BoxRec

I was just thinking and it strikes me that he could do this pretty comfortably and would have more opponents to choose from rather than waiting for Hopkins.

There would be possible match-ups with Mundine,Green,Ottke and Reid.

He is big enough and has a good awkward style.

At 33 he cant just keep hanging around fighting nobodies and waiting for that shot,so surely it would make sense to move up to Super middle and get a few big fights there.

Plus there would also be fights against the likes of
Antwun Echols
Brian Magee
Mads Larsen
Charles Brewer
Byron Mitchell
Markus Beyer

All fights Eastman would win IMO which would set up big money domestic fights against Reid and maybe even Calzaghe....

I am convinced this would be the best route for Eastman if he wants to do anything with the remainder of his career.

Surely to move up and beat the above fighters would be better for his career and wallet inn the long run than a match against Hopkins which he will lose.

Unless he loses to Hop then moves up anyway.

Is this a possibility and how do you think he would fare?

HH

I didn't know he was 33. He only has 5-6 years left, if that.

I agree with you. He would do well at super-middle. I don't think Hop will fight him, & I don't think he'll beat Hop, so he should move up & fight some of the names you mentioned. He might even grab a belt or two.

But I think he'd get far more credit from the US for beating Hopkins, than say brewer or Ottke or maybe even Calzaghe.

Eastman hasn't a prayer of beating Calzaghe with his laid back style, it would be competitive, but no more than that.

I'm not sure Eastman would do well at SM, he's a pretty lean and lanky middleweight, depends whether he'd bulk up well. He might hit a lot harder at SM I suppose.

I think Eastman could carry his power up to Super Middle, has anyone else heard the rumour that he sparked Steve Collins cold in sparring which effectively forced Collins to retire!

Yeah I heard that too. However if it is true, I think it says more about the phenomenal amount of heavy shots Collins shrugged off in his career, than Eastman's power.

No way does Eastman hit harder than Benn, and Collins walked through Benn's best shots, (although Benn was shot I suppose), he also took shots off Eubank and McCallum without much trouble.

I suppose it might have been one of those once in a million shots, but I suspect Collins was buggered neurologically. I remember hearing how he had trouble with his balance too.

I agree that eastman should move up to SM, if he can't get his Hopkins match, which I doubt very much as he hasn't got the profile in the US to raise enough bucks for BH to take the contest.

Eastman has a similar problem in the Middles to what Calzaghe had in the SM's where he can't get the big fight he is after and is unwilling to fight the people ranked below him. I see Howard Eastmans future in the SM's as i saw Calzaghes in the LH's

Why all this talk about moving up.

Eastman is NOT a super middle. He is a middleweight.

Just because good fights (on paper) can be made does not mean fighters should move out of their natural weight division.

Why do you think their are different weight divsions?

You try fighting a man natrually 8-10lbs bigger than you.

Its damn hard.

Eastman should stay put.

James,

I seem to remember Eubank having Collins in all sorts of trouble in their first fight and he should have stopped in so to say he had little trouble with Eubanks power would be wrong. Everone I speak to about Eastman says he is deceptively strong and hits very very hard but breaks you down rather than takes you out with a single shot. You only have to look at his record to see all the tko's to see not many people last the distance with oward.

I must remember the fight wrong then I guess.....whoops.

The point remains that Eubank was a massive big lump, basically a light heavyweight, Eastman is a hopkins body-type middleweight, he's come in underweight some times, and hasn't been known (to my knowledge anyway) to struggle with weight at all.

In fact I remember noticing once that Eastman doesn't have a single proper KO on his record, sorry he has 1 only I should say.

Eastman is heavy handed rather than being a KO artist, and I wonder whether he would be able to dominate people at super middle with his low work rate.

Eastman could make Super middle with no problems and being as Calzaghe is moving up he is capable of ruling the super middles IMO.

Hopkins wont fight him and if he did he would win easily anyway.

Eastman is a big strong guy and would make Super middle with no detrimental effects and would hit hard at the weight as well.

Definately best move for him IMO.

HH

Well I admire your boldness, however, the fact that he failed to dominate Joppy for me indicates that he is unlikely to ever dominate any division.

Eastman made Joppy look like Sugar Ray Leonard in their fight.

I felt it was more of a case of Eastman losing the fight than Joppy winning.

If Howard had of stepped it up he would have won IMO but I suppose the fact is he didnt!

I could be wrong but just see more fights for him and more money rather than sitting about for a fight that will probably never happen whilst fighting stiffs.

HH

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, coulda, would shoulda doesn't win titles or dominate divisions.

I thought it was more a case of Joppy hitting Eastman more than Eastman hit him, as you say, Eastman didn't step it up until he was too late, and if he really thought he'd done enough to be ahead and was coasting, then he's a very poor judge of his own efforts.

I like Eastman, but I feel he may have missed the boat. He doesn't have long left, and he really needs to go all out and try and get some fights against the likes of a Jermain Taylor. The problem is, if you were a prospect, would you want to face a tough bastard like Eastman, of course not, the risk v reward equation doesn't work out.

I have to agreee as i have also got the impression he may have missed the boat which is why i thought about him moving up as maybe that way he can get some big fights and bigger money,maybe even a belt.

Its all hypothetical of course but hey!

HH

Being a traditional boxing fan I found Eastman's effort against Joppy to be shocking. How you can not give it all and lay it on the line (cliches I know) in your first world title shot in front of a Las Vegas crowd I will never know, he deserved to lose the fight.

He pretty much lost me as a fan that night, I'm sure he couldn't care less but I really don't have that much interest in his stagnant stale career.

I think it may also have had something to do with the fact that whenever Howard tried to open up on Joppy, he was getting nailed. Joppy looked impressive that night, if you allow him to use his speed, he can look good, and he was nailing Howard with 2-3-4 punch combinations at times.

jamesmcdonnell wrote:I think it may also have had something to do with the fact that whenever Howard tried to open up on Joppy, he was getting nailed. Joppy looked impressive that night, if you allow him to use his speed, he can look good, and he was nailing Howard with 2-3-4 punch combinations at times.

Also very true. Although Eastman can emit a very lethargic demeanour it is also true that Joppy's skills were certainly deterring Howard from launching a sustained attack.

But in your first and possibly only major world title challenge you would think he would try and 'up' the pressure of those attacks and make them even more ferocious but he didn't and just plodded along.

My impression of the fight was that if Eastman had of gone for it he would have beat Joppy with little problem.

He just seemed content to sit back and show boat which lost him the fight.

He never looked like he was in trouble and to me looked like he could have beaten Joppy with little trouble.

Ultimately though he failed to capitilise on a big chance and sat back content to fight stiffs afterwards.

HH