Former Lightweight Champ Robert Easter Jr Shot In Robbery

Breaking news out of Ohio on a Monday afternoon, where former IBF World Lightweight Champ Robert Easter Jr. was shot multiple times in Cincinnati by a robber on Sunday night.

Easter’s father, Robert Sr., confirmed to a Toledo, OH, TV station that his son had undergone surgery late Sunday night for bullet fragments in his body, but was expected to survive.

I’m told Toledo boxer Robert Easter Jr. was robbed & shot 3 times last night in Cincinnati. He’s expected to survive.

Story here: https://t.co/Hsp59tA1N5

— Jordan Strack (@JordanStrack) February 7, 2022

From the station’s website,

Easter Sr., confirmed the news to WTOL 11 Monday morning. He said the former IBF lightweight champion was shot three times after he was confronted about 6:30 p.m. by a group of men who demanded money.

Cincinnati police said the incident happened in the 1100 block of Sycamore Street. Easter Jr. told investigators an unknown suspect approached him behind and said “Give me those,” referring to pieces of jewelry. Easter ran and was shot multiple times.

The suspect took two gold chains, three diamond rings and Easter’s cell phone.

This is not the first legal trouble for the younger Easter. As we wrote previously, he was charged with punching a dancer at a Toledo strip club last August. Easter Jr. pled “no contest” to the charges in November and received probation with the condition that he had to undergo anger management counseling, as well, to avoid a jail sentence.

Easter was last in the ring last February, when he scored a unanimous decision win over Ryan Martin as part of the Showtime/PBC card at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut without fans present to improve his record to 23-1-1. That fight ended a period of 16 months of inactivity after he had defeated Adrian Granados by decision in October 2019. Easter, Jr. was ranked in the top 10 of three world rankings in early 2020 but had dropped out due to lack of activity.

Easter, Jr. captured the IBF 135 lb. World Title in September 2016, when he beat Richard Commey by split decision. He defended the title three times over the next 16 months before losing it in a unification bout to Mikey Garcia by decision in July of 2018.