Robert Easter Jr.

Robert Easter Jr. (born January 26, 1991) is an American professional boxer who held the IBF lightweight title from 2016 to 2018. He challenged once for the WBC lightweight title in 2018, and once for the vacant WBA and IBO lightweight titles in April 2019. As of November 2019, he is ranked as the world's eighth best active light welterweight by BoxRec.

Robert Easter Jr.
Statistics
Nickname(s)E-Bunny[1]
Weight(s)Lightweight
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[2]
Reach76 in (193 cm)[2]
NationalityAmerican
Born (1991-01-26) January 26, 1991
Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights24
Wins22
Wins by KO14
Losses1
Draws1

Amateur career

As an amateur, Easter Jr. compiled a record of 213 wins and 17 losses, and was an alternate on the United States boxing team for the 2012 Olympics. Having not won any national amateur titles, his decision to turn professional later that year came at the recommendation of fellow Ohio native and former world champion Adrien Broner, with whom he currently shares a trainer in Mike Stafford.[3]

Professional career

Early years

Easter made his professional debut on November 10, 2012, stopping Eddie Corona in two rounds. A further seven consecutive fights were won by stoppage, until an eight-round unanimous decision (UD) against Daniel Attah on January 25, 2014.[4] Easter scored his first notable win on April 1, 2016, stopping former world champion Argenis Mendez in five rounds.[5]

IBF lightweight champion

Easter Jr. vs Commey

In his next fight, on September 9, 2016, Easter faced undefeated top contender Richard Commey of Ghana for the IBF lightweight title. The fight was a scintillating one and an extremely competitive bout. Commey was able to knock Easter down with a counter right hand in the eight round, albeit it was a controversial knockdown as Easter's glove barely grazed the canvas. Easter was then able to subsequently stagger Commey in the ninth as he was hit was a massive shot by Easter when he was against the ropes. Easter then hurt Commey again severely in the twelfth and final round with a right hand, nearly knocking him down as Commey's knees buckled and he had to hold on to survive. Easter was able to win a split decision (115-112, 114-113, and 113-114) on the judge's scorecards.[6]

Title defenses

His first defense, on February 10, 2017, was rousingly successful, as he scored three knockdowns against Luis Cruz en route to a UD.[7] On June 30, Easter had a much tougher outing against mandatory challenger Denis Shafikov, whom he defeated via unanimous decision after a competitive and hard-hitting slugfest.[8]

Easter was scheduled to make his third defense of his IBF lightweight title against contender Javier Fortuna on January 20, 2018 in the Barclays Center on the undercard of the Errol Spence Jr. and Lamont Peterson fight. Fortuna came in overweight so it was no longer a defense for Easter Jr. as he would've retained his belt even if Fortuna won the fight. Nonetheless Easter gave a shaky performance as the shorter southpaw Fortuna was able to trouble Easter with his hand-speed and movement, he was even able to rattle Easter multiple times throughout the fight. However Fortuna had a point deducted in the second round due to tactical misconduct. Even though Easter's performance was underwhelming he was able to earn a very controversial split decision from the judges (114-113, 115-112, and 113-114) which resulted in an on pour of boos from the crowd.[9]

Easter Jr. vs. Garcia

On April 17, 2018, Mikey Garcia vacated the IBF light welterweight title, confirming he would drop back to lightweight to defend his WBC title.[10][11] On April 24, WBC president Sulaiman stated Garcia would participate in a lightweight unification with Easter Jr in the summer.[12] On May 1, it was reported that the fight would likely take place in July or August at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.[13] July 28 was later confirmed as the fight date.[14]

Before a crowd of 12,560, Garcia dropped Easter in round 3 on his way to a unanimous decision win with scores of 116-111, 117-110 and 118-109, to become the unified WBC and IBF lightweight champion. The fight started with Easter using his distance well to keep Garcia at arms reach. In round 3, Garcia knocked Easter down with a left hook to the head. Garcia did not seem to struggle to get close as Easter, who was using his long jab effectively as Garcia himself was also managing to land his jab, despite the reach disadvantage. From round 6, Garcia controlled the fight. It appeared that Easter became wary of Garcia's power and began to fight more cautiously. Both fighters traded in round 9 with Garcia landing hard shots to the body and Easter landing with his left hand. In rounds 10 and 11, Easter took punishment against the ropes. Garcia then finished strong in the final round.[15] Easter was humble in defeat and gave full credit to Garcia, "He was just a better man tonight. I take my hat off to Mikey. He's a true warrior. Whenever we step in the ring, we are both putting our lives on the line, and tonight Mikey was victorious. I just couldn't find the timing and I just couldn't let my right hand go." CompuBox showed that Garcia outlanded him 95-34 in total punches over the final four rounds. Overall, Garcia landed 176 punches of 555 thrown (32%) and Easter landed 129 of his 507 (25%). Easter landed 89 of 343 jabs, however he had more success in the first half of the fight.[16] The fight averaged 680,000 viewers and peaked at 725,000 viewers.[17]

Easter Jr. vs. Barthelemy

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
24 fights 22 wins 1 loss
By knockout 14 0
By decision 8 1
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
24 Win 22–1−1 Adrián Granados UD 10 Oct 26, 2019 Santander Arena, Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
23 Draw 21–1−1 Rances Barthelemy SD 12 Apr 27, 2019 Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. For vacant WBA (Regular) and IBO lightweight titles
22 Loss 21–1 Mikey Garcia UD 12 Jul 28, 2018 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S. Lost IBF lightweight title;
For WBC lightweight title
21 Win 21–0 Javier Fortuna SD 12 Jan 20, 2018 Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S. Retained IBF lightweight title
20 Win 20–0 Denis Shafikov UD 12 Jun 30, 2017 Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio, U.S. Retained IBF lightweight title
19 Win 19–0 Luis Cruz UD 12 Feb 10, 2017 Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio, U.S. Retained IBF lightweight title
18 Win 18–0 Richard Commey SD 12 Sep 9, 2016 Santander Arena, Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S. Won vacant IBF lightweight title
17 Win 17–0 Argenis Mendez TKO 5 (10), 2:43 Apr 1, 2016 D.C. Armory, Washington, D.C., U.S.
16 Win 16–0 Juan Ramon Solis TKO 3 (10), 0:45 Oct 3, 2015 U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
15 Win 15–0 Osumanu Akaba TKO 6 (10), 2:36 Aug 28, 2015 Convention Center, Washington, D.C., U.S.
14 Win 14–0 Miguel Angel Mendoza KO 2 (10), 2:13 Jun 20, 2015 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
13 Win 13–0 José Alejandro Rodríguez TKO 2 (8), 1:15 Mar 7, 2015 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
12 Win 12–0 Angel Hernandez UD 10 Dec 12, 2014 UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
11 Win 11–0 Roberto Acevedo KO 1 (6), 1:22 Sep 6, 2014 U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
10 Win 10–0 Carlos Cardenas UD 8 May 2, 2014 The Joint, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
9 Win 9–0 Daniel Attah UD 8 Jan 25, 2014 D.C. Armory, Washington, D.C., U.S.
8 Win 8–0 Hardy Paredes KO 1 (8), 2:30 Dec 14, 2013 Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
7 Win 7–0 Lance Williams TKO 1 (8), 2:43 Sep 12, 2013 MGM Grand Premier Ballroom, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Lowell Brownfield KO 2 (6), 0:38 Aug 9, 2013 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Antoine Knight TKO 3 (6), 1:46 Jun 22, 2013 Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 Eduardo Guillen TKO 2 (4), 1:30 May 18, 2013 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 Jose Valderrama RTD 1 (4), 3:00 Feb 16, 2013 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 David Castillo KO 1 (4), 1:43 Dec 8, 2012 Business Expo Center, Anaheim, California, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Eddie Corona TKO 2 (4), 2:39 Nov 10, 2012 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
gollark: Like cuckoo cycle.
gollark: I think some might use different proof of work algorithms which run similarly on CPU/GPU and don't have ASICs.
gollark: ~~burn Go~~
gollark: ~~use Rust~~
gollark: _judges_

References
  1. Coppinger, Mike (June 30, 2017). "Robert Easter retains title in slugfest decision over Denis Shafikov". The Ring. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  2. Showtime Championship Boxing tale of the tape prior to the Mikey Garcia fight.
  3. Fischer, Doug (September 5, 2014). "New Faces: Robert Easter Jr.". The Ring. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  4. Williams, Gary (January 26, 2014). "Peterson retains IBF jr welterweight belt". Fightnews. Freitag Marketing Services. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  5. Rold, Cliff (April 1, 2016). "Robert Easter Drills Mendez With Right Hand Bomb". BoxingScene. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  6. "Robert Easter Jr. wins lightweight title over Commey - The Ring". The Ring. 2016-09-10. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  7. Idec, Keith (February 11, 2017). "Easter Drops Cruz Three Times, Easily Wins Unanimous Decision". BoxingScene. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  8. Idec, Keith (July 1, 2017). "Easter Fends Off Shafikov, Wins Unanimous Decision to Keep Title". BoxingScene. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  9. http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/22163204/robert-easter-jr-outpoints-javier-fortuna-retain-lightweight-title
  10. "Mikey Garcia Vacates IBF 140 Title, Will Defend WBC Belt at 135". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2018-04-18.
  11. "Garcia vacates junior welterweight title". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-04-18.
  12. "Mikey Garcia vs. Robert Easter Unification Next, Says Sulaiman". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  13. "Garcia-Easter in Works for July 28 or Sometime in August in L.A." BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  14. "Mikey Garcia, Robert Easter Jr. agree to deal for July 28 unification title fight in L.A. - The Ring". The Ring. 2018-05-12. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
  15. "Mikey Garcia Drops, Defeats Robert Easter To Unify IBF, WBC Belts". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  16. "Garcia unifies lightweight belts, wants Spence". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  17. "Garcia-Easter Showtime Tripleheader Peaked at 725K Viewers". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
Sporting positions
World boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Rances Barthelemy		 IBF lightweight champion
September 9, 2016 – July 28, 2018		 Succeeded by
Mikey Garcia
Awards
Previous:
Daniel Jacobs vs.
Sergio Mora
Round 1		 PBC Round of the Year
vs. Richard Commey
Round 9
2016		 Next:
John Molina Jr. vs.
Ivan Redkach
Round 3
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