Robert Easter Jr.

At 33 years old, Robert Easter Jr. has this physical status:

Robert Easter Jr. (born January 26, 1991) is an American professional boxer who competed for the IBF lightweight title from 2016 to 2018.

He competed for the WBC lightweight title in 2018, and twice for the vacant WBA and IBO lightweight titles in April 2019.

BoxRec has him ranked as the world's eighth best active light welterweight as of November 2019.

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Amateur career

Easter Jr., an amateur, held a record of 213 victories and 17 losses, and was an alternate on the 2012 Olympic team. Having not won any national amateur championships, he decided to go pro later this year, inspired by fellow Ohio native and former world champion Adrien Broner, with whom he now shares a trainer in Mike Stafford.

Professional career

On November 10, 2012, Easter made his professional debut, defeating Eddie Corona in two rounds. A further seven fights in a row were halted by stoppage before a unanimous decision (UD) was made against Daniel Attah on January 25, 2014. On April 1, 2016, Easter won for the first time since defeating former world champion Argenis Mendez in five rounds.

On September 9, 2016, Easter defeated undefeated top contender Richard Commey of Ghana for the IBF lightweight title. The war was a scintillating one and a highly competitive one. Even though it was a turbulent knockdown when Easter's glove barely touched the canvas, Commey was able to knock Easter down with a counter right hand in the eighth round. Easter was able to stagger Commey in the ninth after being struck with a massive shot by Easter when he was off the ropes. Commey's knees buckled and he had to hold on to survive, but Easter stunned Commey again in the twelfth and final round with a right hand nearly knocking him down. On the judge's scorecards, Easter was able to win a split decision (115-112, 114-113, and 113-114).

His first defense, which came as he scored three knockdowns against Luis Cruz en route to a UD, was rousingly effective. Easter had a much harder time beating mandatory opponent Denis Shafikov, who fought back on unanimous verdict after a heated and brutal slugfest.

In the Barclays Center under the undercard of the Errol Spence Jr. and Lamont Peterson fight, Easter was scheduled to make his third defense of his IBF lightweight title against opponent Javier Fortuna on January 20, 2018. Fortuna was overweight, so it was no longer a defense for Easter Jr. because he would've kept his belt even if Fortuna won the fight. Nevertheless, Easter put on a shaky showing as the shorter southpaw Fortuna was able to stymie Easter with his hand-speed and mobility, and he was even able to rattle Easter multiple times throughout the game. However, Fortuna had a point deducted in the second round due to tactical error. Despite Easter's performance, he was able to secure a highly contested split decision from the judges (114-113, 115-112, and 113-114) that resulted in a riot of boos from the audience.

Mikey Garcia vacated the IBF light welterweight title on April 17, 2018, announcing that he would go back to lightweight to defend his WBC crown. Garcia will be unification with Easter Jr. in the summer, according to WBC president Sulaiman. The confrontation is likely to take place in July or August at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, according to a source on May 1. The fight date was later confirmed on July 28.

Garcia lost in round 3 on his way to a unanimous decision victory, 116-111, 117-110, and 118-109 to become the unified WBC and IBF lightweight champion, despite a crowd of 12,560. Easter got the fight going by extending his distance to hold Garcia at arm's reach. Garcia was knocked down by a left hook to the head in round 3. Despite the reach disadvantage, Garcia did not appear to be struggling to get close to Easter, who was using his long jab as well as Garcia himself. Garcia led the round 6 from round 6. Easter seemed to have become wary of Garcia's influence and began to combat more cautiously. In round 9, the two fighters exchanged with Garcia's hard shots to the body and Easter landing with his left hand. Easter received a warning against the ropes in rounds ten and 11. Garcia also did well in the final round. "He was just a better man tonight," Easter was humble in defeat and gave full credit to Garcia. Mikey takes my hat off. He's a true warrior. We're all putting our lives on the line when we step into the ring, and Mikey was victorious tonight. I couldn't find the time and couldn't have my right hand free." Garcia was outlasted 95-34 in total punches over the final four rounds, according to CompuBox. Garcia landed 176 punches (32%) and Easter landed 129 of his 507 (25%). Easter landed 89 of 343 jabs in the first half of the fight, but he had more success in the first half. The game attracted 680,000 viewers and a record of 725,000 viewers.

Easter Jr. defeated Rances Barthelemy for the vacant WBA regular lightweight championship on April 27, 2019. Both fighters were hesitant to participate in the war, with both fighters only ever allowing their hands to move. Easter Jr. delivered 54 punches, while Barthelemy landed 52 punches in total, according to ShoStats. Each fighter received a 115-113 scorecard, while the third judge scored the match as a draw 114-114, bringing the result to a split-decision draw.

Easter Jr. weighed in at 140 pounds for his upcoming fight against Adrián Granados. Easter Jr. was fired from the first bell and safely landed on Granados, unlike in his previous match against Barthelemy. Granados did well in the final rounds, throwing and landing more punches than Easter Jr., but it wasn't enough to overcome a young deficit. The judges rated the 100-90, 98-92, and 97-93, all in favor of Easter Jr.

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