The Last Fighter to Push Hopkins that Hard was...
by
Luke Chance
2/21 - 119-110 117-111 and 116-112 the scorecards read. Bernard Hopkins’ hand was lifted in victory, another stroll in the park for ‘the Executioner’ right? Another easy win for America's boxing flagship over some bum? Wrong. I had the distinct feeling that the challenger on Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles made Hopkins feel very uncomfortable throughout this fight, in a way that I haven’t seen Hopkins troubled by anyone. This is my break down of what I thought (despite the choruses of boos) to be an interesting fight. One in which Howard Eastman made a name for himself.
First of all, I think it’s important to note that Hopkins did not win the fight by a margin of 119-110, it’s obvious to me this guy filled his card in and returned it before the fight so he leave at the end of round 6 to get a couple of cheeseburgers. 117-111 although not really a fair reflection of the fight is acceptable bearing in mind the partisan crowd, and the fact that Hopkins is champion. 116-112 was closer to the mark and most of the people I have spoken to had it around this mark. When was the last time Hopkins was pushed that hard?
It was clear from the outset that both fighters had plenty of respect for each other, Eastman easing himself in, and Hopkins cautious to feel out Eastman, clearly wary of his power( even moreso after the fifth round). The first four rounds were close, I had them split down the centre, they were hard to score, and a lot of them could have gone either way.
Eastman had a storming fifth round and really hurt Hopkins with some telling blows, only for Hopkins to rally back in a fashion worthy of his status to outbox Eastman in the fifth. Thus was the seesaw nature of the competition. Eastman rallied back in the eighth. Hopkins however did the cleaner work in the last few rounds, and it was here that, in my opinion, the fight was won.
Hopkins fought a different fight than usual, he understood that Eastman had the power to make him pay and so danced his way around the challenger flicking out the odd glove in the first or last thirty seconds of the fight not fussing too much about power as he knew stopping Eastman was never on the cards. An ingenious strategy, although frustrating to watch.
Eastman did his best to turn it into a tear up, knowing that this was his best chance of beating Hopkins and when the challenger could make his strength tell, he made Hopkins feel it. Nard had brought his whole bag of tricks with him however, and frustrated Eastman wonderfully. Although it does not endear me to him as a person, it does make me respect him as a fighter.
Far from being the ‘ass-whooping’ that this is being billed as, it was a close competitive fight. It reminded me of Wright-Mosley II where the fight was close throughout, but you always knew Wright was just that bit ahead. Difference is that Winky offered Shane a third stab, and despite what Howard says I seriously doubt if Hopkins will fancy another fight with ‘The Battersea Bomber’.
After the fight was belatedly shown on the BBC (something which I can assure you I will vent spleen about in the not too distant future) Steve Bunce (writes for The Independent) said that Hopkins should go up to light heavy and fight Glen Johnson. Well if he fights like he did against Eastman and does his best Roy Jones Jr. impression (and impression is the word) then that would be an exceedingly bad idea.
However I can’t see another fight with Eastman materialising, so a more realistic proposition looks like Trinidad (pointless) or Wright (now this one I would love to see). Of course, the next path for Hops will depend on what materialises from Wright – Trinidad.
Eastmans road back could be a hard one. The Hopkins rematch is of course his best plan, but that’s probably not going to work. Aside from that he is best sticking around in the US and taking on some other middleweights (Allen, Masoe, Ashira, Joval, Vargas, Sturm even Taylor, if he’ll fight him) he would beat them all, and these guys will raise his stock considerably.
Either way, at 34 Eastman needs to reconcile himself to the idea that he may have had his big shot and he lost, and losing to a fighter of Hopkins pedigree in the fashion that he did, is no disgrace. He needs to stay busy, and look and fighting again in perhaps a few months. At the moment he is the second best middleweight in the world, and a close second at that, after taking on the likes of Allen, Joval or even Joppy, he should be ready for another challenge at a world title, and would be infinitely better prepared.
This isnt the end of the road for Howard Eastman, there are still good fights for him out there, can you imagine how good a war between him and Vargas would be? I’d pay in bodyparts to see that! All that can be said at the moment with any conviction is ‘Watch This Space’.
Any comments are welcome to luke.chance@gmail.com
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