Boxing In South America: Weekend Results

ByAlejandro Tostado

There was a clash of faded former high level champions last night at National Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana as native sons Howard Eastman and Andrew Lewis came home for a fight for the Guyanese Middleweight Championship.

While “Six Heads” Lewis was a world champion, it was at welterweight and that was seven years ago, so the 37 year old was coming in at a disadvantage against career middleweight Eastman, also 37 years of age. Lewis also hadn’t had a professional bout in 18 months, when he won the Guyanese Light Middle title.

Eastman’s glory years didn’t end until 2005 when the European, British and Commonwealth Champion mounted a failed bid to unseat unified world champion Bernard Hopkins but “The Battersea Bomber” had won meaningful bouts as late as last year when defeating Richard Williams and Evans Ashira in Commonwealth and British title fights.

In the bout, the quicker Lewis showed good footwork to avoid the meaningful shots that Eastman threw and the dodgy chin of “Six Heads” was never really tested as a result. Lewis was the busier fighter but with the inability to take a hard shot from a good puncher like Eastman, couldn’t fully commit to the task and lost a split decision in the process.

Eastman improves to 44-6 (35) and retains the Guyanese Middleweight title for the first time while Lewis drops to 23-4-2 (20).

Also on Saturday, the Sporting Club in Laboulaye, Argentina saw local veteran Jorge Daniel Miranda, 30-5 (11), pound out a split decision against previously undefeated Santa Rosa man Victor Manule Purreta, 23-1 (8), to retain the WBO Latino Welterweight title.

Miranda had previously held the belt last year but lost it in a first defense against Oscar Roberto Medina and was then KO’d in the first round in a failed bid to unseat Argentine Welter titlist Hector David Saldivia in March.

Undeterred, Miranda won a ninth round technical decision in the rematch with Miranda in May and has now racked up five consecutive victories.

Club Bernasconi in Salto, Uruguay was the scene of a Interim WBO Latino Super Middle title bout which was won by local prospect Jorge Rodriguez Olivera, 14-0 (6), who KO’d hard punching but chinny Brazilian veteran Eduardo Franca, 25-19 (21), in four.