Robert Easter Jr. gave a clinic on how to throw and land the jab with consistency on Saturday. And it was more than enough to earn him a victory.
Easter, fighting behind the most basic punch in boxing from the opening bell, outboxed Ryan Martin to win a wide unanimous decision in a 12-round junior welterweight bout on the Adrien Broner-Jovanie Santiago card at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
Easter (23-1-1, 14 KOs) used the jab and occasional power shots to keep Martin (24-2, 14 KOs) at a distance where he was able to pick his opponent apart. Martin was able to cut off the ring on occasion – and land some of his own punches – but he spent most of his time following Easter around the ring in futility.
Martin’s trainer admonished him repeatedly between rounds that he wasn’t doing enough to be competitive but he simply couldn’t corner Easter enough to win rounds.
And even when the fighters ended up exchanging punches inside, where Martin was more comfortable, Easter was able to hold his own.
That’s how the fight went from beginning to end, with few ebbs and flows. It was all Easter.
That was reflected in the official scorecards: Easter won 118-110, 118-110 and 117-111. Boxing junkie had it 119-109 in Easter’s favor, 11 rounds to one.
Easter is now undefeated in three fights (2-0-1) since he lost a one-sided decision and his lightweight title to Mikey Garcia in July 2018, which brings Easter a significant step close to contender status at 140 pounds.
Martin has now lost his two biggest fights. He was knocked out by junior welterweight titleholder Josh Taylor in the seventh round in November 2018.