Erickson Lubin and Terrell Gausha are once again in each other’s way.
A junior middleweight crossroads bout that never saw that light of day last October has been repurposed as part of a stacked Showtime lineup that includes more than 25 televised fights over the next five months. Lubin and Gausha will now have the chance to renew their rivalry, as they will square off atop a September 19 tripleheader live on Showtime from Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The show will feature Mongolia’s Tugstsogt Nyambayar (11-1, 9 KOs), who looks to rebound from a featherweight title fight loss to Gary Russell earlier this year. The 2012 Olympic Silver medalist and current featherweight contender will face Mexico’s Eduardo Ramirez (23-2-3, 10 KOs) in a 12-round title eliminator—with the winner to become the mandatory challenger to Russell’s title.
Opening the telecast is one of the sport’s brightest prospects. Philadelphia’s Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis will graduate from the ShoBox circuit to Showtime Championship Boxing series in a welterweight bout versus an opponent to be determined.
Orlando’s Lubin (22-1, 16KOs) suffered his lone defeat in a bid for Jermell Charlo’s 154-pound title, suffering a stunning 1st round knockout defeat. The 24-year old southpaw has since won four straight, the last three of which have come under the watchful eye of head trainer Kevin Cunningham in addition to his career-long trainer Jason Galarza.
The last win for Lubin came on the night he was originally due to face Gausha, who had to withdraw from their October 26 clash after suffering a hand injury. Lubin went on to face Nathaniel Gallimore, whom he clearly outboxed over 10 rounds in their Showtime main event.
Gausha has been out of the ring since fighting to a 10-round draw with former 154-pound titlist Austin Trout. Like Lubin, Gausha—a 2012 U.S. Olympian—suffered his lone career defeat in a title bid. In fact, it came on the same show as Lubin’s loss to Charlo, with Gausha dropping a 12-round decision to Erislandy Lara in their October 2017 title fight.
At stake in the main event is a mandatory title shot. The winner will not only sit pretty in the contender slot, but will also have the luxury of waiting out a mouthwatering multi-belt unification clash between Charlo and Jeison Rosario, which takes place one week later as part of a monster six-fight split bill Pay-Per-View event.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
