A Look Ahead: Eastman Strong as a Bull will Stop Hopkins
by
Luke Chance
2/18 - Saturday, February 19th, tomorrow evening, is to be the day when Bernard Hopkins faces what will be the stiffest test of his career since his loss to Roy Jones Jr. I suppose I had better explain myself to those of you who are saying ‘Whats this guy talking about?’. So here goes.
First of all, write off both Johnson and Trinidad, both great fighters, both tailor made for Hopkins. Write off Allen because he’s a very limited fighter, write off Echols, Daniels and Hakkar because they are second tier, and Joppy because he was over the hill, and Oscar? Well that little guy was just too small…
Eastman however, now, Eastman is a different proposition entirely. Strong as a bull, with a big punch and a rock solid chin he has the ability to war inside and to box long. A man who, like Hopkins, had a rough upbringing it has fueled his desire for glory in the ring.
Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to discredit Hopkins. He is one of the greatest fighters of his generation. Certainly he has achieved an enormous amount in boxing and his name should be put in not just with Jones Jr. and Lewis but Hagler, LaMotta and Robinson on equal terms. This guy is a modern day great.
So people might ask ‘Why run down Hopkins’ opponents, then make him out to be a great?’. Well you see it’s like this, love him or hate him, Hopkins has always fought the best that was available to him. He never ducked anyone and, as his taking this fight has proved, he doesn’t believe in ‘safe defences’. Were the guys he fought greats? Not really, but there are no Jake LaMottas or Marvin Haglers around. Only Jones, and Roy didn’t stick around middle long enough for four or five epic wars.
Eastman isn’t a Hagler, nor a Sugar Ray. He doesn’t have flashy moves, or a big personality he just gets the job done and usually does it well. I like to think of him as the English Winky Wright. Winky hasn’t (until recently) got the respect he deserves either. Come Saturday night a lot of people are going to be respecting Howard Eastman.
I know a lot of people that are reading this won’t have seen Howard fight, they will look at his record, say ‘He lost to Joppy. Oh look, Bernard beat Joppy. Bernard is going to win’. Such assessments are naïve. Eastman will be coming to give it his all and he will present Hopkins with a real handful. Anybody who doesn’t watch this fight is going to be missing a chance to see some of Britains best fighters in action, and also a tear up between the two best middleweights in the world.
Whichever way the cards fall we have a great headlining fight between two great fighters. After Saturday I’m confident that a lot of people are going to be giving Howard a lot of respect, whether its for a great performance, or because he is new undisputed champion of the world remains to be seen
The undercard presents a chance to see other fantastic British fighters, Junior Witter 30(19)-1-2 takes on Love N’Dou, 39(25)-7-1 in what promises to be a thrill a minute fight. Witter has not had to go more than five rounds with anyone since his points loss to Zab Judah, whereas N’Dou, a tough warrior who has never been stopped will be looking to test his conditioning over 12 rounds.
Also fighting will be up and coming pugilist Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch 14(11)-0-0, who will be looking to improve his record for the American audience by stopping Christian Cruz 10(7)-1-0 who holds a couple of useful wins over undefeated fighters. Look for Froch to try and impress on his American debut, he may well be looking for a world title before long.
All in all this has the makings of a great card put on by Hennessy Sports, whomever your loyalties lie with there are going to be some great, competitive fights.
My predictions; Eastman wins TKO 10, Witter wins UD, Froch wins TKO 7.
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