Erickson Lubin: Now a `Different Beast’ as a Result of the Charlo Smash-up

Published

6 years ago

February 7, 2019

The next step up from a swelling sense of confidence for a young, undefeated fighter is, well, overconfidence. Arrogance, even. When you are accustomed to nothing but success, why even entertain the possibility of a disappointing outcome? Being beaten up and losing is something that is only supposed to happen to the poor schnook in the other corner, right?

The first step down from utter confidence for a young, formerly undefeated fighter can be panic and self-doubt. The introduction of defeat into a first-time loser’s belief system is even harsher if it comes in the form of a knockout, and especially so if the shocking end comes before the completion of the very first round.

The journey from the way Erickson Lubin had viewed his life and boxing career to a decidedly harsher reality required only 2 minutes, 41 seconds when the 22-year-old southpaw from Orlando, Fla., took on WBC super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo on Oct. 14, 2017, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Actually, the decisive sequence was much more condensed than that; there were only 28 seconds remaining in the opening stanza when Charlo fired a short right that landed flush to Lubin’s forehead, sending the challenger crumpling to the canvas and onto his right side where he briefly flailed like a reeled-in fish on the bottom of a bass boat. Referee Harvey Dock started to initiate a count, but as he knelt over the stricken Lubin, who clearly was not about to rise in time, he waved his arms at six, signaling the bout’s conclusion.

Only nine seconds had elapsed from the moment Charlo connected with the shot that, at least momentarily, demonstrated what some had believed all along: that Erickson Lubin, the fight game’s most recent flavor of the month, was the false creation of a relentless hype machine.

But perhaps that instantly revised, less laudatory assessment of Lubin (19-1, 14 KOs) is no more accurate than the fawning praise and inflated expectations that had preceded it. The supposed wunderkind who had been at the center of a firestorm of controversy nearly six years ago is still around, still ranked No. 6 at super welterweight by the WBC, and eager to make the kind of statement with a dominant performance against former IBF 154-pound champion Ishe Smith (29-10, 12 KOs) in a scheduled 10-rounder Saturday night at the Dignity Health Sports Park (formerly the StubHub Center) in Carson, Calif., that he once anticipated making against Charlo.

“I’ve had hardships in my life,” Lubin said, refuting the notion that he somehow and undeservedly had been fast-tracked for the boxing superstardom that has to date remained beyond his grasp. “I overcame them all. But that (Charlo) fight … I woke up a different beast. I had to re-assess. I decided it was time to take this sport to a whole different level.

“What happened to me was something that had never happened to me before. I’d never been stopped or even dropped. Well, maybe when I was six or seven, by my older brother, just teaching me. I guess I was on my high horse a little bit. I was immature. I admit it.”

Lubin didn’t exactly disappear after his comeuppance from Charlo, but it was his choice not to rush back into action until he had given himself enough of a break to undertake the necessary physical and mental makeovers. He has fought just once post-Charlo, a fourth-round stoppage of Mexican journeyman Silverio Ortiz on April 28 of last year in El Paso, Texas, and his matchup with the 40-year-old Smith, as intriguing as it might be on some level, still was not regarded as significant enough to be included among the three bouts to be televised on the Showtime Championship Boxing portion of the card, a lineup topped by the IBF junior lightweight defense by champion Gervonta Davis (20-0, 19 KOs) against former WBC super bantamweight titlist Hugo Ruiz (39-4, 33 KOs). Other TV fights include 10-rounders pitting super lightweights Mario Barrios (22-0, 14 KOs) and Richard Zamora (19-2, 12 KOs) and lightweights Sharif Bogere (32-1, 20 KOs) and Javier Fortuna (33-2-1, 23 KOs).

Lubin-Smith can still be seen, however, via Showtime’s social media platforms and Lubin is adamant that he still is capable of emerging as the star of the night.

“I feel like I’m really at my best now,” Lubin opined. “My skills have improved, my power’s improved, my ring IQ has improved. I went into the Charlo fight with not too much of a game plan. I just was looking for the knockout. I wanted to make a big statement. But I can make that kind of statement against Ishe Smith. I’m not predicting I’ll knock him out, but if I can knock out a guy who’s never been knocked out, that’d be a big statement, right? And I’m capable of it. Even if I don’t knock him out, I want to show the world how much talent I have, in case anyone has forgotten.”

Toward that end, Lubin has brought in veteran trainer Kevin Cunningham as his chief second, while retaining the services of his longtime trainer Jason Galarza as a cornerman. But it is Lubin’s rededicated approach to his craft that is the biggest change of all.

“I needed to get away from home a little bit and into a place where I’m not really too comfortable,” Lubin said of his shift, for boxing purposes, from Orlando to Miami. “With a no-tolerance trainer like Kevin, it’s not just a change in training, it’s a change in lifestyle. Boxing is a year-round sport. You always have to be ready, you always have to be in shape. Football players have seasons, basketball players have seasons. Fights don’t have seasons.

“I took the Charlo fight serious. I trained very hard with Jason. But I had let myself blow up (a weight gain of 40 pounds) and so I had to take all that off, which, looking back, might have taken something out of me. I also had a fracture in my lead (right) hand during training so I didn’t spar much until the last two weeks of camp. And I got to admit, I went into the Charlo fight with not too much of a game plan. If I could just go back in time, I’d have game-planned more and not let the hype get to me. There was a lot of talking back and forth between our entourages. All that was on my mind. I realize I was too focused on trying to knock him out. I should have taken my time, used that first round to feel him out. But I wanted to be right there up in his face instead of boxing him.”

It is a common error among those to whom things come too easily, to expect that corners can be cut and all the puzzle pieces will fit neatly into place because, well, hadn’t they always? So convinced was Dr. Charles Butler, then the president of USA Boxing, that Lubin was the United States’ best hope for a gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics that he took out print ads urging Lubin, the son of Haitian immigrants, to remain an amateur until he had the chance to represent his country in Rio. Lubin instead opted to turn pro with the fledgling and now-defunct Mike Tyson Productions – he’s since signed on with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions — on the condition that he would be paired immediately against higher-quality opponents than are most newly minted pros. After blowing through his first 18 bouts with little trouble, Lubin figured he was as ready as he ever needed to be to add Charlo to his list of victims.

It now appears that was a miscalculation, but, at 24, Lubin figures he has ample time to make amends. He has a baby son, Malachai, to support and a sense of destiny that requires fulfillment. A step back is a step back only if you refuse to keep moving forward.

“I don’t regret anything, actually,” Lubin said of where he’s been, where he is and where he is bound. “I’m very competitive. I don’t like to lose, at anything. I got that Kobe Bryant `Black Mama’ mentality. If you want to see who can spit the farthest, I’m going to try to spit the farthest. That’s how I came up.”

Photo credit: Mario Serrano / Team Lubin

Bernard Fernandez is the retired boxing writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. He is a five-term former president of the Boxing Writers Association of America, an inductee into the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Atlantic City Boxing Halls of Fame and the recipient of the Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism and the Barney Nagler Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Boxing.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

To comment on this story in The Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Bernard Fernandez

Up Next

The Avila Perspective, Chap. 33: After the Storm Comes the Deluge of Fights

Don't Miss

R.I.P. Former World Champion Rocky Lockridge

Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Skylar-Lacy-Blocked-for-Lamar-Jackson-Before-Making-his-Mark-in-Boxing

Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

5 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

6 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!