Jamaica's Tsetsi Davis (right) in a face-off with the Caribbean team's Howard Eastman ahead of the Wray & Nephew 'Contender' Series semi-final bout tonight. - Contributed

A battle of epic proportions is expected tonight, as Howard 'Battersea Bomber' Eastman, the No. 2 seeded boxer in the Wray and Nephew Welterweight 2014 'Contender' series, goes against Tsetsi 'Lights Out' Davis, the No. 3 seed, over eight rounds in the first of two semi-finals, at 9:30 tonight. The venue will be the Wray and Nephew Colesium, Downtown Kingston, near to the Transport Centre.

This is a contest that Contender fans have been salivating about, as both boxers gave scintillating performances in the preliminary rounds of the competition. Eastman, who is from Barbados, has been very popular with spectators, and his two victories over Derrick Spencer by knockout and Kevin Hylton on points were exciting events. He goes into tonight's battle with a 49-12 record.

victories

Davis, who has an 11-3 record, has always been a crowd favourite in Jamaica, and he, too, had two exciting victories. He scored points victories over Derick Richmond from Guyana and then Jamaican Ramel Lewis, and has installed himself as one of the boxers to watch as the series winds down.

This promises to be a very keenly contested match-up. Eastman, at age 43 is definitely the most experienced boxer in the competition and has a bag full of tricks that he will put on show tonight. He is a smart boxer with a punch, and in his fight against Spencer, he showed that he is fit and ready.

He will have to do an extra two rounds tonight, unless he can end the fight inside the distance, but he has been there before, having fought several bouts of 10 rounds and over. He also has a very good knockout record. He has won 37 of his fights by either knockout or technical knockout, and although he is clearly past his peak, his ring savvy remains intact.

Davis might not have the experience that Eastman does, but he too fights smart and has learnt to pace himself well. He is younger at age 36 and this could be an asset, the longer the fight goes. He told STAR Sports that he has been training hard for this fight and that stamina will definitely not be a problem.