Offical eastman vs hopkins thread

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 21 Feb 2005, 11:12

I doubt very much that Taylor would come in so gung-ho agaisnt Hopkins. I know Taylor is untested, but serioulsy, how many fighters are there in the division who are better than even the shot version of Joppy?

Maybe I am doing a disservice to Eastman, but against Joppy and Hopkins he showed very little outside of a good chin and decent power. Admittedly he looked a lot better against Joppy than he did Hopkins, but he doesn't have fantastic tools at his disposal, and Taylor is mucn more fluid and moves a lot better.

I'd like to see Taylor against Ikeke, think that would be a good fight, Taylor v Sturm is the one everyone in the states wants, and that would be a hard one for Taylor, as Sturm has a good jab and movement himself, but might be physically overpowered.

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 21 Feb 2005, 12:43

lirva33 wrote:
jamesmcdonnell wrote:Although Taylor was in against a non-threat, I was impressed by the way he dealt with Edourd. He never let him into the fight.

Taylor seems to have very good funamentals, and has bags of natural talent. Of course, we have no idea how strong he may be mentally, because he hasn't been in a dogfight, but there may be nobody out there, apart from Hopkins that is capable of doing so.

In addition to that, Taylor has the great leveller, punchpower, and he is technically good enough to deliver it accurately.

I think Taylor would beat Eastman myself, he has a lot more tools in his arsenal, and his workrate would give Howard big problems. Of course, Eastman may be able to detonate something on his chin, but Taylor is a big strong middleweight.

Although there's a lot of cynicism surrounding taylor, I think the guy looks like he could become the complete package, so long as the mental component is there.
it was the first time I saw taylor but I couldn't disagree more with you.

The guy has some serious flaws and is very overhyped.

Taylor had PISS POOR balance and poor footwork IMO. He got caught by jabs as well, by a shorter guy. He doesn't seem to know how to slip a jab?

I can't see him beating Eastman at all unless he lands a few Hail Mary's late on which take their toll on Howard. As far as beating Hopkins... forget it. Taylor couldn't be more open when he throws his punches. It really is shocking. Hopkins would have him figured out within 2-3 rounds and would catch him properly and repeatedly from then on out.

I can't see any way taylor can beat Hopkins.

I doubt very much Eastman would beat Taylor, what planet are you on?

Throwing a handful of shots per round might beat the Scott Dann's of this world but doesnt cut it in world class. I know comparisons dont normally make much sense but Taylor dominated and outworked Joppy while Eastman couldnt get near him. Eastman just doesnt have the workrate to compete at that level, if he cant hurt his man with the single shots he throws there's just no plan B. And his desire has to be brought into question, thats twice now he's fought within himself in world title shots. He still had plenty in the tank at the end of both fights.

Kilburn · Post by **Kilburn** » 21 Feb 2005, 12:46

To be fair I thought Eastman tried his best against Hopkins. I don't see what else he could have done.

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 21 Feb 2005, 12:49

Kilburn wrote:To be fair I thought Eastman tried his best against Hopkins. I don't see what else he could have done.

Sorry I dont agree. Why didnt he pour it on in the last 2 or 3 rounds? Better to go down on your shield than a whimper.

Kilburn · Post by **Kilburn** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:18

Pour it on and achieve what? Supremacy had been established well before that point.

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:20

Kilburn wrote:Pour it on and achieve what? Supremacy had been established well before that point.

To try and win the fight of course. Eastman didnt go for the knockout in the last couple of rounds when it was needed. He should have been throwing leather non stop for the last couple of rounds yet he stood off and did next to nothing.

Sorry but Eastmans performance was crap.

Kilburn · Post by **Kilburn** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:29

Hopkins isn't a punchbag mate, he's not often there be hit no matter how many punches you hurl in his direction.

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:39

Kilburn wrote:Hopkins isn't a punchbag mate, he's not often there be hit no matter how many punches you hurl in his direction.

I'm not saying he is, but Eastman should have tried harder in the last couple of round dont you think? He just didnt do enough to try and turn it around. I doubt he would have been able to but he should at least have tried to knock him out instead of coasting to a points loss - he just doesnt have the desire you need to be a champ.

danzig · Post by **danzig** » 21 Feb 2005, 14:26

Got to agree with Kilburn on this, Hopkins schooled Howard bigtime for the whole fight, and there wasn't much Eastman could do about it.
I couldn't believe the difference in speed between the two of them, Hopkins movement was fantastic and his infighting is so effective, Howard couldn't throw anything the few times he got inside because he was tied up so quickly. Its all very well saying Eastman should have thrown everything in the final few rounds but anyone who's been in the ring getting an ass whooping(as i have sadly) knows that its such a difficult thing to do when your eating hard counter punches every time you try and close the distance. Masterclass by Hopkins

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 21 Feb 2005, 14:40

danzig wrote:Got to agree with Kilburn on this, Hopkins schooled Howard bigtime for the whole fight, and there wasn't much Eastman could do about it.
I couldn't believe the difference in speed between the two of them, Hopkins movement was fantastic and his infighting is so effective, Howard couldn't throw anything the few times he got inside because he was tied up so quickly. Its all very well saying Eastman should have thrown everything in the final few rounds but anyone who's been in the ring getting an ass whooping(as i have sadly) knows that its such a difficult thing to do when your eating hard counter punches every time you try and close the distance. Masterclass by Hopkins

Hopkins did put on a masterclass but I just dont think Eastman did enough. I'd have preferred to see him getting stopped trying to turn the fight around rather than just coasting through the fight.

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 21 Feb 2005, 19:27

Where were the body shots from Eastman? Hopkins was slipping/blocking the head shots easily so the body would have been the way to go. Eastman was saying Hopkins ran, how do you stop someone running? Slow them down with body shots....

danzig · Post by **danzig** » 22 Feb 2005, 06:10

I noticed that too, neither of them seemed to throw anything at all to the body. Like you say, that should have definitely been something Eastman tried, he did thow a couple of long rights to the body but needed more than that to slow Hopkins down. Re-watched the fight last night and i see what you're saying about Howard not going for it, quite frustrating when the general consensus before the fight was that his best chance would be to jump on Hopkins, keep the pressure on and show that he was in with a big strong genuine middleweight. Then again only Eastman knows if he had ability and/or fitness to force the fight in that manner and press the action. Shame really, because from the outside it does look like he went out with a whimper, when maybe he tried everything he had and still couldn't catch up with Hopkins. I'm still amazed at Hopkins ability,fitness and ringcraft though, 40 years old???!!!