Howard Anthony Eastman (born 8 December 1970) is a Guyanese-British former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He challenged twice for middleweight world championships; the vacant WBA title in 2001; and the undisputed title against Bernard Hopkins in 2005. At regional level, he held the British, Commonwealth and EBU European middleweight titles twice each between 1998 and 2007.

Howard Eastman
Born
Howard Anthony Eastman

(1970-12-08) 8 December 1970 (age 53)
Nationality
Other namesThe Battersea Bomber
Statistics
Weight(s)Middleweight
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Reach74 in (188 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights62
Wins49
Wins by KO38
Losses13

Early years

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Having spent some time homeless, Eastman later served in the Gulf War in the Royal Fusiliers. He turned professional in March 1994 with a first-round knockout of John Rice. He garnered a reputation as a heavy puncher in the gyms of the UK, where he regularly sparred with Super Middleweights, such as Chris Eubank. [citation needed] His career progressed slowly and at a low profile for many years as fellow British boxers were reluctant to face him. He accumulated an 18-0 (16 knockouts) record before challenging Steve "The Viking" Foster in November 1998 for the British Middleweight title, which he won via 7th-round knockout. In September 2000 he won the Commonwealth Middleweight title by outpointing Australian-based Egyptian (and future #1 contender) Sam Soliman, and finally began receiving wider coverage. [citation needed]

World title challenger

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In April 2001, having put together a 31-0 (28 knockouts) record, he got a high-profile fight defending his British and Commonwealth titles and challenging for the vacant European title against Robert McCracken, who had unsuccessfully challenged Keith Holmes for the WBC world title the previous year.

Eastman dominated the fight and dropped McCracken, stopping him in the 10th round.[1]

Following this match, U.S. promoter Don King signed him up and in November 2001 he fought two-time champ William Joppy for the vacant WBA world title on a Lennox Lewis undercard in Las Vegas. Eastman narrowly lost a controversial majority decision despite knocking Joppy down in the final seconds of the twelfth round. After this fight Eastman sat out a year in Guyana and let his contract with King expire.

Eastman resurfaced in late 2002, under the Hennessy Sports promotional outfit, and trained by former opponent McCracken. Eastman scored two knockouts, over Chardan Ansoula and Hussain Osman, respectively. He regained his European title in January 2003 against the French man Christophe Tendil, whom he stopped in five rounds with a broken jaw,[2] and regained his British and Commonwealth titles by knocking out Scott Dann in three rounds. He defended the European title twice more, stopping ex-world champion Hacine Cherifi in eight rounds in July 2003 and outpointing Sergey Tatevoysan in January 2004.

Now with a 40-1 record and highly ranked by all sanctioning bodies, Eastman finally got the forty-year-old undisputed Middleweight king Bernard Hopkins into the ring to defend his titles, in February 2005 in Los Angeles. Eastman was outsmarted and widely outpointed by Hopkins (110-119, 111-117, 112-116) who was making his historic 20th defence. Post-fight there was initial talk of a rematch, however as the scores suggest the contest for not close enough for this to materialize.[3]

After the world title fights

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Eastman travelled to Germany in July 2005 to fight a WBA eliminator against hard hitting Armenian Arthur Abraham, Eastman lost the fight on points however claimed he had been robbed of the decision.[4] Abraham went on to win the vacant IBF world title after the unified middleweight title was fractured after Hopkins lost to Jermain Taylor.

In March 2006, Eastman traveled to the U.S. and took on another risky eliminator, this time for the IBF title. He was stopped on his feet by the undefeated Colombian-Puerto Rican Edison Miranda. Eastman protested that he should have been allowed to continue since he had not been down in the fight.[5]

Reclaiming his belts

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On 15 December 2006, he regained his British Middleweight title by knocking out Richard Williams in the 12th and final round in London, England. Eastman was well ahead on all scorecards by the time the match ended.

In April 2007, Eastman added the Commonwealth belt to the British title with a 12-round points decision over the Kenyan Evans Ashira in Dudley. Eastman prevailed 116-113, 116-112, 116-113.

In September 2007, Eastmans revival was ended. When defending his British title against domestic fighter Wayne Elcock Eastman was surprisingly outworked and outpunched, dropping a shock points defeat by margins of 113-116, 113-115, 114-115. Elcock had previously been knocked out by Eastman-victim Scott Dann. Eastman was offered a final shot at contention, matched with John Duddy in Belfast. After a competitive 10 rounds, Eastman lost a unanimous decision. [citation needed]

Guyana

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Eastman has continued his career in his country of birth, Guyana. He beat Denny Dalton to claim the Guyanese middleweight title, before securing victories over former WBA world welterweight champion Andrew Lewis, Leon Gilkes and Kevin Placide. In 2010 he served time in prison for possession of cannabis.

However, following the Placide fight, he went on a six-fight losing streak, losing to Kwesi Jones (September 2010, UD4), Kirt Sinnette (July 2011, TKO8, for the vacant WBC CABOFE light-heavyweight title), Edmund DeClou (October 2011, MD12, for the vacant Guyanese middleweight title), two defeats to Simeon Hardy in 2012 (UD10 and MD8) and Sakima Mullings (April 2013, UD12, for the vacant WBC CABOFE welterweight title).

Eastman ended this streak in August 2013, when he took a unanimous decision over Mark Austin over 8 rounds. In 2014, he entered the Jamaican version of the Contender series, where he was the second seed behind the aforementioned Mullings, and part of the Caribbean team. In his first fight against the Jamaican team, Eastman stopped Derrick Spencer in two rounds, his quickest win since 2003.[6]

Professional boxing record

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62 fights 49 wins 13 losses
By knockout 38 2
By decision 11 11
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location More
62 Loss 49–13   Tsetsi Davis UD 8 18 Jun 2014   Wray & Nephew Contender Coliseum, Kingston, Jamaica
61 Win 49–12   Kevin Hylton UD 6 21 May 2014   Chinese Benevolent Association Auditorium, Kingston, Jamaica
60 Win 48–12   Derrick Spencer KO 2 (6), 1:50 30 Apr 2014   Chinese Benevolent Association Auditorium, Kingston, Jamaica
59 Win 47–12   Mark Austin UD 8 3 Aug 2013   Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Georgetown, Guyana
58 Loss 46–12   Sakima Mullings UD 12 20 Apr 2013   Princess Hotel, Georgetown, Guyana
57 Loss 46–11   Simeon Hardy MD 8 13 Oct 2012   Thirst Park, Georgetown, Guyana
56 Loss 46–10   Simeon Hardy UD 10 1 Jun 2012   Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Georgetown, Guyana
55 Loss 46–9   Edmund DeClou MD 12 29 Oct 2011   Thirst Park, Georgetown, Guyana For vacant Guyanese middleweight title
54 Loss 46–8   Kirt Sinnette TKO 8 (10) 29 Jul 2011   Jean Pierre Sports Complex, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
53 Loss 46–7   Kwesi Jones UD 4 24 Sep 2010   Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Georgetown, Guyana
52 Win 46–6   Kevin Placide KO 10 (10), 2:19 26 Sep 2009   Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Georgetown, Guyana
51 Win 45–6   Leon Gilkes UD 10 28 Feb 2009   Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Georgetown, Guyana
50 Win 44–6   Andrew Lewis SD 12 25 Oct 2008   Guyana National Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana Retained Guyanese middleweight title
49 Win 43–6   Denny Dalton MD 12 5 Jul 2008   Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Georgetown, Guyana Won Guyanese middleweight title
48 Loss 42–6   John Duddy PTS 10 8 Dec 2007   King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
47 Loss 42–5   Wayne Elcock UD 12 28 Sep 2007   Coventry Skydome, Coventry, England Lost BBBofC British middleweight title
46 Win 42–4   Evans Ashira UD 12 20 Apr 2007   Dudley Town Hall, Dudley, England Won vacant Commonwealth middleweight title
45 Win 41–4   Richard Williams KO 12 (12), 2:06 15 Dec 2006   York Hall, London, England Won vacant BBBofC British middleweight title
44 Loss 40–4   Edison Miranda TKO 7 (12), 2:33 24 Mar 2006   Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
43 Loss 40–3   Arthur Abraham UD 12 16 Jul 2005   Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, Germany For WBA Inter-Continental middleweight title
42 Loss 40–2   Bernard Hopkins UD 12 19 Feb 2005   Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S. For WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring middleweight titles
41 Win 40–1   Jerry Elliott PTS 10 24 Sep 2004   Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England
40 Win 39–1   Sergey Tatevosyan UD 12 30 Jan 2004   Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham, England Retained EBU European middleweight title
39 Win 38–1   Hacine Cherifi RTD 8 (12), 3:00 25 Jul 2003   Sports Village, Norwich, England Retained EBU European middleweight title
38 Win 37–1   Scott Dann TKO 3 (12), 2:52 16 Apr 2003   Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England Retained EBU European, Commonwealth, and BBBofC British middleweight titles
37 Win 36–1   Gary Beardsley TKO 2 (8), 2:27 5 Mar 2003   York Hall, London, England
36 Win 35–1   Christophe Tendil RTD 3 (12), 3:00 21 Jan 2003   Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England Won vacant EBU European middleweight title
35 Win 34–1   Hussain Osman RTD 4 (8), 3:00 21 Dec 2002   Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham, England
34 Win 33–1   Charden Ansoula TKO 1 (8), 1:03 25 Oct 2002   York Hall, London, England
33 Loss 32–1   William Joppy MD 12 17 Nov 2001   Mandalay Bay Events Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. For vacant WBA (Regular) middleweight title
32 Win 32–0   Robert McCracken TKO 10 (12), 1:54 10 Apr 2001   Wembley Conference Centre, London, England Retained Commonwealth and BBBofC British middleweight titles; Won vacant EBU European middleweight title
31 Win 31–0   Mark Baker RTD 5 (10), 3:00 5 Feb 2001   Hull City Hall, Kingston upon Hull, England
30 Win 30–0   Sam Soliman PTS 12 16 Sep 2000   York Hall, London, England Won Commonwealth middleweight title
29 Win 29–0   Akhmet Dottuev RTD 4 (10), 3:00 25 Jul 2000   Elephant & Castle Centre, London, England Won WBA International middleweight title
28 Win 28–0   Anthony Ivory RTD 6 (8), 3:00 29 Apr 2000   Wembley Arena, London, England
27 Win 27–0   Viktor Fesechko RTD 4 (10), 3:00 4 Mar 2000   Werrington Sports Centre, Peterborough, England
26 Win 26–0   Ojay Abrahams TKO 2 (10) 18 Jan 2000   Mansfield Leisure Centre, Mansfield, England
25 Win 25–0   Mike Algoet TKO 8 (12), 1:45 13 Nov 1999   K.C. Sports Arena, Kingston upon Hull, England Won CBA middleweight title
24 Win 24–0   Derek Wormald TKO 3 (12), 2:56 13 Sep 1999   York Hall, London, England Won BBBofC British middleweight title
23 Win 23–0   Teimuraz Kekelidze RTD 6 (12), 3:00 10 Jul 1999   Elephant & Castle Centre, London, England Won WBA Continental middleweight title
22 Win 22–0   Roman Babaev TKO 7 (12), 1:44 22 May 1999   Maysfield Leisure Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland Won WBA Inter-Continental middleweight title
21 Win 21–0   Jon Penn TKO 3 (12), 1:36 6 Mar 1999   Elephant & Castle Centre, London, England Won vacant IBO Inter-Continental super middleweight title
20 Win 20–0   Jason Barker TKO 6 (8), 2:25 4 Feb 1999   Concert Theatre, London, England
19 Win 19–0   Steve Foster TKO 7 (12), 1:45 30 Nov 1998   Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester, England Won vacant BBBofC British middleweight title
18 Win 18–0   Darren Ashton TKO 4 (8), 0:54 23 May 1998   York Hall, London, England
17 Win 17–0   Terry Morrill RTD 4 (8), 3:00 28 Mar 1998   Hull Arena, Kingston upon Hull, England
16 Win 16–0   Vitaly Kopytko PTS 8 14 Feb 1998   Elephant & Castle Centre, London, England
15 Win 15–0   Rachid Serdjane TKO 7 (8), 3:00 25 Mar 1997   Lewisham Theatre, London, England
14 Win 14–0   John Duckworth KO 7 (8), 0:30 18 Feb 1997   Grundy Park Leisure Centre, Cheshunt, England
13 Win 13–0   Sven Hamer TKO 10 (10) 11 Dec 1996   Elephant & Castle Centre, London, England Won vacant BBBofC Southern Area middleweight title
12 Win 12–0   John Duckworth TKO 5 (8) 29 Apr 1996   Marriott Hotel, London, England
11 Win 11–0   Steve Goodwin TKO 5 (8) 13 Mar 1996   Brent Town Hall, London, England
10 Win 10–0   Paul Wesley TKO 1 (6), 2:32 31 Jan 1996   Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham, England
9 Win 9–0   Brendan Ryan TKO 2 (6) 29 Nov 1995   York Hall, London, England
8 Win 8–0   Carlo Colarusso TKO 1 (6) 16 Oct 1995   Marriott Hotel, London, England
7 Win 7–0   Peter Vosper TKO 1 (6) 23 Jun 1995   York Hall, London, England
6 Win 6–0   Stuart Dunn TKO 2 (6) 20 Apr 1995   London Hilton on Park Lane, London, England
5 Win 5–0   Marty Duke TKO 1 (6) 6 Mar 1995   Marriott Hotel, London, England
4 Win 4–0   Barry Thorogood TKO 6 (6) 17 Oct 1994   Marriott Hotel, London, England
3 Win 3–0   Steve Phillips TKO 5 (6), 1:18 22 Mar 1994   York Hall, London, England
2 Win 2–0   Andy Peach PTS 6 14 Mar 1994   Marriott Hotel, London, England
1 Win 1–0   John Rice TKO 1 (6) 6 Mar 1994   Elephant & Castle Centre, London, England

See also

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References

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Regional titles
Preceded by British Middleweight Champion
30 November 1998 – 16 April 2003
Vacated
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Scott Dann
Vacated
British Middleweight Champion
15 December 2006 – 28 September 2007
Succeeded by