Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman is back and his first assignment will be against rising star of the middleweight division Kwesi ‘Lightning Struck Hitman’ Jones on September 23 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Eastman, former British, Commonwealth and European middleweight boxing champion, will headline the eighth Pro-Am card on that night. The 40-year-old has not been in the ring since September 26 last when he fought Trinidad & Tobago’s Kevin Placide.
Added to that Eastman has had a series of legal woes that boiled over when he was remanded to prison on April 12 this year on drug-related charges. And while he boasts a record of 46 wins and just six losses, a one-year sabbatical from the sport coupled with the other issues that have taken some of his time will force Eastman to dig deep to overcome his next challenge.
The exuberant Jones, 28, has only lost against Edmond De Clou in his six fights. Yesterday the middleweight said that the fight is an important one in his career and he will be taking it seriously.
Jones, who last fought in May against James Walcott, said that while Eastman is a good fighter there will be no disputes at the end of the bout as it relates to the winner. The muscular Jones indicated also that he will continue to put opponents down until he is number one in the division.
On fight night therefore the match-up will be youthful exuberance against experience and tact for four rounds. Though Eastman sometimes starts very slowly and increases his pace as the fight progresses, he is accurate and picks his punches well.
Jones on the other hand goes at his opponents from the first toll of the bell and many times leaves himself open as an easy target. This was the case against De Clou and he was picked apart before the judges returned a unanimous decision.
Both fighters therefore have adjustments to make on fight night. In the lone female bout, which will be a light heavyweight encounter, the verbal punches continue seemingly with no end in sight. Pauline London had the most to say prior to their first fight and delivered a unanimous decision against Debbie Tyson. London had a mouthful to say yesterday at the signing of contracts in the boardroom of Abdool & Abdool Incorporated.
The reserved Tyson played down her loss to London as her own fault. “I cheated my training at the last fight against London. The people saw that that was no unanimous decision because I dominated the first two rounds and she wrestled me the other two rounds. “And since I am not a wrestler I got tired down the stretch,” Tyson explained.
London in response said, “I see you swallowing blood in the last fight and dis time it gon run. This time around I gon beat you for your mouth and these punches gon change your whole mood; I am angry for this fight.”
Another household name on the Friday Night Fight card Mark Austin will be looking to keep his record clean. However, this time around it will be against former amateur champion Clive Atwell, who currently resides in Antigua and Barbuda.
Austin pointed out that he will be focusing on one fight at a time and he will continue to train hard in the gym. Austin recorded a technical knockout victory over Errol Trotman in the first round of the last FNF Pro-Am card.
World-rated bantamweight fighter Leon ‘Hurry Up’ Moore, speaking on behalf of Atwell said that his fighter will be ready for the event. Moore stated that Atwell had told him that he can handle the challenge of Austin.
In the final fight to complete the professional card junior middleweights Simeon Hardy and Gavin Williams will be clashing for four rounds. Both fighters will be making their debut on the FNF card and each has promised to put on a show.
