Hardy faces Eastman test on June 1

The unbeaten Simeon ‘Candyman’ Hardy will face the sternest test of his short professional career when he faces the experienced Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman in the main bout of the 23rd edition of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) ProAm Friday Night Fights next Friday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

The bout is a replacement for the much anticipated encounter between reigning light heavyweight champion Kwesi ‘Lightening Struck Assassin’ Jones and Trinidad and Tobago’s Shawn Corbin. This publication understands that Corbin could not honour his ring date due to pressing work commitments.

Hardy and Eastman inked their names to their respective contracts yesterday in the boardroom of Abdool and Abdool Insurance Brokers Limited, following which the 41- year-old Eastman, who lost his national middleweight title to Edmond ‘Wonder Boy’ De Clou, said he is excited about the junior middleweight match-up.

“I am excited about this fight and I do hope it will be a dry night, Hardy faces Eastman test on June 1 in comparison to my last fight. Other than that, I am comfortable going into this bout, as this is a weight I fought at when I started boxing and I do intend to put on a great show on fight night” Eastman, whose record reads 46-9 with 36 knockouts, said.

Eastman’s last fight was in October 2011, when he lost a majority decision to De Clou, but vowed to give Hardy a tough time in the ring, while acknowledging his opponent’s impressive record to date.

“I appreciate the opportunity that is being given to me, to face a young unbeaten fighter, as when you are unbeaten you have a lot of braveness, so I am excited to step into the ring against him.”

He added, “I want the fight to be an exciting one and I hope there is no leaks at the Sports Hall. He is a serious opponent as his record tells me that and I am more scared of him than my last opponent, but having said that, I am Howard Eastman and I don’t intend to be anybody’s punching bag.”

The 24-year-old Hardy has an impressive record that reads 8-0 with seven victories coming within the distance. He won the World Boxing Council/ Caribbean Boxing Federation (WBC/ CABOFE) welterweight title, following his sensational knockout victory over Iwan Azore in January.

Asked if he will be looking to chalk up his ninth knockout victory, Hardy said he is always looking for a knockout, but at the same time, will be looking to get some rounds in, as he is fine tuning his preparations for the WBC Cup Championships, which is set for August.

“First of all, it will be an honour for me to be in the ring with Eastman. I can recall as a teenager after he fought William Joppy, I stood outside of ACME in the rain for over an hour, waiting to get a glimpse of him and later an autograph. Now look how things have changed as I am signing a contract to face him in the squared jungle. He is a very experienced fighter who has been there and done that, and there is nothing new for him to learn and on June 1st, my record will remain unblemished,” Hardy said.

Other fights on the card will see Azore taking on Barbados WBC/ CABOFE lightweight champion Miguel Antoine; Rudolph Fraser matching gloves with Cassius Matthews in a junior lightweight contest; while Kelsie George will be looking to redeem himself, following his loss to De Clou, when he faces James Walcott.