During the 1990s, Eric Esch, better known by his nickname, Butterbean was an icon and a knockout artist, also a top-drawer attraction for the sport. The over 300-pound phenom has been in over 90 professional boxing matches in his career and even competed in MMA in the latter half of his career.

Butterbean mainly garnered popularity for his abnormal physique and brutal fighting style. Moreover, the highlight of his career came after he met Larry Holmes in 2002 but lost to the former heavyweight champion. However, there is one bout where the heavyweight icon might have knocked out the wrong person. A recently resurfaced clip has been circulating on the internet of Butterbean’s match with Pat Jackson where he accidentally knocked down the referee.

The referee seemingly came in the way of a thunderous right hand as he tried to separate the two fighters, knocking him out cold. This was not all, as fans were quick to react to this mishap.

Fans react to Butterbean accidentally knocking out a referee

Hollywood actor and stuntman Johnny Knoxville claimed that he knew exactly how the referee felt. Knoxville made his fame from doing stunts that required him to be physically hurt on a lot of occasions. “I know how he feels.” he wrote. Another fan was curious if the referee made it to the ten-count. “Did he beat the 10 count”  he wrote.

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Moreover, one fan hilariously stated that he had the referee up by two rounds before the KO. “I had the ref up 2 rounds before the knockdown smh.” he wrote. One fan was quick to state the most important rule in boxing which seemingly applied even to referees. “Protect yourself at all times.” he wrote.

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However, one fan was concerned about the referee as he wondered why no one checked on him. “So no one checked on him.” he wrote. Lastly, one fan claimed that Butterbean needed to be the next opponent for Jake Paul, who recently secured the biggest win of his career after beating Anderson Silva. “Next for Jake Paul,” he wrote. The fans had quite a few reactions to this iconic mishap. While some found this accident entertaining others were concerned for the referee who could have been very badly injured for this.

What did you think about the accidental knockout? Let us know in the comments.

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