It is far too rare in boxing when two up-and-coming, top prospects are actually willing to a risk a loss by facing each other for an average purse and the chance to make a statement in their division. But this week?s ?Friday Night Fights? on ESPN2 presents us with a contest between two rising, one-loss lightweights in a clash of styles that will put the winner in position to challenge for a world title.
Lightweights Hank Lundy and Dannie Williams are no strangers to lofty expectations. Lundy was shooting up the rankings until an 11th round stoppage loss to John Molina in 2010 derailed his shot at a title while Williams was considered a top prospect when he turned pro in 2005, promoted by Don King and managed by James Prince before running into trouble outside the boxing ring.
Williams, a St. Louis native, was always seen as a special talent but did not always take the sport as seriously as one must to be truly great. He told Maxboxing early last year, ?I was trying to mix boxing with the street stuff; I wasn?t focused all the way.? That lack of focus lead to a 10-round decision loss to Eloy Perez in September 2009. Despite dropping Perez twice early, Williams faded late and it was Perez who remained undefeated.
It was in 2010 when Williams realized that things had to change if he were to ever reach his true potential. The major change was leaving St. Louis and heading to Youngstown, Ohio to train with Jack Loew.
Lundy came to boxing at a later age. After problems in Philadelphia during his youth, he moved in with an aunt in North Carolina who, Lundy said, ?showed me there was more out there than just the corner.? After returning to Philadelphia and playing high school football, Lundy found himself in a street fight- and getting the worst of it. He recalled how he used a Roy Jones Jr. move by throwing a punch off to the side before coming through with a straight left hand, knocking his adversary out cold. The next day, at age 18, Hank Lundy first entered a boxing gym. ?It was like coming home; I came into my own.?
Lundy quickly rose up the amateur rankings before turning pro at 22 but, like Nate Campbell once said, ?You can?t feed a family with trophies.? By 2010, Lundy was 18-0-1 and facing Molina. A win would bring him very close to a world title shot and Lundy had no doubt that his faster hands and superior movement would rule the fight. And he was right.
Until the eighth round.
While throwing a punch, Lundy raised his chin and provided an easy target for a Molina counter right which sent Lundy down hard, changing everything. Three rounds later, Molina would back Lundy to the ropes and force the stoppage that to this day Lundy still feels was premature.
Loew and Williams quickly developed a strong relationship in Youngstown. Loew told Maxboxing that Williams was best thing to walk in the Southside Gym since Kelly Pavlik and Williams referred to Loew as ?Pops.? Everything was smooth sailing in 2011 until July 1st, when Williams squared off against Oscar Cuero in the parking lot of the Covelli Center in Youngstown. Williams won an ugly 10-round decision and was disappointed with his performance, telling Maxboxing, ?I give myself a D.?
While Williams was disappointed, Loew was livid. Later that evening, with a small group having a couple beers, Loew?s intentions were clear. From now on, they were doing it his way.
Talking to Lundy on Monday after the fight, you couldn?t tell he had lost. As upbeat as ever, he said the loss just motivated him more and wanted to get back in the ring as soon as possible. Just seven weeks later, Lundy traveled to Montreal and scored a lopsided decision over once-beaten Omri Lowther.
At that point, promotional and managerial strife kept Lundy out of the ring for eight months before scoring a unanimous decision over Patrick Lopez in April 2011. In August, he returned to ESPN to face former champ David Diaz, when was dropped in the fourth round but rallied to cut, then knock out Diaz.
Whatever Jack Loew and Dannie Williams did between July 1st and August 12th worked, as Williams scored a devastating knockout of Antonio Cervantes on ESPN just six weeks following the debacle in Youngstown. It?s not that he beat the overmatched Cervantes, it?s how he beat him, practicing all the things Loew had been preaching for months. Following the KO, Loew looked as pleased after a fight since Kelly won his title.
Since then, Williams has won two bouts, neither against very tough competition, and Loew felt it was time to move up. It was just getting too hard for Williams to stay motivated fighting less than stellar foes.
So the stage was set for both Williams and Lundy to make a huge step forward. Given that neither fighter is represented by the big two promotional outfits, the fight wasn?t difficult to make. And within minutes of the deal being made, the trash talk started. Press releases proclaiming the bold statements such as, ?I?m going to hurt you. You?re going to feel what real pain is about,? by Lundy. Williams responding, ?I hurt guys I fight. Lundy can talk all he wants but that?s going to happen to him too.?
But this fight doesn?t need any talk to make it intriguing. This is not one guy on the way up against a washed-up damaged fighter like Demetrius Andrade vs. Angel Hernandez. Nor is it today?s hot prospect building a record against yet another overmatched opponent. No, this fight is between two guys who, right now, are fighting better than ever. Two fighters with a lot to gain and a lot to lose.
It?s also a classic match up between boxer and puncher. Lundy has faced the better opposition recently but also tasted the canvas in doing so. Williams has looked good but hasn?t faced any one with Lundy?s hand speed and movement. Lundy is not afraid to fight on the inside when he feels he has to, so Williams will have his opportunities. The Williams camp feels that Lundy will have to get it right all fight to win. Williams, the puncher, just needs to get it right once.
