Mayor Hicks-Hudson and the City of Toledo held a celebration for their hometown hero Robert Easter, Jr. at a parade given in his honor this past Sunday in downtown Toledo. Photos by Jetta Fraser/The Blade.

In front of a raucous and supportive crowd, undefeated rising star Robert Easter (18-0, 14 KOs) earned a narrow split-decision victory over previously unbeaten Richard Commey (24-1, 22 KOs) in a thrilling contest that saw both men grab momentum at different points throughout the 12-round bout.



Easter used his jab and length advantage in round one and appeared to have more success throughout the night when he fought from a distance. The fight vacillated between a tactical battle and a toe-to-toe war by the round and even by the minute.

The Ghanaian Commey was aggressive throughout the fight and had success pushing Easter to the ropes and catching him with big right hands. In round eight, Commey scored a knockdown on one of those right hands, as referee Benjy Esteves ruled that Easter's glove hit the canvas as a result of the punch.





Easter and Commey both came out firing in round nine, engaging in one of the many exchanges that put the lively crowd on its feet. Easter had great success throughout the night with his right uppercut that consistently caught Commey coming in, but never deterred him completely.





Both men reached the 12-round limit for the first time in their careers but it was Easter who took advantage of the final stanza by rocking and wobbling Commey with a big overhand right just seconds into the round.



Commey was able to survive on the ropes and by consistently wrapping up his opponent. Both men were lifted to the air in triumph by their trainers after the final bell rang as the crowd cheered the two combatants. In the end the judges scored the fight 114-113 for Commey and 115-112 and 114-113 for Easter.