With Barrera/Morales II, De La Hoya/Vargas and Mosley/Forrest fights on the horizon in the coming weeks, it looks like it will be a strong year for championship boxing.
Promoters in Mississippi, riding the trend, had matched a pair of notable heavy-heavyweights, Eric “Butterbean” Esch and William “Refrigerator” Perry, to a four round bout. Although The Fridge pulled out earlier this week due to medical reasons, eventuallythis fight will happen. For the sake of encouraging boxing discussion, let’s dissect the fight now.
Butterbean, a 300 plus lbs. plodder known affectionately as the “King of the Four Rounders,” will be pitted against “The Fridge.” Perry is best known as the 300-plus pounds former defensive lineman from the Chicago Bears Super Bowl team of 1985. Out of football since the mid 90s,the Fridge has apparently been let down by the NFL pension system and is desperate for a paycheck.
Butterbean tends to employ the “Every Which Way But Loose” style. Fans of the Clint Eastwood vehicle will nod at this point in recognition, but to elaborate for everyone else, Butterbean will come at Perry like he’s in the parking lot of a truckstop or a meatpacking plant, surrounded by white supremacist bikers and dock workers, while his corner man, a pet orangutan, looks on. You follow?
In more pure boxing language, Butterbean, since this will be the first (and probably only) fight where he will be the smaller fighter, will probably work the body. Since the Fridge’s reflexes may not be the best, Butterbean should be able to land a lot of straight rights to the head.
From what I remember of his days with the Bears, The Fridge seemed to clear a hole effectively when Mike Ditka employed him as a goal-line fullback. I hear The Fridge can jab like Larry Holmes, so he needs to fire the left hand out there and then hook off of it. Just quick, like Pow… POW POW!
The Fridge, and this is crucial, really needs to pace himself. This is four rounds, after all. His game plan should mirror Butterbean’s. Work the body, because with two 300 pounders in the ring, the body will be there to hit.
Honestly, a fight like this is better suited for Jerry Springer. It has an air of dysfunction about it. Maybe The Fridge could hook up with Butterbean’s mom, or they could date each other, and then Butterbean could cheat with another man, enraging The Fridge.
As for my prediction… Butterbean in two. It should be a classic.