Boxing: Beardsley's flu benefit

Over the last three weeks, two former world champions and three recent world title challengers have been matched with the British, Commonwealth and European middleweight champion Howard Eastman for tonight's show at York Hall, Bethnal Green.

Eastman, 32, will now fight Nottingham's Gary Beardsley over eight rounds in the type of late replacement fight that gives matchmakers and promoters nightmares.

Beardsley is the worst type of substitute because he has nothing to lose, he has spent six weeks preparing for a fight on the same bill and he will not be exhausted after a long journey from somewhere in Ukraine, like most late replacements.

"I've had five boxers arranged and five boxers have pulled out,'' the promoter, Mick Hennessy, said. "The problems start when agents and managers realise Eastman fights on the BBC and then suddenly I'm asked for 10 or 20 grand more.''

Beardsley was to have met Matt Thirlwall but, when Thirlwall pulled out with flu, Hennessy had a ready-made if unlikely replacement.