By Graham Ilford: Erickson Lubin predicts his fight against WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. will be a “firefight” this Saturday, November 8th, in their headliner at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Lubin’s War Mentality
Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) knows that he has no other choice but to be ready for war against Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs). That’s the only way the Texas native fights. Even if Erickson tried to box and move like he did in his win over Jesus Ramos Jr., Vergil Jr. will trap him and force exchanges.
Hammer Time Again
“Erickson Lubin vs. Vergil Ortiz, it’ll be a firefight. It’s ‘Hammer’ time,” said Erickson Lubin to Fighthype about his fight this Saturday night against WBC interim 154-lb champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. “This is a legacy-type fight for me—a young, undefeated, furious fighter.
“This right here sets everything up for me. I’m in my prime now. I’m excited to show the world that I’m the #1 154-pounder in boxing,” said Lubin. “I’ve been ranked with the WBC for a long time. That’s one of my favorite belts. It’s a prestigious belt.”
Fundora Rematch Dream
It’s clear that Lubin wants the rematch with WBC junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora. That one is doable and winnable for Lubin. He had his moments in his fight against ‘The Towering Inferno’ Fundora on April 9, 2022, dropping him in round seven. However, Fundora came on strong in the eighth and stopped him in round nine.
“I sat at #1 since pretty much 2019 with the WBC, and I kept fighting title eliminators. We decided to move on and go to the IBF because that presented itself. I feel like this is a fight that is going to line me up for any one of the belts, and it’s going to put me #1 at 154 pounds,” said Lubin.
If Erickson wins this fight, it’s going to move him into position to fight the winner of the Sebastian Fundora vs. Keith Thurman fight for the WBC 154-lb title. It’s doubtful that Lubin will go in the direction of IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev. The way Lubin was talking during this interview, he didn’t sound like he wanted to fight Bakhram. That’s understandable. It’s a bad match-up for him.
Veteran boxing columnist Graham Ilford brings dry humor and long-earned perspective to the sport.
