Photo by Ismael Gallardo
Mauricio “El Maestro” Herrera vs. “Hammerin’” Hank Lundy had all the makings of a fight of the year candidate.
Two fighters who aren’t afraid to mix it up and who have had some bad luck recently in their careers, both who were coming off losses in which they thought they had won, and both in desperate need of a win.
We should have expected some controversy coming into this one, with Herrera and Lundy, it just makes sense.
The fight didn’t even get past the fifth round before a horrible cut above the right eye of Herrera forced the doctor and referee Jack Reiss to stop the fight.
You could have made a case for both fighters to get the technical-decision victory, Lundy controlled the fight early with some big shots that rocked Herrera, and Herrera controlled late by turning it into more of his kind of awkward fight.
When the cards were read it came out 49-48 twice and 48-48 for Mauricio Herrera, who finally was the one who came out on the winning side of controversy.
Lundy immediately screamed controversy and requested a rematch on even grounds, implying Herrera was the “House Fighter,” which he was.
He deserves it, and Herrera should give it to him, knowing exactly what it’s like being on the wrong end of controversy.
Herrera, who improves to 22-5-0, with 7 KOs, gave the impression he had his eyes on a bigger matchup, calling out knockout artist Lucas Matthysse in his post-fight interview.
Matthysse is currently negotiating a fight against Viktor Postol to happen in September for the vacant WBC Super Lightweight title, so a showdown between Herrera and Matthysse wouldn’t be likely until early 2016.
There are plenty of other great fights out there for Herrera at 140 pounds if he decides to not give Lundy the rematch. Let’s take a look at some options for Mauricio Herrera moving forward.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
There’s a bit of a log-jam here at number three, Mauricio Herrera could rightfully seek out a rematch against Jose Benavidez, who beat him by a controversial decision back in December of 2014.
Or, Herrera could elect to face Thomas Dulorme, who lost to Terence Crawford in April 2015 and could be interested in a “Crossroads” fight with Herrera.
But, the most makeable and arguably the most desirable fight for the fans would be against fellow Mexican-American fighter Antonio Orozco (22-0-0, 15 KOs).
Orozco defeated Emmanuel Taylor on May 15, 2015 in impressive fashion, not only getting the clear unanimous decision, but providing the most entertaining fight of a card that was televised on TruTV.
Both guys are also promoted by Golden Boy which clears all political boundaries, and a win over Herrera for Orozco would be enough to set him up for a world-title fight at 140 pounds.
Stylistically it’s a handsome fight, Orozco showed against Taylor that he’s capable of constant pressure, living up to his nickname “Relentless.”
Herrera himself is no stranger to all-action scraps and would welcome the aggression of Orozco with his own solid offensive attack.
It’s a fight that screams “California,” a perfect affair for the StubHub Center in Carson and would make a great co-main event to a bigger fight.
Or the fight could even happen in Vegas on the undercard of Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Alvarez perhaps.
Photo by Doug Pensinger
Lucas Matthysse wasn’t the only name that Mauricio Herrera dropped after his win over Hank Lundy on Saturday night, he also called out tough brawler Ruslan Provodnikov.
This would be a rematch of their first fight from January 2011, a fight that was won by Herrera, and was all action to say the least.
Some even scored the bout, which was televised on ESPN Friday Night Fights, for Provodnikov, including ringside commentator Teddy Atlas.
One would think the “Siberian Rocky” would be interested in revenge on Herrera who he’s seen before, thinks he already beat, and who would bring zero mystery into the ring.
Provodnikov is coming off a loss to Matthysse back in April 2015 in a fight that’s no-brainer fight of the year candidate.
Once again he leaves boxing fans wondering how much gets taken out of him every time he gets into one of these physically battering brawls.
This could be enticing to Herrera, who fought a younger, fresher and less beaten-up Ruslan in the first fight.
Banner Promotions represents Provodnikov and he’s a regular on HBO, it’s politically a makeable fight and unlike Herrera-Orozco it could certainly headline a Boxing After Dark event.
Stylistically we know what it is, great, awesome and amazing. Everything we want to see in a boxing match with the factor of a rematch to a controversial first fight.
Photo by Mikey Williams
Terence Crawford has had just one fight in the Super Lightweight division, a knockout win over Thomas Dulorme back in April. But, you can already make a case for him being the best fighter at 140 pounds.
It’s called the eye test, he looks that good, and he’s currently looking for an opponent for his rumored November return date.
Herrera didn’t immediately call out Crawford the way he did Matthysse and Provodnikov, I don’t know, maybe he didn’t hear Crawford was fighting at 140 pounds now?
I couldn’t say.
But the fact is straight forward fighters like Matthysse and Provodnikov are good matchups for Herrera, while a fight with a slick, defensively-sound and offensively-powerful fighters like Crawford, might be all wrong for Herrera.
There is a question if Crawford would even want the fight. Herrera isn’t really a step-up from his last opponent Dulorme. It’s the type of fight we could see if maybe a few other options fall through for Crawford.
Top Rank’s Bob Arum would like the matchup, a very winnable fight for his guy, while Golden Boy’s Oscar De La Hoya might not be so keen to throwing one of his fighters who just put a check in the win column in with what could be the next great American boxer.
It’s a title fight for Herrera, so you’d think he’d want it. As for Crawford, maybe if fights with Manny Pacquiao, Ruslan Provodnikov, Jessie Vargas and Chris Algieri all fall through, he’d be willing to take on Mauricio Herrera.
You get my point.
Who would you like to see Mauricio Herrera fight next? Please feel free to discuss in our comment section provided below.
Header photo by Tom Casino/Golden Boy Promotions
