Macho Men Ready to Rumble : Van Nuys’ 5-5 1/2 Buffo Muscles Up for ‘World’s Toughest Man’ Title

First, let’s size up the situation.

One of the top competitors, a 26-year-old construction worker from Alabama with Butterbean as his nom de guerre , goes 6-feet-2 and more than 300 pounds. The guy, whose real name is Eric Esch, likes to knock silly whoever jumps in the ring with him.

Others, from assorted walks of life, display the same tendencies and eagerness to inflict pain. After all, that’s the point of the “World’s Toughest Man” boxing tournament: flatten others before they flatten you.

But no matter, says Jim Buffo of Van Nuys. Neither good old Butterbean nor anyone else has ever come across someone with his quickness or devastating left hook. And they probably haven’t faced anyone who is 5-5 1/2 and a mere 215 pounds.

Yes, that’s the gap in the tale of the tape between Buffo, 32, and Butterbean. But Buffo, a former junior college All-American football player at Valley College, says that neither those with funky nicknames nor simple Joes will stop him from winning the title in a boxing competition that is more barroom brawl than pugilistic work of art.

“I’m going to come to fight,” Buffo says. “Usually, when the people in my family come to fight, it turns out pretty well.”

Buffo knows about the fighting game. He is the nephew of the Goossen brothers, who from their gyms in the Valley have guided young boxers such as Michael Nunn and Gabriel and Rafael Ruelas to stardom. It’s an environment that Buffo believes has prepared him well to win the title.

But there are steppingstones to navigate before making it to the finals in mid-May in Las Vegas, where Butterbean, last year’s runner-up, might be waiting. First, Buffo must qualify at the West regional that starts today in Phoenix. That one is not exactly a walkover.

The format calls for 40 fighters (anyone who has organized amateur or professional experience cannot compete) to square off in 20 randomly selected first-round bouts. Each bout consists of three one-minute rounds or until one fighter can’t continue. The slugging concludes the next day--when the participants can be involved in as many as four matches--until there is one survivor. From there, the regional winner advances to the nationals.

At the regional, the champion will receive a suitcase filled with $5,000 in $20 bills. The prize money for the finals at the MGM Grand Hotel has not been announced, but it probably will compare favorably to the $50,000 first-place prize awarded in last year’s competition at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J.

That’s a nice chunk of change that Buffo wouldn’t mind bringing home to Cathy, his wife of five years.

“This could be our ticket to get the down payment on a house and to start a family,” Buffo said.

Being around family is something Buffo, the second oldest of four brothers and one sister, knows as well as boxing. His father, Denny, is a private investigator and his mother, Ellorie, is one of two sisters to Joe, Greg and the rest of the Ten Goose clan of boxing fame.

It was Joe and his brothers, Buffo’s uncles, who first taught their nephew to fight. Well, to survive was more like it.

“I used to get down on my knees when we were kids and just hammer him,” said Joe Goossen, 40, who frequently does color commentary on televised boxing cards. “He would just get up and come after me.”

Those early training sessions in a makeshift ring in the bedroom of his home in Reseda left an impression on Buffo. In fact, several.

“I remember it came to the point where my mom and dad didn’t want me to go in the room where any boxing went on,” Buffo said. “I would end up bleeding and having to get stitches. I must have maybe 40 to 50 stitches on my head from him (Joe) alone. It was from being knocked back and hitting my head on something.”

Buffo said he has been in hundreds of street fights, including many as a kid that were fueled by nasty comments about his size. The reasons for the fights varied in later years, but the results were pretty much the same.

“I don’t go looking for fights, but I won’t back down,” said Buffo, who has a quick sense of humor despite his reputation as a tough guy. “My last street fight was up in Reno (last year) with a (heavyweight) pro fighter in a hotel hallway. He was giving Joe and me crap, and we ended up going to blows. I took him out in 20 seconds.”

Others before the ill-advised pro boxer got similar treatment after mouthing off to Buffo or someone in his family. Perhaps surprisingly, Buffo has been arrested only once but the case was dismissed because he proved self-defense.

Despite packing a heavy punch, Buffo never pursued a professional boxing career and instead became a standout football player at Hoover High in Glendale. Buffo had been a nose guard at Notre Dame High for two seasons before he got into a fight with another student and was given an ultimatum.

“They (administrators) made me an offer: ‘Leave or we’ll kick you out and it will go on your record,’ ” Buffo said. “So I went to Hoover and then to Valley (College).”

Under then-Valley Coach Chuck Ferrero, Buffo developed into a junior college All-American middle linebacker, one that instilled terror in opposing ballcarriers.

“He is about as tough a kid as I have ever coached,” said Ferrero, now the school’s athletic director. “He was a great tackler. He just laid people out.”

Including a few who weren’t even wearing pads at the time. Ferrero recalls one incident that illustrates how fearless Buffo was. And is.

“When his uncle Tom (Goossen, now an assistant at Arroyo Grande High) was assisting me, he was having a hard time with one of our tough kids, who had a brother who was a big-time professional linebacker. So the kid’s brother comes over to cause problems with Tom. Jim said something to him and the guy said something back and Buffo knocked him into a trash dumpster.”

After Valley, Buffo played two seasons at Cal Lutheran and had hoped for a professional career but never got his shot.

He then turned to boxing, helping his uncles train fighters, and to occasional work in his father’s P.I. business. Now, he is looking for the recognition--and the cash--that goes with the title of “World’s Toughest Man.”

“It’s going to be difficult, but hopefully, I’ve learned a lot of things from my uncles that I’ll be able to execute come fight time,” Buffo said.

“I know how to fight. And I think my size is going to be an advantage. If you had an ax in your hands and you wanted to cut down a tree, would you rather cut a big tree or a stump? The bigger tree is much easier. I feel I’ve got the leverage and the gravity working for me.”

He also has his uncles, Joe and Greg, polishing him at their Van Nuys gym for the challenge. Joe, for one, feels that Buffo can win it all.

“I think his chances are very good, mainly because of his background,” said Joe Goossen, who attended last year’s finals. “He has a lot of advantages over some guy who decided to start boxing a year ago. He has a lot of technique that will help him and he can definitely take a punch.”

Even if it’s thrown by someone named Butterbean.