Rose had a Golden Gloves background, which Butterbean’s team (IIRC) failed to pick up on. He hadn’t fought much as a pro, and some of this fights were against pretty decent opponents.

So in essence it was a well-schooled amateur against a guy who was regularly fighting tough man style opponents. The result was one-sided, as Bean had no answer for a fighter who could use range and throw a well-timed 1-2.

I think Bean improved a bit after this fight, but they also kept him in his niche and didn’t take significant risks before cashing out against Holmes. He actually had some success in MMA, which was probably better suited to his striking style and strengths.

 

Butterbean will always be overhyped due to his size im afraid, and I do not think he warrants comparisons to the like of Tony Galento, who while both were fat, lazy slobs; Galento was actually a legitimate contender.

Also, one of my old threads has some pretty funny comments saying Butterbean would beat Joe Louis, if any of you newer members want to read: https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/joe-louis-vs-butterbean.616485/

Also admittedly, Mitchell Rose does not look like someone who is deserving of a 1-6 record here.

 

Fight records can be very deceiving. Mitchell Rose is a perfect example of a fighter, who for the most part was self-managed, which meant for the majority of the time he would get a phone call within a few days before a fight. Even the most talented fighter won't go very far as a professional without good management, which explains the spotty record.

Here is a piece about Rose that also includes Rose talking about his career such as the Butterbean fight and his incident with Mike Tyson.

He began boxing as a teenager, training at Bed Stuy Boxing Club, as well as Gleason’s Gym. He made it to the 1988 N.Y. Golden Gloves finals, prior to turning pro during spring 1991. His career highlight came at Madison Square Garden on the undercard of Oscar de la Hoya vs. Jess James Leija: on Dec. 15, 1995, Rose knocked out the heavily favored Eric “Butterbean” Esch (15-0 12 KOs) in the second round.

“When it was first offered, I told him you better take that fight,” recalled childhood friend and two-time NY Golden Gloves Champ Irving Pierre-Louis. “You can beat him.”

The upset win earned him many stripes. He would also spar with Brooklyn-bred World Heavyweight Champions Ridd**k Bowe and Shannon Briggs.

“Beating Butterbean at the Garden was my version of the Thrilla in Manila,” Rose said in a later interview. “It’s been almost 10 years and I still get a lot of respect for that fight. That is one of the few times I had time to train, about five weeks, and I surprised a lot of people. It was fun to **** a lot of people off and spoil the show. It was me everyone was usually laughing at. For a guy who was always walking around down and out, that was a triumphant moment for me.”

“I never made a lot of money in the ring. My biggest paydays were $2,500 for the Nobles fight and $1,500 for Butterbean, but I got a lot of experiences that I measure as wealth. I’ve been up, I’ve been down, but I’m still here kicking—and hopefully punching again. Life works in funny ways. You never know what’s around the corner. Some people don’t want to know. Me, I can’t wait to find out.”

During late 2001, at Bed-Stuy’s Sugar Hill Night Club, Rose and boxing legend Iron Mike Tyson got into a scuffle after having several drinks. Rose would go on to sue Tyson and wrote a book detailing the incident, “Mike Tyson Tried to Kill My Daddy.”

“I wasn’t in a boxing state of mind and he was very, very strong,” Rose recounted. “I slipped backwards on the concrete, but I wasn’t scared. I should have been, but I wasn’t. I think Mike expected me to fold and surrender. Either way, I can say I got to fight Mike Tyson. It wasn’t in the ring where I would have liked to get the payday. It was the Brooklyn way, in the street.”
https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2021/03/11/celebrating-life-mitchell-big-un-rose/

 

I thought I saw George Washington (the Bed Stuy coach) hugging Rose in the video after the fight. Washington trained almost all of the Bed Stuy fighters in those days. He didn't keep many of them after they turned pro, but he is the one who taught them the fundamentals. Excellent coach/trainer who taught a lot of champions and top fighters to fight.

 

I remember hearing this, I laugh when casuals say Butterbean would be a serious threat to anyone in the top 10 currently. He couldnt beat 52 yr old larry

 

Even in terms of fatness, it's very difficult to put them on the same shelf. I mean, also, the shelf would obviously break immediately.

 

Sometimes, people are given a very lucrative series of fights because they are popular with the crowds. In recent times, Dave Allen and Allen Babic have made good money because they were popular. Butterbean was similar in that sense, and lasted longer than most would in his position.