Robert Easter Jr.


Robert Easter Jr. 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.

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.

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 against Daniel Attah on January 25, 2014. Easter scored his first notable win on April 1, 2016, stopping former world champion Argenis Mendez in five rounds.

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 on the judge's scorecards.

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. 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.
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 which resulted in an on pour of boos from the crowd.

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. On April 24, WBC president Sulaiman stated Garcia would participate in a lightweight unification with Easter Jr in the summer. On May 1, it was reported that the fight would likely take place in July or August at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. July 28 was later confirmed as the fight date.
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. 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 and Easter landed 129 of his 507. Easter landed 89 of 343 jabs, however he had more success in the first half of the fight. The fight averaged 680,000 viewers and peaked at 725,000 viewers.

Easter Jr. vs. Barthelemy

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
24Win22–1−1Adrián GranadosUD10Oct 26, 2019Santander Arena, Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
23Draw21–1−1Rances Barthelemy12Apr 27, 2019Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.For vacant WBA and IBO lightweight titles
22Loss21–1Mikey GarciaUD12Jul 28, 2018Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Lost IBF lightweight title;
For WBC lightweight title
21Win21–0Javier FortunaSD12Jan 20, 2018Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained IBF lightweight title
20Win20–0Denis ShafikovUD12Jun 30, 2017Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.Retained IBF lightweight title
19Win19–0Luis CruzUD12Feb 10, 2017Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.Retained IBF lightweight title
18Win18–0Richard Commey12Sep 9, 2016Santander Arena, Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.Won vacant IBF lightweight title
17Win17–0Argenis MendezTKO5, 2:43Apr 1, 2016D.C. Armory, Washington, D.C., U.S.
16Win16–0Juan Ramon SolisTKO3, 0:45Oct 3, 2015U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
15Win15–0Osumanu AkabaTKO6, 2:36Aug 28, 2015Convention Center, Washington, D.C., U.S.
14Win14–0Miguel Angel MendozaKO2, 2:13Jun 20, 2015MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
13Win13–0José Alejandro RodríguezTKO2, 1:15Mar 7, 2015MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
12Win12–0Angel HernandezUD10Dec 12, 2014UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
11Win11–0Roberto AcevedoKO1, 1:22Sep 6, 2014U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
10Win10–0Carlos CardenasUD8May 2, 2014The Joint, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
9Win9–0Daniel Attah8Jan 25, 2014D.C. Armory, Washington, D.C., U.S.
8Win8–0Hardy ParedesKO1, 2:30Dec 14, 2013Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
7Win7–0Lance WilliamsTKO1, 2:43Sep 12, 2013MGM Grand Premier Ballroom, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
6Win6–0Lowell BrownfieldKO2, 0:38Aug 9, 2013Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
5Win5–0Antoine KnightTKO3, 1:46Jun 22, 2013Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S.
4Win4–0Eduardo GuillenTKO2, 1:30May 18, 2013Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
3Win3–0Jose Valderrama1, 3:00Feb 16, 2013Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
2Win2–0David Castillo1, 1:43Dec 8, 2012Business Expo Center, Anaheim, California, U.S.
1Win1–0Eddie Corona2, 2:39Nov 10, 2012Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.