By Jim Maltzman: Erickson Lubin has been toiling away for three years since his first-round knockout loss to Jermell Charlo in 2017, and finally, he’s in position to face him in a rematch. Lubin would also like to fight former 154-pound champions Tony Harrison (28-2, 21 KOs) or Julian ‘J-Rock’ Williams.
Now older at 24-yers-old, Lubin (22-1, 16 KOs) feels he’s more experienced and ready to defeat Charlo (33-1, 17 KOs) to take his WBC junior middleweight title from him.
Lubin has a four-fight winning streak going since his first-round knockout loss to Charlo in October 2017. That defeat was mentally tough on Lubin, as he had to rebuild inside and outside of the ring.
In hindsight, Lubin was a little too young at the time that he fought Charlo at the age of 21. Lubin needed to mature more and get additional experience under his belt before he took on the talented Charlo twin.
Charlo, 29, hasn’t shown much interest in fighting Lubin again, and it’s unclear whether he’ll stick it out at 154 to fight him again. The 160-pound division is emptying out, and it might be a better move for Jermell to go up in weight to become one of the top guys in that weight class.
Since losing to Charlo, Lubin has beaten the following fighters:
- Nathaniel Gallimore
- Zakaria Attou
- Ishe Smith
- Silverio Ortiz
Lubin: Charlo is buying time
“It was a character-defining type of loss,” said Lubin to Premier Boxing Champions on his defeat to Charlo. “When I lost, I was trying to rebuild and see who was with me and who was my friends. I went in there [against Charlo] a little young. And I went in there a bit early.
“The way my skill set is and my mind, I felt like I was ready for that fight. I wanted to get in there and become a star so soon, but God had different plans for me. We bounced back, and right now, I’m sitting at #1 with the WBC. A rematch is in the near future.
“He sees what’s going on, and he knows what’s going on,” Lubin said of Charlo. “I think he sees that I’m with Kevin Cunningham, and he sees what I’m doing against fighters that most of the division are having trouble with.
“He’s trying to buy time, or he’s trying to find a different route. I’m not ducking any smoke,” said Lubin of Jermell, looking to stall the fight.
Charlo is interested in unifying the junior middleweight division against the other champions at 154. In Charlo’s eyes, he’s already beaten Harrison, and that’s a backward step for his career.
Charlo can’t avoid fighting Lubin for long. With Lubin’s #1 ranking with the World Boxing Council, it won’t be long before the WBC orders Charlo to defend against him.
Lubin: I’m the best at 154
“I know Charlo is a great fighter, and I’m not trying to take anything away from him,” said Lubin. “There are a lot of great fighters in this division. I feel like I’m the best at 154, and a rematch with Charlo is something I definitely want just to put a stamp on it.
“I’m not going to say he’s [Charlo] avoiding me because he took the first fight and did what he had to do to win. Psychologically, he’s seen the process, and he’s seen how much I’ve matured inside the ring. Maybe he’s trying to catch me when I’m vulnerable or something. Right now is not the time.
“I’m a very dangerous fighter right now, and no one at 154 pounds can beat me right now as we speak. At 24, I feel like that power has always been there, but as I keep working hard in the gym, it only gets better.
“I’m only getting stronger, faster, and smarter. In my next fight, I’m going to be able to show that,” said Lubin.
It’s difficult to say for sure who the #1 fighter is at 154. The level of opposition for Lubin hasn’t been good enough to say for certain that he deserves to be the top fighter. For Lubin to say that he’s the #1 guy at junior middleweight, he needs to beat these guys:
- Jermell Charlo
- Jeison Rosario
- Tony Harrison
- Erislandy Lara
- Israil Madrimov
- Julian Williams
- Patrick Teixeira
Erickson wants to fight Harrison
“The fans are everything. I love the energy when the fans are going crazy, but it won’t be the same as I’m starting off,” said Lubin in talking about fighting without fans. It’s going to be like I’m in the gym when I’m sparring. I’ve never had people in the gym when I’m sparring.
“If that’s what I’ve got to do to be world champion, then I’m going to do it. I’m looking to come back as soon as this passes us by or whenever they find a solution. I want to be one of the first names called to have a date. And I want someone like Tony Harrison.
“I feel like it’s good for PBC. It’s a fight that’s easy to make. We’re two fighters with PBC, it’s easy to make, and I’m #1 with the WBC. He’s #3 with the WBC. I feel like the winner of that fight definitely deserves a rematch with Charlo,” said Erickson.
Harrison is a fight that can be made for Lubin if he wants it. This will be a tough fight for Lubin because Harrison can punch, and he has excellent boxing skills. This isn’t a good time for Lubin to be trying to fight Harrison though with him coming ff of a loss.
Jeison an option for Lubin
“He’s a hard puncher,” said Lubin on Jeison Rosario. “He did what he had to do. J-Rock [Williams] is a good fighter, but he’s hungry. J-Rock may have gotten comfortable in winning the belts or in being in his backward.
“Rosario came in there with a gameplan and executed it well. That’s another fighter I would love to face in Jeison Rosario or even J-Rock. I’d love to fight him—all the top names in the division. I’m not ducking anyone.
“We’ll fight any of those guys, but the question is, will they fight me? I would love to fight Terrell Gausha. He’s been running his mouth, and I’d like to shut him up. Pretty much, I’m not on his level. Just regular talk,” said Lubin when asked what Gausha has been saying about him.
IBF/WBA junior middleweight champion Jeison Rosario (20-1-1, 14 KOs) is coming off of a surprising 5th round knockout win over Julian ‘J-Rock’ Williams on January 18. It wasn’t so much a case of Rosario having a great game plan in his win over J-Rock. It was more of a situation where Rosario had too much power.
If Lubin wants to fight Rosario, he’s going to need to work on his defense because he can’t afford to make the same mistakes that he did against Charlo. Rosario will make quick work of Lubin if he tries to slug with him.
Lubin excited about Charlo and Harrison fights
“All that talk doesn’t matter. It’s how you back it up in the ring. That’s what I want to do. Back it up in the ring. I don’t want to sit here and talk about what I want to do to Charlo, and I don’t want to talk about what I’m going to do to Tony Harrison. I just want to get it on.
“Those are the two match-ups you don’t want to miss. Erickson Lubin against Tony Harrison or Jermell Charlo 2. That’s definitely a match you don’t want to miss. I watch boxing all the time, and watch all the fights on TV,” said Lubin.
Harrison lost to Charlo by an 11th round knockout last December. It’s not a great time for Lubin to face Harrison right now because he won’t receive credit from boxing fans for beating him. He needs to wait until Harrison bounces back with a victory before facing him.
Charlo is talking about wanting to fight these guys:
- Jarrett Hurd
- Patrick Teixeira
- Jeison Rosario
