Erickson "Hammer" Lubin (22-1) is on the cusp of getting a second chance at a world title. In 2017 Lubin was caught cold and stopped with a single punch by WBC junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo in Brooklyn, New York.
Last week WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman told BoxingScene.com's Keith Idec that Lubin must win a final eliminator to become Charlo's mandatory challenger.
"He's not the mandatory contender," Sulaiman said. "The WBC was going to order Lubin to fight (Tony) Harrison as a final eliminator 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."
Lubin is currently working with his trainer Kevin Cunningham at his headquarters in South Florida as they await notification of who wiill be their opponent.
"Erickson Lubin is the most avoided fighter in the junior middleweight division. Hammer is the WBC #1 ranked contender. Charlo says he doesn’t want to give Lubin a rematch. Charlo took care business against Hammer in their first fight so props to him. When the rematch happens Charlo will be facing a totally different fighter," Cunningham told BoxingScene.com.
Cunningham said that even though a mandatory title shot is at stake, it has been hard to secure an opponent for the 24-year-old Lubin.
"WBC president Sulaiman told Boxingscene that Lubin has to beat one of the top rated guys in a WBC title eliminator. Hammer’s ready to take out anyone ranked in the WBC top 5 to earn another shot at Charlo. Let’s see who steps up to face Hammer in the eliminator. We’ve heard a lot of excuses from some of the other guys in the division. So it looks like to me, Hammer’s the boogie man of the junior middleweight division," said Cunningham.
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