Jamaican boxer Sakima Mullings said he is ready for his bout with former British, Commonwealth and European champion Howard Eastman next month at the Princess Hotel. The two will trade punches on the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) Card dubbed the Fire Storm.
Via telephone from Kingston, Jamaica, Mullings said he grew up reading and hearing of the exploits of Eastman and as such is very familiar with his achievements over the years but said he is confident that he has what it takes to defeat him on April 20.
“I am confident in my ability and do believe that I could beat any man and I plan to be the one victorious when I face Eastman,” Mullings said.
Speaking of his preparation and readiness for the fight, Mullings said he is currently skipping, running and doing a bit of sparring.
“I know Eastman is a fairly accomplished fighter but like everybody fighters evolve, I don’t know what his fighting style is right now so we don’t have a game plan going into this fight with him.”
Mullings, the father of a six-year-old girl, said he was in the Stanley Couch Gym preparing for a local fight, but when he was contacted to fight Eastman he jumped at the opportunity.
“We were going to do our own fight here actually, but we had a bigger opportunity, so we put down our personal goals and grabbed this opportunity.”
Asked what type of fighter he was, the 30-year-old said he has not yet categorized himself, but said he also is a fighter who is evolving, as he is still trying to fight his identity.
Mullings said he has been fighting professionally for three years and is enjoying it but said the transition has not been smooth. He nevertheless said he was prepared for it as he was warned of the ups and downs of the sport.
“Sometimes it can be more business that sports which means that there will be hiccups but I have learned to roll with the punches,” Mullings said.
Asked what this fight means for his career, Mullings said:”This fight means everything to my career and one of the things you learn is that to rise to the top you have to get past the gatekeeper and in this instance, Eastman is the gatekeeper.”
Mullings, the holder of a bachelor’s degree in finance from the New York State University said:“I once had dreams of doing finance and working on Wall Street but boxing is my career and it deserves a lot of attention which is why I am focusing on it, but no, I don’t have a second career.”
