PROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 23, 2011) – For those who missed “Hammerin’” Hank Lundy’s first and only professional loss to John Molina eight months ago, don’t plan on catching a repeat performance anytime soon.
“That’s my last loss. I’ll put my life on it,” Lundy said. “‘Hammerin’’ Hank is never losing again.”
Lundy’s bold prediction should come as no surprise to anyone who’s followed his career, which began nearly a decade ago in the streets of Philadelphia and has now taken him to the precipice of a world-title bout in the lightweight division.
The hard-hitting, 135-pounder will look to inch closer to a shot at a major title on Friday, April 1, 2011, when he faces Patrick Lopez (20-3, 12 KOs) for the vacant NABF lightweight championship in the 10-round main event of Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports’ “Coming Attractions” show at Foxwoods Resort Casino’s Fox Theater in Mashantucket, Conn.
Lundy’s showdown against Lopez – a product of Londonderry, N.H., by way of Venezuela – will be the prime showcase on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” broadcast, marking Lundy’s fourth consecutive bout on national television. Vladine Biosse (10-0, 5 KOs) of Providence, R.I., will battle Tim Connors (10-2, 7 KOs) of St. Louis in ESPN2’s 10-round super middleweight co-feature.
After losing his NABO title to Molina last July (also on ESPN2), Lundy returned to network television a month later with a convincing win over Omri Lowther, making good – for now – on his promise to never lose again. The fight in August showcased Lundy’s ring savvy as he outworked Lowther over 10 rounds to earn a 100-90, 98-92, 100-90 unanimous decision victory. He’s predicting a much quicker ending next month against Lopez.
“He comes forward and throws reckless punches. That should make it an easy night for me,” Lundy said. “I’ve matured as a fighter. I say with his kind of recklessness, I should be able to get him out of there. I won’t say what round, but I know I can get him out of there.”
The maturation Lundy refers to these days is the result of his loss to Molina in July. Lundy dominated from the opening bell and led on all three scorecards, but he hit the canvas hard in the eighth round courtesy of a big right hook and ultimately got stopped in the 11th after getting caught against the ropes by a flurry of punches. The knockdown could be attributed to carelessness; Lundy had his hands down and never saw the punch coming. The controversial stoppage had more to do with Lundy’s inability to keep the fight in the center of the ring, a strategy he knew he had to stick to in order to win.
To this day, Lundy disputes the stoppage, but has ultimately used the loss as a lesson for future fights.
“You have to realize this is a business and that it’s your life you’re playing with,” Lundy said. “I had the fight won – hands down. He caught me; I admit that. At the end of the day, Molina is supposed to be this hard puncher, but when he caught me with that shot I got right back up and continued to beat him.
“The ref took that fight from me. To this day, people still ask me, ‘When’s he going to fight you again?’ Right after the fight, [Molina’s promoter] Dan Goossen came into my locker room and said, ‘They shouldn’t have stopped it.’ I asked him about a rematch and he said, ‘Are you crazy?’ That’s the best fight I ever fought, but it was a lesson learned. ‘Hammerin’’ Hank beat himself. Molina didn’t beat me.”
With Molina scheduled to fight up-and-comer Sharif Bogere on Showtime, a rematch against Lundy doesn’t appear to be in the cards, so Lundy is ready to move on to the next challenge, which could include a showdown against one of the titlists in the 135-pound weight class, all of whom Lundy is willing to face.
“‘Hammerin’’ Hank doesn’t need John Molina,” Lundy said. “I’d love to fight him. That day [in July], I was sick as a dog. I know John Molina can’t beat no Hank Lundy, but he has a mental block in the back of his mind. He knows he’s not the real champion. He hasn’t fought since then and still has the belt. I thought you had to defend the belt.
“I’ll fight anybody. This is in my blood,” he continued. “I see these guys at 135 and they can’t touch a hungry ‘Hammerin’’ Hank. Brad Solomon just fought on ESPN. We were supposed to fight [in January of 2010], but he couldn’t get down to 135. From what I saw, I’m not impressed. He’s not busy enough for ‘Hammerin’’ Hank. I heard [undefeated WBA world champion] Brandon Rios is calling me out. They were asking, ‘Who is this kid Hank Lundy? We’ll take him as a tune-up fight.’ ‘Hammerin’’ Hank is no one’s tune-up fight. You can make the fight if you want, but I’ll take that belt.”
Until then, the next belt Lundy is concentrating on is the NABF title, which is up for grabs April 1 at Foxwoods. From there, it’s anybody’s guess as to who he’ll fight next, but the self-proclaimed “Mr. Excitement” could be coming to another major network real soon.
“I don’t fight unless there’s TV!” Lundy said. “I want all the networks and all the fans to know that you need a fighter who’s willing to fight everybody and anybody. Most of these fake champions don’t want to fight anybody. That’s not boxing. You’re not supposed to hide. That’s why most of these guys get exposed when they get to the top. They don’t fight anybody. After my first loss, I knew how it felt, and I don’t ever want to have that feeling again.”
The undercard of “Coming Attractions” features middleweight Thomas Falowo (2-0, 2 KOs) of Pawtucket, R.I.; and super middleweight Greg McCoy (2-2-1, 1 KO), lightweight Christian Lao (0-0), middleweight Elvin Ayala (21-5-1, 9 KOs), welterweight Dominic DeSanto (5-0, 5 KOs) and middleweight Rick Dawson (2-0, 1 KO) of New Haven in separate bouts.
Tickets for “Coming Attractions” are priced at $40, $65 and $105 (ringside) and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254 or the Foxwoods box office at 800.200.2882, or online at www.cesboxing.com or www.foxwoods.com. For more information, visit www.cesboxing.com or www.foxwoods.com. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7.