Robert Easter Jr. Gave His Hometown Fans Something to Cheer About
As expected, Robert Easter Jr. managed to get by a showcase-level opponent in Luis Cruz, looking terribly average in the process.
Fighting in front of a raucous hometown crowd in Toldeo, OH, Easter Jr. came out of the gate patient, looking as though he was going to jab, feint and try to draw his opponent out and blast the straight right hand down the pipe in order to knock Cruz out and go home early for the celebration with the 10,000 Ohio-based fans.
For the most part, this went according to plan. Easter Jr. hurt Cruz a number of times, but, as has been the case with Easter Jr. in past contests, he couldn’t finish off his man when he had him on the hook. Cruz went down three times over the course of 12 rounds, once in the final round with a matter of seconds left.
Each time Cruz got up or was wobbled, Easter Jr. pushed him against the ropes, effectively smothering his own punches and ruining his own shot at finishing off a game fighter in front of his hometown fans.
Easter Jr., while the IBF Lightweight title holder, could face tough tests going forward if this chink in his armor isn’t taken care of.
The judges scored the bout widely in favor of Easter Jr. and deservedly so. The bout was a one-sided decision victory that could have been ended much sooner had Easter Jr. been a bit more sharp on his punches.
Easter Jr., being under the Premier Boxing Champions mantle, could potentially be staring down a unification fight against undefeated stablemate Rances Barthelemy in the near future should mutual manager Al Haymon find himself to get the two in the ring together.
Rest assured, Easter Jr.’s legion of Ohioans will follow.
Robert Easter Knockdown Highlights #Boxing #PBConBounce pic.twitter.com/TPj0xcIBId
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) February 11, 2017
