By Rick Reeno
This Saturday night, Howard Eastman is facing a man that has been undefeated since 1993, a man who has reigned supreme over the middleweight division and a man who is regarded as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. One would think that Howard Eastman would show that man some respect, but Howard Eastman is not one to show respect. Eastman has not only downplayed the legacy of Hopkins and his accomplishments, but has stated in interviews that Hopkins is not even a great fighter.
"When he steps in the ring with me, then we'll see who's so-called 'great'. To me, the fight with De la Hoya is a mis-match - Hopkins should not have fought him because he's a different weight category. De la Hoya brought a lot of money to the table, so I see why he did fight him from a business point of view." said Eastman to BBC Radio Five Live.
"But let's be real about this. He fought William Joppy, but Joppy was washed up. Felix Trinidad was a very close fight and he did what he had to do as a taller fighter and made Trinidad pay."
If Eastman is the real great fighter as "he" claims, it would be very interesting to what accomplishments Eastman would list out to back up that claim. In reality, Eastman has not done one significant thing in his career to call himself a great fighter. Eastman's 5th round KO claim is courageous, but it's as much of a fantasy dream as Holyfield's boast of knocking out Lennox Lewis within three rounds of their first meeting.
"He has never fought anyone like me before. I can punch harder than anyone he has met and take anything he can give out. What will he do when he realizes that? I am going to beat him in five rounds. Believe me, Bernard Hopkins will not be denying me my destiny. Most of you see Bernard Hopkins as the pound-for-pound best in the world, but I don't share that view."
Eastman feels that Hopkins senses a possible loss and refused to put up all of his titles for the fight.
"He obviously thought there was a chance he could lose, so he only put up the WBC belt."
Eastman admitted that he barely watched any of Bernard's fights and did not watch any video tapes of Hopkins in preparation for this fight. Eastman said that he caught some of the Trinidad fight while recently training for the fight, but other then some of the Trinidad fight, he has never really seen Hopkins fight.
Some may look at this as a mistake and others may look at it as a good strategic move. There are many fighters who do not watch videotapes of their opponents because they don't want to go into a fight expecting their opponent to throw punches that never get thrown or expect a style that their opponent does not execute. The only difference here is that Eastman usually studies tapes of his opponents so a person has to wonder why he would not study tapes in the biggest fight of his life.
Some fans love to root for the underdog, but when a man does not even take his opponent serious in the biggest fight of his career, you can't help but look forward to his downfall.
Hopkins said at the final press conference that someone will be wrong about the outcome of the fight and he will not be that person.
"I know I mean what I say I will do to Howard Eastman and if Howard Eastman means what he says he is going to do, let me tell you that everybody can't be right. Come Sunday morning, someone will be wrong and I don't want to be that person. I'm gong to do my best by any means, legally and clean."
"It's a long ride back to England. I'm glad that they recognize that they are second because come Saturday night, they better be comfortable with their position"
If Eastman does not respect Hopkins now, come the night of the fight, Hopkins will teach Eastman how to show some respect.
