By Ian S Palmer
There’s a fine 10-round junior middleweight bout on tap this Saturday,June 24th as Erickson Lubin of Orlando, Florida will be taking on Luis Arias of Mkilwaukee, Wisconsin. The fight from Minneapolis, Minnesota can be seen live in America on Showtime. Lubin last fought in April, 2022 when he was after the ninth round of a slugfest against Sebastian Fundora in a shot at the WBC Interim Super Welterweight Belt. Lubin was down in the second round while Fundora was dropped in the seventh. Arias last saw action in May, 2022 when he beat Jimmy Williams by a 10-round unanimous decision. .
The 27-year-old Lubin is a southpaw who has an impressive record of 24-2 with 17 Ko’s. He possesses a fair amount of power in his speedy fists with a current knockout ratio of 65.4 per cent and has 11 stoppages in his last 17 bouts. Lubin, who stands over 5-feet-11-inches tall with a 74.5-inch reach, turned pro in November, 2013 and has 119 rounds of experience under his belt since then. Lubin’s stiffest test came in October, 2017 when he faced Jermell Charlo in a shot at the WBC Jr. Middleweight Title, but was stopped in the very first round.
He then won six fights in a row before running into Fundora last year. He’s beaten the likes of Ishe Smith, Alexis Camacho, Orlando Lora, Norberto Gonzalez, Daniel Sandoval, Ivan Montero, Juan Ubaldo Cabrera and Jorge Cota. He also beat Terrell Gausha by 12-round unanimous decision to capture the vacant WBC Silver Super Welterweight Title in September, 2020 and defended it nine months later by stopping Jeison Rosario in the sixth round.
Lubin is a fine prospect with a lot of potential and is hoping to earn himself another world title shot, making this fight against Arias a must-win. He had plenty of amateur experience and was also a national Golden Gloves Champion as a welterweight in 2013. He also captured the WBC Fecarbox Super Welterweight Title in 2014. With his speed and power he should be able to give it a good shot against Arias.
Arias is 33 years old and has boxed 154 rounds since turning pro in 2012. He enjoyed a fine amateur career with a record of 140-25 and was a national champion in the middleweight division. Arias is the same height as Lubin at 5-foot-11, but unfortunately has an unlisted reach. He’s not known as a power puncher as he has a current knockout ratio of 36 per cent and has gone the distance in his last six contests. He does have a pretty good record though as he’ll climb into the ring with a mark of 20-3-1 with 9 Ko’s.
Arias’ first pro loss came at the hands of Daniel Jacobs in 2017 when he dropped a 12-round unanimous decision. He then fought Gabriel Rosado to a 12-round draw for the interim WBO Latino Middleweight Title in his very next fight. He went three fights without a win as his next outing in August, 2019 saw him lose on points to Luke Keeler. Arias stopped the skid with an impressive 10-round split decision win over former world champion Jarrett Hurd in June, 2021 after being dropped in the ninth round .
His next fight six months later saw him beaten again as he dropped a 10-round split decision to Vaughn Alexander after being deducted a point in the fifth round for using his shoulder. Arias possesses good boxing skills as well as a solid chin but seems to usually fall just short when stepping up in class. His biggest wins have been against Hurd and the likes of Scott Sigmon, Jorge Silva, Tony Brinson, Dionisio Miranda and Darryl Cunningham.
Prediction…
It’s hard to say how much the Fundora fight took out of Lubin as it was quite brutal. In addition, he’s been out of the ring for 14 months now. Arias will likely have some ring rust too though as he hasn’t fought in 11 months. Lubin has the better boxing skills and more power and if he can rebound from the Fundora loss he should be able to get past Arias in another tough contest.
