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If he is even a shadow of his former self he should probably end it comfortably within the distance. Once considered by some as the best pound for pound fighter on the planet, Tito's card has quite a list of good names and when settling into the division and assuming he beats Mayorga, he could opt for a return against Vargas.
Past that he should look at taking a fight against a respected and bona fide middleweight like Allen, Eastman or Taylor before looking for the sought after retirement payday rematch against Hopkins. Out of all of the men besides Hopkins mentioned here, Trinidad probably has the best pedigree. Assuming all goes according to plan there is still no reason to believe that a second meeting with Hopkins would be any different than the first.
It will be intriguing to see how he matches up with Mayorga. He could become a dominant force in the division, unless Mayorga can exploit his ring rust and/or he takes a Hopkins rematch too soon. After all, Hopkins may be old, but he is very wise to Felix Trinidad's technical strategy. He would likely have to revamp his entire style to change the outcome of that potential rematch, and that will have to be changed over more time than just one fight versus Mayorga.
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On paper Masoe appeared to be an afterthought with Ashira the more capable fighter, however Masoe's power proved to be the difference in that bout. Now Ashira will have to claw his way back in order to garner credible opponents considering he has never really beaten anyone of worth so a rematch could be a shortcut to that end. It may be that Masoe just did his homework and got lucky, but if Ashira can be put down like that; he may do well to avoid the likes of Hopkins and Eastman. They will likely take Ashira apart like Masoe did or perhaps even worse.
However, if he can beat Masoe in a rematch and then secure a fight (and win) with a name middleweight newcomer like Karmazin or Vargas, that may prove profitable in maneuvering himself into a position for a shot.
The jury really is out on Ashira now, but if he can't stand up to legitimate middleweight power shots; he may as well forget about challenging for a title in the future. If he can beat Masoe and defeat another puncher like Vargas, he can get back in the fray. He may need to get his confidence back first, and at 34 he doesn't have all the time that some of the other guys do.
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Honestly, any impartial observer would say that Allen didn't deserve the fight versus Hopkins. The future is unclear for Allen now and I can't see him being a real force in the middleweight division again. (Not that he ever really has been...) I'd take Eastman, Trinidad, and Taylor to destroy him right now. I think perhaps Ashira could beat him and soon Vargas and Karmazin will be in a position to beat him too.
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It is entirely plausible that he was using the Russian for a 12 round workout and could have stopped him whenever he chose to do so. He looked good in stopping a shopworn Hassine Cherifi in 9 rounds, but now has to step up to the plate and find a suitable opponent. His controversial loss to William Joppy is the only blemish on a record that contains few names. Simply put; no one wants to fight Howard Eastman. Why would they?
Every decent middleweight in the world can either get a shot at 3 titles and a big payday to get beaten up by Bernard Hopkins, or they can get peanuts and get battered from pillar to post by Howard Eastman. Which would you choose?
Longtime WBC mandatory contender Eastman will always struggle to land the big fights unless of course he somehow gets his hands on a major title or three. That of course may not happen until the departure of Hopkins from the ranks of the middleweights. But now that there is some fresh meat on the scene, Eastman may finally be able to get some defining fights. And with every quality opponent he can defeat, the chance of a showdown with Hopkins becomes more and more likely (although not probable).
It may just fall on his promoters to now further Howard's progression in the division. He has the skills; it's just a matter of whether he can get the fights. Being a mandatory contender has not been enough, and he will have to bring a couple of impressive performances as well as a payload of cash to the table if he wants to sometime meet Hopkins. To me he is the most natural contender to Hopkins, and anyone else either doesn't have the experience or just isn't good enough. I have a feeling that he may just get upstaged once again by the re-entry of Felix Trinidad into the equation.
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With 4 world class fighters coming into the division, it has become an interesting place to be. With Shane Mosley and Winky Wright likely to graduate here as well in the wake of Hopkins departure, I think there is a lot of very good fights to be made. Eastman, Taylor, Karmazin, DeLaHoya, Vargas, Trinidad, Mayorga, Ashira, Masoe, Joval, Allen, and perhaps even Mosley and Wright promise increased wide open action to come. It seems to be a veritable tapestry of talent and styles that boxing fans can look forward to in the form of some great fights in the near future.
