Lubin vows to “shut everyone up” against Vergil Ortiz Jr.

Erickson Lubin says he wants to “shut everybody up” with his performance against WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. on November 8 at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

Silence the critics

‘The Hammer’ Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) sees this fight as his opportunity to take the #1 spot in the 154-lb division by defeating the King of the division, Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) to dethrone.

Ortiz Jr.-Lubin will be broadcast on DAZN on November 8. The event begins at 8:00 PM ET. In the co-feature, lightweight contender Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield faces veteran Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr.

“My job is to go out on November 8 and shut up everybody” said Lubin MillCity Boxing about his fight against Ortiz. “All that talk means nothing. What matters is that I’m going against Vergil Ortiz.

As you can see, Erickson is tired of hearing all the criticism he’s received on social media about his past losses and his slim chances of beating Vergil Jr. on November 8 to beat.

You can’t blame the fans for viewing him as Ortiz’s scapegoat for the time being. He has dominated, and his last two wins over Israil Madrimov and Serghii Bohachuk have shown how tough he can be. He went through a lot of adversity to achieve those victories.

‘The hammer’ strikes back

“I’m not worried about the past. I’m going to fix those losses. That’s what makes you a killer. Some people will tear it down. We’re going there to determine who’s the best in the division. They got Vergil Ortiz #1 in the 154-lb division,” Erickson said.

As Lubin Vergil Jr. beat, he’ll line himself up to challenge WBC junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora to avenge his ninth-round stoppage loss from 2022. He’ll hold onto the WBC interim belt with a win over Ortiz Jr., and that’s the golden ticket to a rematch with ‘The Towering Inferno’.

I don’t see much hope for Lubin to get a chance to avenge his first round knockout loss to Jermell Charlo from October 14, 2017. He hasn’t fought in two years since his loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2023. If he ever comes back, it will be to get the biggest paydays he can get. It’s not going to be against Erickson.

Path Back to top

“Beating a guy like that would solidify me as the top guy. With the resume I have, it’s going to put me in the top spot,” says Lubin.

It depends on how Erickson defeats Vergil Jr. If he chooses to box like he did in his win over Jesus Ramos, and barely take a decision, he’s not going to be pushed to the #1 spot at 154. You have to do more than that.

Lubin must Vergil Jr. dominate, or knock him out, because there are other top men like Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, Israil Madrimov and Bakhram Murtazaliev that he will have to do better.

By Sean Jones – Senior boxing writer, covering the sport since 2016.