Andy Ruiz Jnr compared to ‘Butterbean’ by ESPN sportscaster in ultimate insult
- Mexican-American compared to obese ex-fighter who fought during the Mike Tyson era
- Promoter Eddie Hearn denies Joshua was hurt during training in the lead-up to the fight

Days after defeating Anthony Joshua in one of the biggest boxing upsets ever, newly crowned champion Andy Ruiz Jnr is still not earning respect from certain quarters.
Ruiz was a massive underdog in last Saturday’s world heavyweight title fight at Madison Square Garden but pulled off a stunning seventh-round TKO to snatch the Briton’s WBO, IBF and WBA belts.
But even after etching his name in boxing immortality, the 29-year-old Mexican-American wasn’t getting much love with many on Twitter still poking fun at his overweight stature. One sportscaster from ESPN even compared Ruiz to retired heavyweight “Butterbean” (Eric Esch), the grossly obese fighter, who fought during the Mike Tyson era more than 20 years ago – a huge insult to the new champion.
Stephen A Smith tweeted: “OMG! OMG! I cannot believe this S$&@$! Anthony Joshua – holder of 3 belts, gets TKO’d by Butter Bean ... I mean some dude named Andy Ruiz JR. What a damn disgrace. Joshua looked completely gassed! More fatigued than hurt! Now how in the Hell did you let that happen? How?”