Boxing: Eastman underlines status with demolition of Dann

Howard Eastman retained his European, British and Commonwealth middleweight titles with a chilling third-round stoppage of Scott Dann at the Nottingham Ice Arena last night.

Dann started the fight as a massive underdog but he fought intelligently for two rounds until Eastman suddenly flicked an invisible switch and increased his pace and power to leave Dann in a dreadful state.

Eastman is one of the world's finest middleweights and arguably one of the top two or three active boxers in Britain, as last night's brief exercise showed. "I have to admit I expected him to start faster but he surprised me and that meant I had to adjust,'' he said.

The future for Eastman should look promising but he finds himself in an awkward position as the best in Europe and simply too big a risk for the best fighters in America.If Eastman and his promoter, Nick Hennessy, can persuade the World Boxing Association champion, William Joppy, to travel out of America then that fight is a possibility, but a substantial offer was made and rejected just hours before last night's fight.

On the same bill there was an entertaining heavyweight fight involving Herbie Hide in his return to the British ring after an 18-month exile. He beat the veteran journeyman Derek McCafferty in the seventh round and immediately issued challenges to every walking, talking British heavyweight in existence.