Kodak Moment for Eastman?

Howard Eastman says he doesn’t need to look at tapes of upcoming opponents. He makes all of his adjustments when he gets in the ring.

That’s probably a wise decision in the case of tonight’s middleweight title fight at Staples Center. If Eastman studied tapes of his opponent, undisputed champion Bernard Hopkins, he might decide not to get in the ring at all.

In Hopkins (45-2-1, 32 knockouts), Eastman will be facing a fighter who hasn’t lost since 1993, and then only to Roy Jones, at the time one of the best fighters, pound for pound, in the world. Eastman will be face to face with an opponent who already has successfully defended his title 19 times, sixth longest streak in boxing history and the best ever among middleweights.

At 40, Hopkins is in his 33rd year fighting, having begun at age 7 in a gym in his native Philadelphia. Some of his best fights may have been on the streets of that city where, as a violent teen, he went on a rampage that landed him in prison for five years, beginning at age 17, for assault and robbery.

Hopkins emerged determined to contain his violent nature within the ring and has largely stuck to that pledge. Lacking the lights-out knockout power that propelled other fighters to the top, Hopkins has nevertheless carved his niche in boxing annals with a diligent work ethic, a deceptively quick style, a varied arsenal of punches, a mastery of ring strategy and, when the situation calls for it, tactics that harken to his days on the street.

Eastman hears all that -- he hasn’t actually seen much of Hopkins, remember -- and bravely predicts that he will win on a fifth-round knockout. Why the fifth? That, he said, is what God told him. Divine intervention may be the only hope for Eastman, who fights out of the London suburb of Battersea, where he migrated with his family as a teenager from his native Guyana. Although Eastman has an impressive record (40-1, 34), and holds the British, Commonwealth and European middleweight titles, only one of his fights were held in this country.

And that was the loss.

In November 2001, he fought William Joppy, his most talented opponent before tonight, and lost on a majority decision in Las Vegas. Having knocked Joppy down, he was bitter over the decision, so bitter that he didn’t fight for 11 months. When he finally returned, he won eight consecutive fights entering tonight.

“I haven’t studied him,” Eastman said of Hopkins, “so I wouldn’t know his strengths from his weaknesses, but I’m very adaptable.”

Good luck.

Hopkins says he has studied Eastman. And what grade would he give his opponent? “A B-minus,” Hopkins said.

While it doesn’t appear tonight’s main event will be a great fight, it will be a historic one. This will be the first middleweight title fight in Los Angeles since Sugar Ray Robinson and Gene Fullmer fought to a draw at the Sports Arena in 1960. It has been almost half a century since a middleweight title fight in L.A. ended with a winner, the last one being in 1956 when Robinson knocked out Bobo Olson in the fourth round at Wrigley Field.

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The five fighters who exceed Hopkins in successful title defenses are: heavyweight Joe Louis (25), light heavyweight Dariusz Michalczewski (23), super middleweight Sven Ottke (21), light flyweight Ricardo Lopez (21) and heavyweight Larry Holmes (20).

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Also on tonight’s card is 26-year-old Jermain Taylor (22-0, 16), a bronze medalist in the 2000 Olympics who may be the next dominant middleweight. He will take on Daniel Edouard (16-0-2, 9) of Haiti.

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Promoter Bob Arum is planning a farewell fight for Julio Cesar Chavez, considered Mexico’s greatest fighter, on May 28 at Staples Center. Also on the card will be Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and a match between lightweights Jesus Chavez and Carlos “Famoso” Hernandez.