NOT a drum was heard, not a funeral note, as to his corner hurried and watched: ‘The Battersea Bomber’ Howard Eastman had just spilt the ‘Guts’ of Derrick Spencer on the floor with a wicked right cross to the temple that out his light at the 2014 Wray & Nephew Contender Boxing series at the Chinese Benevolent Association on Wednesday night.

It was the penultimate fight in the clash among Welterweight contenders in the fourth staging of the Contender series and despite the pairing of the opponents appearing to be uneven, one of the largest crowds yet to attend the series turned out to see blood.

Many who showed up were hoping secretly that their favoured Team Jamaica would have continued its dominance over Team Caribbean despite the disparity between the opponents. It was, however, a night when ‘water was more than flour’ as the Team Jamaica boxer was totally outclassed.

The crowd accepted the fact that its preferred choice was outclassed and resolved to sit back and relish the performance of Eastman to end the fiasco at one minute 50 seconds of the second round.

Many thought that the fight should have been stopped midway the first round as after a flurry of wild swings Spencer and some telling pointed left jab to the face of Spencer, and a few searching upper cuts that left the legs of Team Jamaica rep in tatters as he seemed to find it difficult to remain on his feet. Nonetheless, referee Ransford Burton, knowing that Spencer could take a punch, probably was giving him a little more time to settle himself. But Spencer was obviously out of his depths against Eastman and became frustrated and confused. And when the end came he more than anyone else must have been relieved.