By Jake Donovan
Rising welterweight prospect Erickson Lubin continues his breakneck pace while rising through the ranks. The 18-year old southpaw will return to the ring against a yet-to-be determined opponent on April 18
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in Monroeville, Pennsyvania.
The bout will come on the non-televised portion of the undercard to a Shobox tripleheader, although there exists the (unconfirmed) possibility of highlights of his bout appearing on the telecast. Headlining the show - which marks the Showtime debut for Iron Mike Productions, Lubin's promoter - will be unbeaten light heavyweight Alexei Collado versus Rod Salka in a 10-round affair.
Unbeaten 2008 Olympic Gold medalist Felix Diaz appears in the co-feature, facing Emmanuel Lartey in a scheduld 10-round welterweight bout.
Lubin's bout will also take place in the welterweight division, a weight at which he turned pro and hopes to remain when he's ready for his first world title down the road.
"I'm very excited to get back in the ring," said Lubin (4-0, 4KO), who is coming off of a 3rd round knockout of Tirobio Ball on February 22
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in Bethlehem, PA. "It felt good to get in a couple of rounds against an opponent willing to test my skills. I'm ready to do it again, and continue to improve with each fight."
The eight minutes it took Lubin to dispose of Ball was nearly double the combined total of his first three pro bouts, all of which ended in 1st round knockout. The seven weeks between fights is also his longest gap of inactivity to date, although not by choice. Lubin was prepared to return on a scheduled March 7 show in Washington D.C., only for the card to get scrapped at the 11
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hour.
A gifted amateur fighter who was viewed as the best chance of securing a medal for the United States in the 2016 Olympics, Lubin instead to fast forward and turn pro. The Florida native signed with Iron Mike Productions last October, on his 18
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birthday.
"From the first time I met Erickson, I knew I was looking at a future boxing superstar," insits Henry Rivalta, Lubin's manager and COO of Rivalta Management who was instrumental in bringing the southpaw on board with Iron Mike Productions. "He has the potential to dance with the elites and one day become an elite fighter in the welterweight division. Our job is to gradually build him to that point."
Despite having to train for his fights without knowing opponents in advance, Lubin remains ready for any scenario thrown his way.
"Gary Jonas (CEO of Iron Mike Productions), Mike Tyson and my manager Henry Rivalta trust on my talent and in all my fights I want to show them that I'm getting better and I want to be ready for when I get the opportunity to face the best at this weight."
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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