By Jake Donovan
The common theme found in any conversation regarding Hank Lundy is that he's the prototypical Philly fighter, through and through. An old-school mentality and fan-friendly fighting style, Lundy is a true throwback fighter who remains ready for anything thrown his way.
It was in that spirit in which he gladly accepted assignment as a very late replacement to face lightweight hopeful Petr Petrov this weekend at Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York (Friday, ESPN2 9:00pm ET).
The opportunity comes barely six weeks following his narrow points loss to Thomas Dulorme in Brooklyn, New York. The bout—which served as the opening leg of an HBO-televised tripleheader—took place at the 140 lb. division, but Lundy is fit to fight at that weight or the 135 lb. lightweight division, which is where Friday's fight will take place.
"They think they're catching me off guard," Lundy (25-4-1, 12KOs) said. "I just fought December 6th on HBO and put on one hell of a performance. I'm looking forward to coming back to ESPN and doing the same thing.”
Petrov (35-4-2, 17KOs)—who is trained by Joel Diaz—comes in on the heels of the best stretch of his career. Three wins led to the 31-year old from Russia, claiming top honors in ESPN2's Boxcino 2014 Lightweight tournmant, capped by an 8th round knockout of Fernando Carcamo in the finals last May.
The loss to Dulorme snapped a three-fight win streak for Lundy. More important than wins, however, is the fact that he remains active in the ring.
"After that fight in December, I left with no bruises. I wish I could say the same for my opponent. I think he left with a broken jaw," Lundy said. "At the end of the day it's back to the drawing board. I shook the rust off and got right back in the gym and continued training.
"This is my job. I learned from Bernard Hopkins to stay on your job and stay on your craft."
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
