Eric Esch vs. James Baker
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Eric Esch 306 lbs beat James Baker 201 lbs by KO at 0:18 in round 1 of 4
- Date: 1996-03-19
- Location: Spruce Goose Dome, Long Beach, California, USA
- Referee: Chuck Hassett
- Esch knocked out Baker in eighteen seconds.
- Baker claims that he took a dive in this fight. His motive was that he wanted to get off television as soon as possible, because he was violating his probation by fighting in California. Replays showed that Butterbean's knockout punch failed to land on Baker, thus supporting his claim.
- Baker had also fought the night before in Missouri, winning a first round stoppage.
- In the September 1998 edition of Cyber Boxing Zone Journal, writer Pedro Fernandez claimed that Baker was a last minute replacement for fellow heavyweight, George Clarke. According to Fernandez, Clarke was boasting to reporters days before the fight that "he went 175-1, as a kick boxer. And that he was going to kick the Bean's ass." Esch tried to pull out of the fight by claiming an injury. In order to prevent Esch from pulling out, Top Rank (Esch's promoter at the time)'s matchmaker brought Baker in as a replacement.
- The fight was aired on USA-TV's "Tuesday Night Fights" program.
See also: Fights Lasting Under Thirty Seconds