Robert Easter Jr
Record: 20-0 (14 KO) … Streak: W20 … Last 5: 5-0 … Last 10: 10-0 … Stance: Orthodox … Height/Reach: 5’11” / 76” … Age: 26
Javier Fortuna
Record: 33-1-1 (23 KO) … Streak: W4 … Last 5: 4-1 … Last 10: 9-1 … Stance: Southpaw … Height/Reach: 5’6” / 68½” … Age: 28
Undercard
Both of these fights will air on the Showtime YouTube page.
- Marcus Browne vs Francy Ntetu: Browne (20-0, 15 KO) is the top American prospect in a strong light heavyweight division, and maybe the best American fighter in the division right now, it’s him or Joe Smith Jr. At 27, the former Olympian is entering the stage of his career where it’s time to get going, coming off of wins over Thomas Williams Jr (KO-6) and Seanie Monaghan (TKO-2). Those victories followed a controversial decision win over Radivoje Kalajdzic in April 2016, where Browne at least hopefully learned some valuable lessons. Ntetu (17-1, 4 KO) is probably a better fighter than Monaghan, but not any more dangerous, really. He did go into the seventh round with David Benavidez in his lone loss, but he’s really a super middleweight and will give up some size to Browne, not to mention likely some skill. It’s a stay-busy fight for Browne, not anything to be ashamed of, but nothing to get excited about, too. Grade: C-
- Adam Kownacki vs Iago Kiladze: Kownacki (16-0, 13 KO) is coming off of a very impressive performance against Artur Szpilka in July, where he dominated the former title challenger and knocked him out in the fourth round. Kownacki is, frankly, pudgy — he’s 6’3” and comes in anywhere between 240 and 265 in recent fights, but it’s worth noting that the 242 he weighed in for the Szpilka fight was his lowest weight since 2010, so he took that fight seriously. Kiladze (26-1, 18 KO) is a former cruiserweight who lost to Youri Kalenga back in 2013, but has gone unbeaten since officially moving up a few fights ago. He went 2-0 in 2017, beating Byron Polley and Pedro Rodriguez. Grade: C-
