Adrien Broner piggybackers Jamel Herring and Robert Easter warmed up the crowd with easy wins on Showtime Extreme Saturday, taking out no-hoper opponents, although at least Herring’s had a record of being in there with big names.
Herring won every round against Yakubu Amidu, controlling him with speed and movement and firing pretty much at will. Amidu had experience, even scoring a draw with Juan Carlos Burgos in one of his last six fights, but it was his only other non-loss in that sequence, including two consecutive stoppage losses. That made Amidu gun shy, apparently, because he never really started firing shots with any kind of volume. Herring took the unanimous decision.
Easter’s performance was more explosive, against an opponent less qualified. He stopped Juan Ramos Solis in the 3rd round, after hammering him with long-range uppercuts and body punches. Solis’ corner called off the massacre.
The two lightweight prospects have both flaws — Herring’s foot positioning looks weird to me, Easter doesn’t tuck his chin, etc. — and raw talent. This was the kind of match-up you get for young talents on Showtime Extreme, basically.
