Richard Commey: I Beat Robert Easter, I Deserve a Rematch!
by Keith Idec
In front of a raucous and supportive crowd, undefeated rising star Robert Easter (18-0, 14 KOs) earned a narrow split-decision victory over previously unbeaten Richard Commey (24-1, 22 KOs) in a thrilling contest that saw both men grab momentum at different points throughout the 12-round bout.
Easter used his jab and length advantage in round one and appeared to have more success throughout the night when he fought from a distance. The fight vacillated between a tactical battle and a toe-to-toe war by the round and even by the minute.
The Ghanaian Commey was aggressive throughout the fight and had success pushing Easter to the ropes and catching him with big right hands. In round eight, Commey scored a knockdown on one of those right hands, as referee Benjy Esteves ruled that Easter's glove hit the canvas as a result of the punch.
Easter and Commey both came out firing in round nine, engaging in one of the many exchanges that put the lively crowd on its feet. Easter had great success throughout the night with his right uppercut that consistently caught Commey coming in, but never deterred him completely.
Both men reached the 12-round limit for the first time in their careers but it was Easter who took advantage of the final stanza by rocking and wobbling Commey with a big overhand right just seconds into the round.
Commey was able to survive on the ropes and by consistently wrapping up his opponent. Both men were lifted to the air in triumph by their trainers after the final bell rang as the crowd cheered the two combatants. In the end the judges scored the fight 114-113 for Commey and 115-112 and 114-113 for Easter.
ROBERT EASTER
"It's been a long training camp. We had an amazing training camp. This fight wasn't easy at all. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. Richard Commey is a tough, tough competitor. He made me fight each and every round, but we did it.
"The game plan was to go out there and box him and use my length and reach. I made a few mistakes tonight. One of them was not fighting him early enough. It wouldn't have been close. In the last round, when I needed the round, I went out and got it.
"I took everything that I had, all 16 years in the sport, and I used it to go get that belt.
"You always have to stay composed as a professional. I wasn't hurt at all on the knockdown. I know what happened in there. He threw a shorter right hand and I stumbled. I finished the round tough.
"Early in the fight I thought I hurt him with a hook and right hand combo. In the last round I caught him right on the chin. That wobbled him. He held on for dear life.
"I knew it was going to come down to a split decision. I felt in my heart that I did enough. He missed a lot of shots.
"I want more straps. I want belts. This is huge for my city. It means a lot. It's bigger than me. I wanted to give them something to believe in.
"All this hard work we had to put in for this fight, we had to dig in deep. I did this for my city and Toledo came out for me tonight."
RICHARD COMMEY
"I feel like I won this fight. I did everything that I could. I landed the more accurate shots. I come from very far and it's hard to win here versus an American. I deserve a rematch.
"I was very devastated when I heard the scores. I knew it was a close fight. He went down and I didn't.
"I want to be a world champion. Even if he doesn't want to fight me, I want another opportunity. I can fight at the highest level in the world. We worked so hard to get to this stage. I want to stay at this level. I'll keep improving."
