By: Hans Themistode
Jr Middleweight contender Erickson Lubin has been spending half of his quarantine time preparing himself the best way he can for whenever boxing restrictions have lifted. The other half has been spent calling out WBC titlist Jermell Charlo.
Lubin made a ton of noise from the moment he stepped onto the scene in 2013. He managed to parlay that noise and skill, into a matchup with Charlo but quickly found himself on the wrong end of a right hand that ended the night quickly. Still, even with the sour taste in his mouth, that hasn’t stopped his enthusiasm for a part two.
“He see what’s going on,” Lubin said during an Instagram live interview. “I know he sees what’s going on. He see that I’m with [trainer] Kevin Cunningham. He see what I’m doing to these fighters that, you know, most of the division is having trouble with. And, you know, he’s just trying to buy time. I feel like he’s trying to buy time. Or he’s trying to find a different route, or end up moving up or something. You know, I’m not ducking no smoke. Jermell Charlo’s a great fighter. I’m not taking anything away from him.”
At the moment, Lubin finds himself in the number one spot for the WBC and a second date with Charlo. But just because he is in the number one spot, it doesn’t quite mean that he will be challenging for a title in his next contest.
“He’s not the mandatory contender,” said WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman. “The WBC was going to order Lubin to have to fight [Tony] Harrison as a final elimination bout prior to everything that has happened. Charlo has no mandatory [due] because no one has won a final elimination bout. At this moment, Charlo is free to take any voluntary defense.”
Other than a matchup with Charlo, a possible contest with Harrison has to be music to the ears of Lubin. It wasn’t that long where he not only called out Harrison, but also gave him a deadline to respond.
“I want Tony Harrison,” said Lubin. “We gotta talk. Tony Harrison, you got 24 hours. Let’s talk.”
Lubin paced back and forth as his deadline came and went. It isn’t the first time that Lubin was forced to wait for his shot at the big leagues.
On the surface, three years may not seem like a long time. But for Lubin, it’s felt like a lifetime.
Since he picked himself up off the canvas three years ago, he has repeatedly placed his opponents there. Winning four straight contests with three coming via stoppage.
Going up against Charlo at the age of 21 may have seemed like a good idea. But now, at the age of 24, he realizes that it wasn’t the best decision he’s ever made.
“You know, I went in there pretty young,” Lubin said. “I do admit that, you know, it was probably a bit early. But, you know, just the way my skill set is and my mindset, I feel like I was ready for that fight. And I feel like, you know, I wanted to get in there so quick and become a star so soon. But, you know, God had different plans for me. You know, we bounced back. We still bounced back and right now I’m sitting at number one in the WBC, so a rematch is in the near future.”