HOWARD EASTMAN sat in his hotel suite this week and watched On The Waterfront for inspiration. In the film, Marlon Brando’s character, Terry, famously bemoans his life, which has taken him from possible contender to bum; tonight, at the Staples Centre here, Eastman completes the reverse journey.
History is littered with good boxers who missed the chance of becoming world champion because they were unfortunate to share an era with a legend. Eastman, who spent some of his teenage years sleeping rough in South London, could become the latest as, against Bernard Hopkins, he faces an awesome task.
In this era of multiple world titles, Eastman’s plight is particularly unusual. Hopkins holds the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles and becomes the first boxer to defend all four main world titles tonight.
Eastman, 34, looks in fabulous shape and relaxed. The same could be said of Hopkins, who, despite being 40, looks much younger. Eastman, who has lost just once in 41 bouts, needs to improve vastly on his two sub-standard showings against Sergey Tatevosyan and Jerry Elliott last year, Hopkins just needs to prove he has not become old overnight. “Nothing lasts forever and Father Time catches up with all of us,” Hopkins said. “I’m not anticipating it to happen soon, you don’t get old in a second or a month.”
Eastman predicts victory in five rounds, but what does Hopkins believe? “Eastman will be flying back to England with two ice packs telling everyone, ‘That Bernard Hopkins is a helluva fighter’,” he said.