Boxing: EASTMAN HAS HOPKINS IN HIS SIGHTS

Britain's Howard Eastman is the WBC's mandatory challenger to undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins.

The European champion has been confirmed as the number one contender following Jermain Taylor's decision not to take on the Battersea Bomber in a final eliminator to face The Executioner.

Taylor will instead fight William Joppy on December 4, meaning Eastman moves up the WBC pecking order despite the return of Felix Trinidad to the middleweight scene.