Via Jim Calfa: Sebastian ‘The Towering Inferno’ Fundora (18-0-1, 12 KOs) facing Erickson ‘The Hammer’ Lubin (24-1, 17 KOs) meet on Saturday, April 9 on Showtime in a mid-match. #1 & 2 with WBC at 154.
Fundora, a boxer of height and high-volume punch output, will find a way to deal with some discomfort when he takes on Lubin, 26.
Lubin, the Florida native of Southpaw, has turned his career around with six straight wins since his first knock-out loss to Jermell Charlo in 2017.
This could be the last stop for the winner of the Fundora vs. Lubin before they challenge for a world title with the winner of a May 14 rematch between young middleweight champions Brian Castano and Jermell Charlo.
24-year-old Fundora and Lubin will battle it out in a Showtime 1st place match at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada.
It took Lubin five years to rebuild himself after a rough first-round loss to Jermell Charlo in 2017.
If Lubin loses this fight to Fundora, he will need to sit down and make a well-thought-out decision about the direction he wants to go in his career.
Going through another 5 years of rebuilding could have been a waste of time for Lubin since he’s unlikely to progress enough to beat the 154-lb killers.
Lubin only wants to fight the best
“I am resplendent again; I’m beating all these top guys. I’m beating the top guy after the top guy“Erickson Lubin said to Punsh Drunk Boxing about the fight against Sebastian Fortuna on Saturday.
Lubin beat some good fighters but barely beat the top fighters in the 154-lb division.
In the past four years, his best wins have been against Jeison Rosario and Terrell Gaushua, and those are hardly the best wins in the league.
Until Lubin starts beating the likes of Tim Tszyu, Israil Madrimov and Tony Harrison, you have to continue to treat him as a question mark. Lubin was still easy to beat as he lost to Jermell Charlo in the knockout round.
As far as I can tell, Lubin still hasn’t improved enough on defense that you can tell he’s a different fighter than the one Charlo was exposed to five years ago in 2017.
“I don’t even want those easy battles to get along; I I don’t want people like that. I want the best guys,” said Lubin. “I want to be the champion and be like, ‘I beat that guy, that guy, that guy, that guy.’ That’s what I want.
“I think it has to be high risk, high reward, but there are some situations like Devin Haney’s case. I can’t really explain too much about that since I don’t know too much about it.
“But I feel like he did it for his heritage, he wanted those belts badly, and he wanted to take care of the Kambosos. He will be able to claim really big paydays. However, sometimes you have to take those risks.
“We are risking our lives and putting it all first, so I feel the reward is high risk. Sometimes you have to take that chance. Championship chance,” said Erickson Lubin.
Lubin’s final six opponents:
- Jeison Rosario
- Terrell Gausha
- Nathaniel Gallimore
- Zakaria Attou
- Ishe Smith
- Silverio Ortiz
The best of the bunch that Lubin has beaten since losing to Jermell is arguably 34-year-old Gausha, and he’s nothing special.
Rosario was recently knocked out by Jermell in 2020, and Nathaniel Gallimore stopped him in 2016. Lubin is a good boxer, but he’s still too flawed to see him as a threat to Charlo or Brian Castano.
There’s a great chance Fundora will overwhelm Lubin on Saturday night and take advantage of the same defensive loopholes Charlo exposed in 2017.
Lubin is too focused on attack and lacks the chin and defense for him to fight against guys with high power or work rate like Fundora.
Fundora Targets Charlo – Castano 2 Winner
Fundora told Abrams Boxing he wants to fight for a world title in 2022.
“This is going to be number one with the WBC, and that’s the mandate there,” Fundora said. “I imagine he is different now, and I imagine he learned from that fight. I hope he brings out the best that Lubin has to offer.
“Yeah, I just fight the way I fight; I don’t care what other people think, the other side faces me. I just want to go in there and do what I’m best at and get the job done.
“I always thought to myself, why not, especially if I’m stronger than him. You can tell when you are stronger than that person. I went there and took them out. That’s what I like to do. I like to go and fight.
“If it does that, great. Otherwise that’s fine, but we just want to win,” Fundora said when asked if the win over Lubin would take his career to the next level.
“This is the last fight before the title. That is what we are aiming for; We are aiming for the championship in this weight class. My mind is like a racehorse. I keep it straight to my goal and I will keep working it towards my goal until I reach it.
Fundora is about Tim Tszyu defeating Terrell Gausha by round 12 in his US debut on March 26.
“I am happy for him. It was his debut in the United States, and I’m sure he attracted a lot of fans.
“I have [Jermell] Charlo. He’s too strong for him,” Fundora said when asked about his prediction for a May 14 rematch between IBF/WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo and WBO champion Brian Castano .
“From the first game, I found Charlo too strong, and I think he will exploit that in the second game. Not really. It’s not like I’m going to gamble after the fight. April 9, adjusted.
Fundora said of the fight against Lubin: “This will hopefully be the battle of the year. Just expect an entertaining fight”.
