Jake Paul's eight-word message to Butterbean that infuriated him and made him want fight

Butterbean has wanted to fight Jake Paul since getting back into shape and has an apparent reason for wanting to square off against the YouTube sensation

Boxing icon Butterbean says his reason for wanting to fight Jake Paul has a more personal edge than the money on offer.

Eric Esch, better known as Butterbean, earned a legion of fans as a knockout artist during the 1990s. He retired in 2013 with a 77-10-4 record, with 57 wins coming via stoppage. The heavyweight initially struggled after hanging up his gloves but has undergone a transformative training regime and is looking to step back into the ring.

Butterbean has had two fighters in mind for his comeback opponent: Mike Tyson and Paul. The 58-year-old doubts whether the pair’s marquee match will go ahead next month, with the fight already having been pushed back after Tyson suffered an ulcer flare-up. The controversial bout will be boxing legend Tyson’s first professional fight since 2005.

Much attention has been paid to Paul’s rise from YouTube star to pay-per-view pugilist, building a 10-1 record against a mix of influencers and former UFC stars. However, Butterbean’s desire to stand across the ring from Paul dates back to comments that ‘The Problem Child’ made almost four years ago.

“I would love to fight Jake Paul, but he’s too smart to fight me,” Butterbean told Chris Van Vliet last year. “I’m not saying he’s a coward or anything like that, but I would destroy him. I think he knows, I mean, I hit way too hard for him. Once you’re in the heavyweight division, you’re a heavyweight. 197lbs is heavyweight.”

Explaining his motivation, Esch added: “He made a statement a while back about me. He was like, ‘I’m not like Butterbean, I’m not a joke’. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to fight him. Just to show him. I mean, if he thinks I’m a joke, I want to fight him.”

Butterbean is referring to comments that Paul made when asked about being a fan attraction, similar to Esch, after his second career win. “They can go f*** off,” Paul said about fans making the comparison in 2020. "I stole the [Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr] show.”

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It has been more than two years since Butterbean first shared his desire to return to the ring. While he may not have managed to tempt his dream opponents so far, Esch has not backed down, making Paul a £1.5million ($2million) winner-takes-all fight offer after the Tyson bout was postponed. The YouTuber went on to earn a TKO victory over BKFC star Mike Perry in July.

Butterbean has shared clips of pad and heavy bag workouts on social media and was previously open to fighting Tyson, who he considers a friend. Esch confessed to rejecting an exhibition bout with Tyson in 2020 but is now in fighting shape and is convinced that he would be a better matchup for Paul than ‘Iron Mike’.

"I saw Mike about three weeks ago, and he looked pregnant," Butterbean told AL.com earlier this month. "I would knock him out. He has no chin. The problem with those who have lost to Tyson is they didn’t challenge him."