By John G. Thompson, photo by Peter Heintzelman: John Molina 21-1 (17 KO’s) of Covina, California came back from a significant points deficit to take “Hammerin’” Hank Lundy’s 18-1-1 (10 KO’s) WBO NABO Lightweight belt at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Making his first title defense, Philly’s Hank Lundy boxed effectively for the first seven and a half rounds, then got caught with a punch and put down in the eighth. Lundy survived for a few rounds until Molina finished him in the eleventh. Though Molina’s comeback win was exciting, the battle between local favorite Vladine Biosse 7-0 (4 KO’s) and Lowell, Massachusetts native “Irish” Joe McCreedy 11-5-2 (6 KO’s) might have stolen the show on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fight series.
McCreedy came out the aggressor from start to finish, forcing the action. In the first round Biosse was able to land at will with the jab, while moving effectively so that McCreedy was barely able to land a punch. Irish Joe came out stronger in the second, pressing forward. The third round brought cheers from the crown as Biosse’s counterpunching became highly accurate.. McCreedy pressed forward, backing Biosse into the ropes and landing several hard shots. Biosse turned the tables on McCreedy after a missed punch, and landed several of his own with McCreedy against the ropes. They exchanged at the bell.
McCreedy tried to duck several shots in the fourth, but Biosse chose a good angle from which to throw some left hooks to the face, pressing McCreedy back against the ropes. McCreedy banged his own gloves against his head as if to say, “Come on!” Biosse would have no part of it, and picked off McCreedy’s face with the jab the rest of the round, keeping out of McCreedy’s reach.
There was great action in the sixth, as a shot from Biosse almost knocked out McCreedy’s mouthpiece. Just as Biosse moved in for the kill, McCreedy came back with his best punch of the fight – a hard right to the jaw of Biosse. McCreedy looked tired in the seventh round, but came on strong in the beginning of the eighth and final round. Biosse did what he needed to do by doubling up the jab and staying out of the reach of his opponent in the final minutes. Two judges scored the bout 79-73, and the other 78-74, all for the hometown favorite – Vladine Biosse.
Hank Lundy lost his first bout despite dominating the first seven rounds with effective movement and superior speed. While the punching power edge clearly rested with John Molina, Lundy looked like he would completely outclass Molina throughout the course of the fight. Ringside commentator Teddy Atlas said in the third that it looked like Molina knew his only chance was to wait for Lundy to make a mistake. In the mean time, the southpaw Lundy peppered him with jabs, straight lefts, and the occasional combination.
Ironically, Lundy had made public comments prior to the bout that John Molina was a “dumb boxer.” It was Lundy who appeared the “dumb boxer,” however, after getting overly cocky in the eighth. He began to hold out his head, dropping his gloves to waist level. He continued to land, daring Molina to hit him. Lundy landed a solid right then left and then moved to the side, getting ready to unload on Molina from a new angle. Molina had other plans and dropped Lundy with a right he never saw coming. Lundy got up before the count of six and danced through the rest of the round as well as the next, not letting Molina catch up to him. In the tenth round Lundy began throwing again, though he remained cautious, until the end of the round when both men traded toe to toe. Lundy stuck out his tongue at Molina after the bell and the referee needed to separate them.
Lundy appeared to have shaken off the cobwebs at the start of the eleventh, connecting with jabs to Molina’s face at will. As Molina pressed forward and got Lundy against the ropes, Molina connected with a solid left hook. Lundy grabbed onto the top rope with his right glove and used it to stay up – the referee could easily have counted it as a knockdown. Astonishingly, Lundy continued to hold the top rope with the right, as he tried to duck Molina’s follow-up punches. Two more solid left hooks landed on Lundy’s head before he let go of the rope. The referee then warned Lundy not to hold the ropes. Molina sensed his opponent was injured and pressed forward until Lundy’s back was again to the ropes. Molina then smothered him with shots, staggering him with a right hook, and with Lundy failing to answer, referee Ricky Gonzalez stepped in to stop the bout. Lundy’s corner complained about the stoppage, though the way he was taking shots it seemed only a matter of time.
The sad thing is that the boxer should have won this fight. John Molina, with all his power, was no match for Hank Lundy’s technique. What won the fight for John Molina was discipline. Even though he was losing every round, Molina remained focused. Hank Lundy chose to showboat, and will be regretting that for some time to come. Molina has only one blemish on his record, and that was a decision loss to a descent fighter in Martin Honorio. Molina has now won his last three since then, all by knockout. It will be interesting to see who he’s paired up with next.
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