- 2 days ago
King of the 4 rounders, Butterbean takes on Curt Allen on TVKO HBO PPV. Plus an interview with Sugar Ray Leonard on his latest comeback attempt
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00:00Well, after 12 blistering rounds of action, the title changes hands here at the Thomas and Mack Center.
00:06Once again, Michael Carbajal is a 100-proof warrior, but he didn't have enough bullets left in his chamber tonight
00:12to stop a fresher fighter whose time had come.
00:16Mauricio Pastrana made it happen tonight, and now he's the new champion of the world.
00:21Joining me now, the chief operating officer and president of Caesars Palace, Peter Boynton.
00:26You know, fight fans are always looking ahead, Peter, and they pay you, I know, good money to have foresight yourself.
00:32Tell us about this Whitaker-Delahoya matchup. There's a lot of anticipation. Will it happen when and where?
00:40Yes, it will happen, and I think the thing that has to happen first is they have to get past two very tough opponents.
00:45I think they're both fighting fighters with excellent records that are tough and gritty,
00:50and I hope they're not looking past them because they have to obviously win these fights.
00:54And what about a date, and will it be at Caesars?
00:56It will be at Caesars in April, on the 12th of April.
01:00We think that it will be in the outdoor arena that we will construct on the front of the hotel.
01:04We still have some logistics with construction to work out.
01:07If not there, then Thomas and Mack where we are tonight.
01:10Okay, so Peter Boynton will look forward to that and perhaps the rematch here if these guys would be ready.
01:14Thank you, Nick.
01:15That would be something, but straight ahead on the card tonight, a guy impossible to miss.
01:20His name is Eric Ash, but fight fans know him only as Butterbean, all 300-plus and plenty of pounds of him.
01:28As KO Magazine put it, Butterbean looks like he walked out of a comic book.
01:32But Butterbean's laughing all the way to the bank.
01:34He's the highest-paid four-round fighter in the business.
01:36Two years ago, he was building mobile homes in Alabama and beating up guys in tough man contests when he weighed 400 pounds.
01:44He's lovable.
01:45He's larger than life.
01:47He's Butterbean.
01:48And Jim Lampley, he's on now.
01:50And even George Foreman down there looks like a featherweight next to him.
01:55Well, and George likes it that way.
01:57I like that.
01:58He has a very stealth of George Foreman.
02:00The two fighters we just saw each weigh about a third of what Butterbean weighs.
02:04We just saw each weigh about a third of what Butterbean weighs and can fight about 3,000 times better than he can.
02:16He's got a grim expression on his face, doesn't he?
02:19He must be psyching himself up.
02:20He has a cue.
02:22He has a cue from the organizational people here to go ahead and go on into the ring, but...
02:28And I guess he's not fierce enough yet.
02:34Yeah, we all remember the big win over Sean Chagin on the 6th of December.
02:44Can you imagine a fat fraud like this holding up the show?
02:49Crowd loves it, though, Larry.
02:51There's no doubt about it.
02:52Crowd loves it.
02:53I once wrote a book called Ringside Seat of the Circus, so I'm well aware of the circus side of prize fighting.
03:01And, in fact, Butterbean is a very nice kid.
03:03So you're telling me this is a case of life imitating art, right?
03:06Absolutely.
03:07And he is a nice kid.
03:09And he is.
03:11Congratulations to him pulling off a great hustle with the help of Barb Arum.
03:16I've got to tell you.
03:17But he can't fight a lick.
03:19One of the prophets on this was our George Foreman, because the first time I saw this, I thought to myself, well, now, who cares?
03:24And George said to me, no, no, don't discount it.
03:26People are going to love this.
03:28Well, George, you were right.
03:29What is it they love about Butterbean?
03:31Well, he's one of them.
03:33No doubt about it.
03:34They can see through his eyes.
03:36Every guy says, I'd like to get in there.
03:38Yeah, he's the common man, isn't he?
03:40I can lose a few here and there.
03:42Belly bump my way on into this competition.
03:48Well, here's what passes for Butterbean's boxing record.
03:5223 wins.
03:53The one loss was against a fellow that they put him in with in Madison Square Garden who had a pretty doggone good jab and wound up embarrassing him.
03:5919 KOs.
04:01The script has been followed 23 out of 24 times.
04:05He's won his last 10 fights by KO.
04:07And the promoters who earn money off of the public's fascination with Butterbean just love that.
04:14Incidentally, the records of all the boxers on the card tonight and Butterbean are being brought to you by the ring, the Bible of boxing.
04:23And his opponent tonight is one Kurt Allen from Louisville, Kentucky.
04:28And Allen has had six professional fights and has won five of them.
04:33Has a draw.
04:34Three KOs.
04:36He's from Louisville.
04:37He shares that in common with Muhammad Ali.
04:41And that's probably it.
04:43Tale of the tape between Butterbean and Kurt Allen.
04:46And you'll see that Allen gives up 99, count him 99 pounds.
04:51But he's the same height as Butterbean so he can look him in the eye.
04:54Butterbean's two-inch reach advantage could help him.
04:58Rules for this extravaganza with the inimitable Harold Letterman.
05:02The Eric, Butterbean, Ash, Kurt Allen fight, of course, is scheduled for four rounds.
05:08There is no standing eight count.
05:09The three knockdown rule is in effect.
05:11Only a referee can stop the fight and can be saved by the bell in the fourth and final round only.
05:16Jim.
05:16I wonder how many guys have gotten to this advanced stage of their careers while still fighting four-rounders.
05:20Let's go to Michael Buffer.
05:21And now, ladies and gentlemen, from Caesars Palace, Top Rank and Budweiser present a special four-round bout in the heavyweight division,
05:33sanctioned by the IBA for their four-round heavyweight title.
05:38The three judges assigned to this bout are Davey Pearl, Dalby Shirley, and Al Siciliano.
05:44And when the bell rings, the referee in charge of the action is Jay Nadee.
05:50Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner, wearing red, trimmed with black, and weighing 223 pounds.
05:57He comes to us from Louisville, Kentucky.
06:00He's undefeated with a record of 5-0-1, three KOs.
06:04He is the challenger, ladies and gentlemen, Kurt the Hurt Allen.
06:14And his opponent across the ring, fighting out of the red corner.
06:19Wearing the stars and bars, red, white, and blue, and weighing in at 322 pounds.
06:26From Bay City, Michigan, he brings a record of 25 victories, including 19 KOs.
06:33With only one defeat, he is the defending four-round champion, the king of the four-rounders, Butterbee!
06:41Do you have any questions?
06:56I gave you instructions in dressing rooms.
06:58I want a good, clean fight.
06:59If the belly button to the hip bone is aligned, let's go to work.
07:03So get ready for Butterbean, the lunging legume.
07:15Well, they looked all over New York, where there were about 5,000 heavyweights, and they
07:20couldn't find anybody Butterbean could beat there, so they found one in Louisville.
07:23I'm sure they won't make the mistake of New York again.
07:28Well, one thing about Butterbean, for the ungainly form and the awkwardness he displays in there,
07:33he does have heavy hands.
07:35Like George Foreman, he knocks people out with glancing blows.
07:38So don't look away.
07:40He's in with a tough, smooth cookie.
07:42This guy's trying to move on Butterbean.
07:44And going to the body on him.
07:46Maurice Allen has a bit more skills than Butterbean, I think.
07:50Left jab, footwork.
07:53Curtis Allen.
07:54Curt Allen from Louisville, Kentucky.
07:57Leading with the left hook there.
07:58When Butterbean got beat, his only loss in New York, he got taken apart by the straight jab
08:03of a fighter named Rose.
08:04So I don't know if Allen's seen that, but he'd be well advised to jab from time to time.
08:09I think maybe he's watched some tapes of Butterbean.
08:12He's jabbing, staying out of the way of the power of the big man.
08:14If that big guy hits you one, you're going down.
08:20That fighter who beat Butterbean in New York was named Mitchell Rose.
08:23He had a record of 1-6-1 before his big win over the Bean.
08:27Butterbean said, well, I was still learning how to box at that point.
08:34And I guess he's still learning how to box at this point, too.
08:39Butterbean, once he loses his temper, he gets tough.
08:42He's hard to hurt.
08:44But Curt is a good boxer.
08:49Yeah.
08:49Footwork.
08:50Louisville moves floats like something.
08:56Floats, but not exactly like a butterfly.
08:58And stings, but maybe not quite as badly as a bee.
09:01Boy, he got in a good shot on Butterbean that time.
09:04And Allen was wobbled a few seconds ago by a roundhouse Butterbean left.
09:09Sort of like that.
09:14There's another Allen left-right combination, and he's certainly holding his own through this first round.
09:18In fact, the judges may be getting ready to mark down a one-round for Curt Allen.
09:23Stop, Brick.
09:25Going over the back of my head.
09:27He's sitting down here.
09:30Now, what did Butterbean say there?
09:32Did you hear him, Jim?
09:33Yes, I think he's telling referee Jay Nady that he believes Allen wants to hold him behind the head while hitting it.
09:43Let him out, Brick.
09:44Stop.
09:44Let him out.
09:47Butterbean needs to get a little close and use that extra weight on this guy.
09:50Lean on him a little bit.
09:55Telegraphed uppercut by Allen, but then again, telegraphs don't matter much when the guy you're fighting against is operating at Western Union speed anyway.
10:06Or should I say Pony Express speed?
10:10Whoops!
10:10Butterbean stands on Allen's left foot.
10:13Allen falls down, and the crowd goes wild.
10:16Well, I have to say, it's a great sight, though.
10:32You've got to feel more punches, man.
10:34Weed off to that left hand.
10:37Rushing behind your right hand.
10:39Just a couple of steps.
10:40You might want to fake that jab.
10:41They're going behind your right hand, because every time he jabs, his left hand's coming right down low.
10:44Okay.
10:48There's Butterbean's foot on top of Curt Allen's left foot, and from the breeze, Allen goes down.
10:54I'll say this.
10:55He has better footwork than I thought he had.
11:00Not ruled a knockdown, of course, and even Allen was amused.
11:04All right, listen.
11:06He's worried about that jab.
11:07You're throwing two punches, and you're backing off again.
11:12Don't worry.
11:12Don't worry, don't worry.
11:14Give a little worry, guys.
11:17Okay?
11:18A little bit more pressure.
11:19You can keep edging it, edging it, edging it.
11:21All right, buddy.
11:22I punched that numbers in round one.
11:25Curt Allen landed 25 out of 59, and Butterbean only 11 of 41.
11:29So, if you're judging, you probably would have given that round to Allen.
11:36I heard Butterbean's corner telling him to throw more punches, and this is the response.
11:42Looked like the referee was afraid to get in there and break him up, because Butterbean might
11:54knock him down.
11:59Hard right hand, and Allen holds on, and seems to regain his bearings.
12:06Boy, he's got Butterbean mad now.
12:12Yes, and Allen's footwork has slowed down considerably since round one now.
12:18He's not bouncing around quite as much in there, George.
12:20Butterbean is trying to find a little range for that quick right hand.
12:24He is deceptively quick, isn't he?
12:26Yeah, it comes real quick.
12:29He has so much faith in it.
12:33George, what are you talking about?
12:35Hey, it's a good show, Larry.
12:42George is helping this to be a good show.
12:45I need to laugh as much as the next guy.
12:51I wish you guys would quit giggling like that, because I get a lot of letters every time you
12:55do it.
12:55Okay, okay, okay.
12:57I'm going to be straight.
12:58Break, sit back.
12:59Sit back playing.
13:00No punch.
13:00Forward, feet, forward.
13:01Get it for going, right?
13:02Now, Kurt seems to be more concerned with keeping his, not losing his wind, so he can
13:10last the whole fight.
13:11Yep.
13:13Kind of pacing himself for the full four rounds.
13:20Allen remembering the jab when he moves backward, and he's making it awful hard for Butterbean to
13:26find him in there.
13:27Butterbean normally has Mr. T in his corner.
13:43I don't see Mr. T tonight.
13:44No, Butterbean didn't know footwork that time.
14:05Go back up, go back up.
14:08Right ahead with punch.
14:10Right through the window.
14:11Jump to the window.
14:11Round two comes to a close.
14:20Butterbean sending out a radar scan to try to find Kurt Allen in there.
14:26Still to come, this man, Miguel Angel Gonzalez against Oscar De La Hoya.
14:30You heard Nick Charles suggesting earlier that Emmanuel Stewart had perhaps facetiously
14:35said he would have Gonzalez spar with a sparring partner to warm up and avoid the slow starts
14:39that have plagued him in some fights.
14:41But now we get the word that there will be no sparring partner.
14:44Gonzalez will simply engage in extended shadowboxing to get ready for De La Hoya.
14:49And here you see the latest dance move of Butterbean as he misses his opponent by two feet, spins around
14:59on the ropes, could challenge the Macarena.
15:02I'm straight up with that.
15:05I'm not going to laugh anymore.
15:07Hey, Butterbean up.
15:11You ain't got sand.
15:12Come on.
15:13Let's go.
15:14Come on.
15:14Come on.
15:16Let's go, Bean.
15:17Kurt Allen heaving hard to try to find out if there's any air left in Nevada.
15:21As they begin round three, Allen has thrown 100 punches in the first two rounds and landed
15:2942 of them.
15:31Butterbean, 31 out of 91.
15:33So the punch stat numbers are beginning to even out a little bit.
15:38Butterbean is looking exclusively for a knockout.
15:41Doesn't want any points.
15:43Doesn't want any computer punch stats.
15:47He wants a knockout.
15:48Harold Letterman, how do you have it scored through the first two?
15:50Jim, just like you.
15:521919, one round apiece.
15:54I got to roll even.
15:55An easy press run for Kurt Allen with his good boxing ability.
15:58Butterbean came on strong, landed the good shots in the second round.
16:00It's all even.
16:04Kurt Allen landed a right hand over the top, and Butterbean smiled widely as if to say,
16:08come on, you can't hurt me.
16:10So Allen smiled back at him.
16:15Oh!
16:16The right hand lands for Butterbean, but Allen handles it pretty well.
16:20Well, I'm shocked.
16:24Allen gets hit in the neck that time.
16:27Why are you shocked, Joey?
16:29This guy stood up to a shot, but this guy put all his waistline into that right hand.
16:34Now, most guys go down from that, or at least most guys who've been in against Butterbean.
16:38If I was Butterbean, I'd be pretty discouraged now.
16:43He's hit him with his best.
16:45I think he believes he's finding the range, and when he goes to the body like that, that hurts.
16:50I think he's pulling.
16:50I think he's pulling.
16:51I saw him hit the right side of the ribcage of Kurt Allen, and Allen winced.
16:58Come on, Bean.
16:59Out the ropes.
17:00Pull him out of the ropes.
17:01Get the course.
17:02You've got to putt.
17:04Come on, got to putt your hands up.
17:05Get your hands up.
17:06Left right combination by Allen, and now Allen feeling around his hairline as though there
17:12was a headbutt there.
17:13Yeah, Butterbean is dropping his left hand for some reason, as though he's a seasoned pro.
17:18Well, maybe he wants to tempt Allen to come in at him.
17:20But Allen seems to get in whenever he throws a quick right hand, when it's quick.
17:28Butterbean looks like something out of the crunk, Jim, with that left hand down around
17:31the bottom of his crunk.
17:32Get on it!
17:33Get on it!
17:34Let go, let go, let go!
17:40Allen comes off the ropes and fires an uppercut, countering Butterbean as Butterbean looks for
17:46opportunities to throw that big right hand.
17:51Oh, he landed the right again, and now Allen is stunned.
17:5527 seconds left in round three.
17:57Let's see if Kurt Allen can continue to take it.
17:59Can't be saved by the bell in this round, only in the last round.
18:11Allen not throwing back anymore as he leans over the ropes.
18:14Jay Nady looking at him, and Nady's going to stop it.
18:17No knockdown, but a TKO, as Kurt Allen had stopped throwing punches in return.
18:25Well, shall we call that a comeback victory for Butterbean?
18:42What is that?
18:43You know, that was exciting.
18:49I'm sorry to say that.
18:52That's pretty exciting.
18:53You get excited when he fires that quick right hand.
18:55Yeah, I mean, that is something.
18:57Hey, Billy.
19:00Hey, Billy.
19:01How you doing?
19:01All right.
19:02So his following may have something that the other fighters don't have.
19:05Well, he expects, there's no doubt about that he brings some sort of freak show excitement.
19:16Well, let's go up to Michael Buffer and hear the official particulars of the latest big bean blast.
19:21Ladies and gentlemen, in three, Jay Nady calls a halt with about the official time.
19:24Two minutes, 56 seconds of round number three.
19:27The winner and still the king of four rounds in the heavyweight division.
19:33He is Butterbean.
19:41Did I see a smile of relief on Bob Arum's face?
19:47Let's go back up to Nick Charles.
19:49Jim, I don't know what the worst evil would be, to be stepped on your foot by Butterbean or to be hit in the jaw.
19:55The guy with me who didn't get hit very often right now, Sugar Ray Leonard.
19:59Come on, right now, you take on Butterbean.
20:01What are the odds on this fight?
20:02Four rounds.
20:03Well, it's tough to say because I think Butterbean is truly what he is.
20:06He's an entertainer.
20:07People love him.
20:08Well, they like you too, Ray.
20:09You're 40 years old, though, now, and you're fighting again.
20:12Tell me, what point are you trying to prove doing this against Camacho?
20:15It's not really a point, Nick.
20:17I'm just going back to work, you know.
20:19I happen to take a few years off, and it's going back to a job that I enjoy doing.
20:23But I think being 40 is just a matter of attitude.
20:27Age is a matter of attitude.
20:29You take care of yourself.
20:30You stay focused.
20:31You stay disciplined.
20:32You can do pretty much anything you want to.
20:33You're fighting Hector Camacho, March 1st, Atlantic City.
20:36What do you see now that you're back in the gym, full-fledged training, sparring?
20:40What do you see in yourself different than you did five, six years ago when you retired?
20:44You know what I've done?
20:45I've done this very carefully.
20:47I've brought in top sparring partners and guys who get me in tip-top shape.
20:52Two of my protégés are Gary Jones and DeMarcus Corley.
20:55I also brought a young man, David Sample, Anthony Suggs, and Bubu Sawyer.
20:59These guys are quick.
21:00These guys are young.
21:01These guys are strong.
21:03And they keep me sharp, Nick.
21:05And I have a great trainer in Adrian Davis.
21:08So my whole camp, my father's there.
21:10My son is there, Ray Jr.
21:12And it's a one-family affair.
21:15You're the last guy, then, to delude yourself.
21:17If you didn't think you had it, you'd pull the plug.
21:20I would never do anything to jeopardize my health, let alone my life.
21:25I feel in great shape.
21:26I'm on the right road.
21:27And I'm very excited about this fight coming up with Camacho.
21:30Speaking of right roads, Oscar De La Hoya hasn't missed a beat.
21:34What do you see in this guy?
21:35And where do you see room for improvement, perhaps?
21:37What's his best weight?
21:39Things like that.
21:40Well, you know, Oscar's a young man who's growing.
21:43He could possibly be a middleweight.
21:44Who knows?
21:45He could probably be a super middleweight.
21:47But Oscar has the whole package.
21:49And what I mean by that makes the fact that he's good-looking.
21:52He's very articulate.
21:53He's very passionate with people and very sociable.
21:57I think he has the right program to be considered one of the greats.
22:01Would you fight him?
22:03We'll see.
22:05Sugar Ray Leonard always leaves us guessing, right?
22:07And Oscar De La Hoya right now getting ready.
22:11Here he is, warming up.
22:13He's fighting a guy who has done nothing but win.
22:17Miguel Angel Gonzalez.
22:18Oscar De La Hoya at 140 pounds.
22:20He said this is his last...
22:21So, wait.
22:23It's coming.
22:23Trying to see.
22:28You're welcome.
22:28I'm sorry.
22:31I'm sorry.
22:31You're welcome.
22:32I'm sorry.
22:37I'm sorry.
22:39Okay.
22:40Go ahead.
22:48Take care.
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