By: Sean Crose
Adrien Broner was set to make his ring return on Saturday evening by highlighting a PBC card at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. First, though, the popular former lightweight champion Robert Easter Jr took on Ryan Martin in a scheduled junior welterweight 12 rounder. The 22-1-1 Easter and the 24-1 Martin started cautiously, with each man jabbing rather effectively. The pace picked up a bit in the second. The third saw Easter dominating the tempo of the fight, hitting and slipping away essentially at will. Easter’s jab told the story in the fourth.
Martin pursued Easter in the fifth, but wasn’t able to reach his man. Although he was behind, Martin tagged the body of Easter in the sixth. Still, Easter was able to maintain range in the seventh. Things had reached the point where Martin’s corner politely berated him in between rounds. Martin subsequently did some effective inside work in the eighth.
Easter, who had suffered a cut, was less active than he had been in the ninth. Yet it was Easter who was completely in control of the tempo in the tenth. In short, Martin was having a good defensive fight for himself. The eleventh round presented more of the same, as Easter was essentially in the zone. Easter floated around the ring nicely in the twelfth and final round while jabbing well. The judges ended up ruling in Easter’s favor via scores of 117-111, 118-110, and 118-110.