Erickson Lubin looked over the film, broke down the footage, and ultimately reclined in his chair as he thought it all over. After watching both Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford for years, the 154-pound contender simply couldn’t pick a winner. With their showdown being viewed as a 50/50 clash, Lubin (25-2, 18 KOs) was excited to see how things would play out.
On July 29th, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Lubin - like the rest of the boxing world, tuned in to check it out. The opening round saw both champions have their moments. However, outside of those opening three minutes, Crawford was on cruise control all night.
Although Spence was dropped on three separate occasions, battered, punished, and eventually stopped in the ninth, the Dallas Native is anxious to get his revenge. Recently, the 33-year-old officially activated his immediate rematch clause.
Lubin, while he respects where Spence is coming from, is convinced that it’s an incredibly bad idea for him to face Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) in just a few months. Instead, the 28-year-old believes that Spence needs to get acquainted with fighting someone who can somewhat mimic Crawford’s style.
“Not immediately,” said Lubin when asked if it makes sense for Spence to face Crawford next. “I don’t think he should go immediately. I think he should get a southpaw test first.”
Crawford, who’s been known to fight out of both the orthodox and southpaw stances, fought Spence strictly as a southpaw on that particular night. As a result, the problem-solving ability of the former unified champion was rendered useless.
In a possible rematch, the ball will be in Crawford’s court in terms of the weight class. Spence, ultimately, is hoping that the pound-for-pound star will agree to move things up to the junior middleweight division. If he does, that will play perfectly into the hands of Lubin. Having fought at 154 pounds for the entirety of his career, Lubin would love nothing more than to introduce either man to his weight class.
First things first, of course, Lubin has to wipe the floor with Jesus Ramos. The two are officially slated to square off on September 30th, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ironically enough, both Lubin and Ramos are left-handed fighters. So, with Spence needing to get accustomed to life against someone in the southpaw stance, Lubin believes that the winner of his upcoming bout could give Spence some well-needed target practice.
“Jesus Ramos is a southpaw, I’m a southpaw. I feel like the winner would be in line to definitely get in there with Spence and definitely make it happen.”