Photo by Tom Casino
There aren’t too many fighters in boxing these days who you could consider a throwback, but “Hammerin” Hank Lundy (25-4, 12 KOs) is definitely one of them.
Just last month, Lundy fought on HBO, taking on Thomas Dulorme at 140 pounds in a fight which Lundy provided most of the excitement. Although he wasn’t awarded the close split-decision, the vibe on Twitter and other social media sites was that he had won the approval of the fans.
I was surprised when I heard he accepted the fight against Petr Petrov, winner of the 2014 ESPN Boxcino Lightweight Tournament, on just roughly two week’s notice and a mere one month after his loss to Dulorme. But Lundy thought nothing of it.
“I wouldn’t have taken the fight if I didn’t think I could make the weight but that’s just me, that’s just Hammerin’ Hank,” he told me in an interview on Friday morning.
Lundy wasn’t able to make the weight limit of 135 pounds at yesterday’s weigh in, coming in four pounds over. Unfortunately for boxing fans that have been looking forward to this exciting co-main feature that was scheduled for ESPN’s Friday Night Fights this evening from The Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York, no agreement could be reached and the fight had to be cancelled, declining the overall quality of the televised card.
Here’s what Lundy had to say when I caught up with him about the situation this morning:
Round By Round Boxing: Hank, thanks for taking the time to talk to me. I’m sorry to hear about the fight being cancelled. You came in four pounds overweight, would you like to talk about what happened, why you weren’t able to make weight?
Hank Lundy: Well you know at the end of the day people have to take into consideration that I only had 10 days to get ready for the fight, you know? When you only have a month between fights, you go back in the gym working on stuff, but you might not have the time to be working on weight. Also we weren’t happy with the scale at the weigh in, the official scale should have been a digital scale but you know, once again I stepped in on 10 day’s notice, I dropped a lot of weight and got it down as low as I could but they made a big deal and put up a big fuss about it.
RBRBoxing: I was having a conversation about it this morning on Twitter and it seemed like if they wanted the fight they could have made it, did they attempt to negotiate at all with your team in order to make the fight happen?
HL: No, they wanted out of the fight that’s all, I offered to give up half my purse, you know that’s $10,000 dollars right there, and with that they were gonna keep the belt. They just didn’t want to fight. I wanted to fight.
RBRBoxing: Hank this fight was supposed to be at 135, your last fight was at 140. Do you want to campaign at Lightweight moving forward?
HL: Yeah, I’m going right back to 135 you know, I just needed more time to make weight after coming back from 140. They made a big stink out of 10 days, how do you make weight in 10 days? I tried, you know, I almost did it, but 10 days to make 135? I think I did a hell of a job trying to do it. I guess because I’m Hammerin’ Hank you know, they feel as though I should have made it but at the end of the day it’s 10 day’s notice.
RBRBoxing: Hank, it’s so uncommon these days for a fighter to fight twice in a month, that’s some real throwback shit. Do you consider yourself a throwback?
HL: Well, that’s what I am you know, a throwback fighter. I wouldn’t have taken this fight if I didn’t think I could make the weight but that’s just me, that’s just Hammerin’ Hank. I’m not built like these other fighters you know, they tuck their tail and run they act like females, man. At the end of the day I’m a real fighter, I’m ready to go.
RBRBoxing: So I just wanted to ask one more question. Let’s talk about what’s out there at 135. [Jorge] Linares, [Mickey] Bey, and [Richar] Abril all have belts, Darley Perez holds an interim title that he just defended on ESPN2. Do any of these names stand out above the rest as someone you’d like to fight next?
HL: Man I am interested in fighting Petrov because I want him bad now, since he pulled this stunt I want him bad. Give me the proper time, I want to fight him next, you know? I want to teach him a lesson. I guarantee that fight don’t go no more than three rounds. Give me that fight I want him next, then I want whoever. I already got a win over Richie Abril, I’ll beat his ass again, you know? Linares has the WBC, I was supposed to fight January 31st against some other guy for that mandatory so I can fight for the title, so you know, I’m ready!
