Erickson “The Hammer” Lubin admits he’s still learning. The 5-foot-11, 20-year-old southpaw moved to 14-0, with 10 Kos, after going 10 rounds for the first time, beating tough veteran Jose De Jesus Macias (18-6-2, 9 KOs) on Sunday night at the Seminole Casino in Immokalee, Florida, winning 100-89 (2) and 99-90 on the scorecards.
“I was satisfied, but I could have done better taking (Macias) out of there,” Lubin said following his first Premier Boxing Champions main event. “He’s very rugged and very durable. He’s very herky-jerky. He holds his head kind of weird, and I tried to counter off of it with big shots. I had stay poised and use my jab. I worked my jab a lot. I think I learned that I could go 10 rounds and dominate the whole fight. I also learned patience and that I don’t have to go for the knockout every time. Macias was very good at not showing he was hurt. That was challenging and I’m glad that I went the distance. It’s the first time I went the full 10 rounds. I needed patience and something had to show tonight. I had to remain calm so I didn’t get caught with anything stupid.”
Lubin wants to fight often this year. He said would have given himself a ‘B’ grade, because he felt he could have stopped Macias.
“Next time, with people that are herky-jerky like that, I’ll know what better to do next time,” Lubin admitted. “You’re always learning. He was tougher than I thought. It was a little different than most of my fights but it’s good experience. I’m happy to get 10 rounds in. I just want to keep moving on from here and moving forward. I want to move up the ladder.”
Macias came away impressed by Lubin.
“He was a strong fighter and he moved very well,” Macias said. “I was able to handle everything he had and I thought I was in the fight. He has a lot of power. He’s not the best guy I’ve faced but he did enough to get the win tonight.”
On the undercard, there was a mild surprise when welterweight southpaw Joseph Elegele (15-2, 11 KOs) won by sixth-round KO over 2004 Puerto Rican Olympian Alex “El Pollo” De Jesus (21-2, 13 KOs). Elegele rocked De Jesus numerous times before dropping him at the end of the third round. He finally stopped De Jesus at :56 of the sixth, after De Jesus rose to his feet and collapsed again.
“I felt good out there,” Elegele said. “I did my thing. I told everybody that I was going to stop this guy and that’s what I did. I doubled my left hand and I knew I hurt him. He couldn’t take any more shots so I finished him. I want to fight someone in the top 15. I want to compete with the best. It’s my time.”
In the opening bout, featherweight prospect Dennis Galarza (12-1, 8 KOs) beat Samual Amaoko (21-6, 15 KOs) by an eight-round unanimous decision.
“My opponent was very tough,” Galarza said. “We fought eight hard rounds with a veteran. I wanted to get him out of there but we stayed patient and stuck to the game plan. I’m getting better every time out there. It’s my second time going eight rounds and soon I’ll be ready for ten rounds anyone that wants to get in there with me.”
Amaoko thought it was closer than he was given credit for.
“I went out and gave it my all,” Amaoko said. “I thought it was closer and that I was landing some shots with more power. He is a very good fighter but I fought well and tried to get the win.”
Light heavyweight Dyah Davis (23-4-1, 10 KOs), son of the late Howard Davis, scored a second round KO over Edgar Perez (6-18, 3 KOs).
Joseph Santoliquito is the president of the Boxing Writer's Association of America and a frequent contributor to Sherdog.com's mixed martial arts and boxing coverage. His archive can be found here.