Erickson Lubin gave Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman a hell of an act to follow.
On the televised undercard of the Thurman vs. Garcia fight, Lubin showed fantastic power in his first 12-round fight by knocking out Jorge Cota in a WBC super welterweight title eliminator.
Lubin had been getting the slight edge throughout the fight, leading in all three judges' scorecards, but it wasn?t until the fourth round of the fight that he was setting up for a flashy knockout. Lubin popped a squat in the middle of the ring before hitting Cota with a left hook to send him to the canvas.
?I baited him with the jab,? Lubin said. ?I knew he was going to come with the big shots early. I put a few tricks on him, I landed that overhand right and it was night-night. I put my hands down to bait him in, I did a squat and then it was night-night. I was ready to follow-up with a right but he was already out.?
Although Cota got up, he was still dazed and confused from the hit and the referee stopped the fight, setting Lubin up for a world title shot, which could potentially make him the youngest world champion in boxing today.
?That would mean a lot to me; that would mean a lot to Orlando, Florida,? Lubin said. ?This is my second time knocking someone out in front of Sugar Ray Leonard. He?s one of my favorite fighters of all time. It?s an honor to do this on CBS.?
Lubin remains undefeated as a professional boxer while Cota suffered his second defeat in his professional career. By winning this fight, Lubin is next in line to challenge Jermell Charlo for the WBC belt. Charlo is defending his belt against Charles Hatley at unspecified date after Oscar Escandon suffered a back injury right before he was set to challenge Gary Russell Jr. for the WBC featherweight title on March 11. Charlo?s fight was on the co-main event of that card, but the injury postponed the entire card.