By: Hans Themistode
WBC Jr Middleweight champion Jermell Charlo left Erickson Lubin in a state of unconsciousness when the two met in late 2017. Lubin, 24, was the upstart. He went 143-7 during his amateur career and came flying out of the gate to the tune of an 18-0 record as a pro.
His night against Charlo didn’t go as planned but since then, he’s picked up four straight victories. Including three via stoppage. As for Charlo, he suffered a bit of a hiccup of his own when he suffered a decision loss, albeit highly controversial, to Tony Harrison. From there, Charlo bounced back, stopping Harrison in the 11th of their rematch.
With his WBC belt wrapped around his waist again, Charlo is looking ahead to bigger and better opponents. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t checking his rear view mirror. When he does take the second to glance at Lubin, he’s left very impressed.
“Lubin will win a world title,” Charlo told co-hosts Kenneth Bouhairie and Michael Rosenthal. “Lubin will knock out a lot of motherf–kers if he put his mind to it. Just leave me the f–k alone. I’m different. But I see him.”
The Charlo vs Lubin feud could be far from over as Lubin has fought his way back to the number one ranking within the WBC. And while Lubin foams at the mouth at the mere thought of a Charlo rematch. The Jr Middleweight champion seems to have bigger fish to fry.
“I haven’t thought about no rematch with Lubin because I have moved on,” Charlo said. “It’s a lot of fighters in the way. Why would I even think in my mind to go backwards? I don’t wanna fight Harrison again, I don’t wanna fight Lubin again, I don’t wanna fight none of them motherf–kers I went through. I wanna see if I can prove that I’m really the top dog, I wanna know myself.”