Erickson Lubin was filled with confidence. And what better way to exert that than by applying a verbal shot-before being sure he would make Nathaniel Gallimore pay again for his arrogance.
“Come on!” Lubin yelled at Gallimore as the final seconds ticked away in the sixth round of Saturday night’s 154-pound main event on the Showtime Boxing: Special Edition show from the Santander Arena in Reading, Pa.
Then, Lubin thumped Gallimore with a straight left through his high guard that landed on his face.
“The Hammer” let his hands do the talking the rest of the fight, claiming his third victory of 2019, and going 10 rounds for the first time in three years in securing a unanimous decision over Gallimore by the identical 99-91 scores of judges Lynne Carter, Adam Friscia and Kevin Morgan.
The victory also marked the fourth-straight win for Lubin (22-1, 16 KOs) since a devastating first-round knockout loss to Jermell Charlo in October 2017.
“I felt confident, I felt like he was getting tired and breaking down a little bit, so wanted to discourage him and take him out of his game,” Lubin said about the sixth-round punch that arrived after his verbal jab.
“I wanted to be the bully. Usually, (Gallimore) is the bully. I wanted to take him off his game plan and I think I did.”
Lubin landed 137/471 (29%) total punches, 46/256 jabs (18%) and 91/215 power shots (42%). Lubin almost doubled Gallimore’s 66/419 (16%) punch total.
“I had a tremendous training camp thanks to Kevin Cunningham,” Lubin said. “At first, we had Terrell Gausha but he fell out due to an injury. I appreciate Gallimore for stepping up to the plate. He gave me a tough fight and I appreciate it. We gave the fans what they wanted. I measured him. I just timed him and I was able to land my power shows.
“Kevin is a real strict trainer and he’s a southpaw specialist. We just improving our game very camp. I definitely want Jermell Charlo again. My goal is to get revenge. I thought I boxed really well. We stuck to the game plan.
At times, Gallimore didn’t know what to do with Lubin. One moment he was there, then was somewhere else in the ring.
“Lubin was slick and I just couldn't get my punches off,” Gallimore admitted. “He was the better man tonight but I will be back and better. I was never hurt during the fight. We bumped legs a couple times and he was able to land a couple shots while I was off balance. It's always difficult to fight a southpaw.”
"I could have done more but I kept fighting to the end just like I always will. It just wasn't my night.”
With around 2:10 left in the third, Gallimore nailed Lubin with a powerful right. The shot appeared to encourage Gallimore’s corner and it motivated the Chicago fighter to become braver.
Gallimore was rocked by a Lubin right hook with 2:32 left in the fourth. Gallimore was getting caught from seemingly everything Lubin was throwing-and walking right into Lubin’s straight left.
The fourth was Lubin’s best, to that point of the fight. Gallimore, however, had to get a few taunts in as the bell ended the round.
In the fifth, Lubin showed great footwork, puzzling Gallimore by dancing around him. Lubin entered the sixth for the first time since July 2016.
With just over 2:00 left in the sixth, Lubin dropped a left to Gallimore’s body. Lubin was controlling the fight with his jab, but he also worked well up and down, landing equally to the body as he did to the head. In the last :10, Lubin smashed Gallimore (21-4-1, 17 KOs), then punctuated the round with the emphatic “Come on!” before landing a straight left at the end of the round.
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