Tweet
By Cliff Rold - The title is unfair.
If nothing else, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (42-0-1, 30 KO) has already proven far more the serious professional than one Eric “Butterbean” Esch ever was.
For those who have forgotten, and those who just wish they could, Esch was once a staple on cable fight shows and even some 1990s Oscar De La Hoya pay-per-view undercards. He was the great Larry Holmes’s farewell victim in 2002. Ol’ Butterbean even scored a knockout on a Wrestlemania show once.
Often derided after coming to fame as a cult favorite in Toughman contests, Esch took real shots, threw some real haymakers, and as the “King of the Four Rounders” satisfied a carnival aspect of the game. Occasionally combined for the more prurient interests with female boxer, and eventual Playboy cover girl, Mia St. John, it was a struggle to be taken seriously by serious fight fans.
Not that they were really supposed to be.
Having gone ten rounds for the first time in 2006, and now graduated to twelve round affairs, Chavez has slowly grown a career that asks for the respect of the fans. Even if he has yet to prove he’s particularly good, he’s at least shown he isn’t that bad. He’s even got Freddie Roach in his corner to lend the air of legitimacy. Also lending an air, Chavez Jr. takes a step this weekend Esch and St. John never came close to.
He’s the main event on an HBO telecast.
And yet, fair or unfair, it’s hard to shake the feeling that we still don’t know what to make of the kid.
Is Chavez Jr. showtime or sideshow? [Click Here To Read More]
If nothing else, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (42-0-1, 30 KO) has already proven far more the serious professional than one Eric “Butterbean” Esch ever was.
For those who have forgotten, and those who just wish they could, Esch was once a staple on cable fight shows and even some 1990s Oscar De La Hoya pay-per-view undercards. He was the great Larry Holmes’s farewell victim in 2002. Ol’ Butterbean even scored a knockout on a Wrestlemania show once.
Often derided after coming to fame as a cult favorite in Toughman contests, Esch took real shots, threw some real haymakers, and as the “King of the Four Rounders” satisfied a carnival aspect of the game. Occasionally combined for the more prurient interests with female boxer, and eventual Playboy cover girl, Mia St. John, it was a struggle to be taken seriously by serious fight fans.
Not that they were really supposed to be.
Having gone ten rounds for the first time in 2006, and now graduated to twelve round affairs, Chavez has slowly grown a career that asks for the respect of the fans. Even if he has yet to prove he’s particularly good, he’s at least shown he isn’t that bad. He’s even got Freddie Roach in his corner to lend the air of legitimacy. Also lending an air, Chavez Jr. takes a step this weekend Esch and St. John never came close to.
He’s the main event on an HBO telecast.
And yet, fair or unfair, it’s hard to shake the feeling that we still don’t know what to make of the kid.
Is Chavez Jr. showtime or sideshow? [Click Here To Read More]
Comment