Reportedly Showtime is nearly set for a 154 lb doubleheader on September 30th with both bouts being for world titles. In the main event, WBC titlist Jermell Charlo would be defending against his mandatory challenger Erickson Lubin. IBF titlist Jarret Hurd would be making a voluntary defense against former belt holder Austin Trout too if the card comes through as planned.
This is a great pair of fights on paper. The proposed main event would be Jermell Charlo’s (29-0, 14 KOs) second title defense and almost certainly his most difficult. Jermell won his belt in a 2015 vacant title win over John Jackson in a fight in which he needed to come from behind to score a stoppage win. His first defense and most recent fight was sixth round stoppage of Charles Hatley in April. He also holds wins over of Gabriel Rosado and Vanes Martirosyan.
Erickson Lubin (18-0, 13 KOs) holds wins against no one similar and on resume alone does not really deserve a title shot, but no one will be complaining. This is because the 21 year old Floridian is widely considered one of the best prospects in all the sport. I am completely sold on Lubin as a future champion and would favor him here against a really good fighter, but it must be noted that this would be an absolutely massive step up. Not knowing for sure how his immense seeming talent will hold up against a good champion is part of the great appeal of this potential matchup.
Like Jermell Charlo, Jarrett Hurd (20-0, 14 KOs) had to rally from behind to win his belt against Tony Harrison in February. Otherwise Hurd holds three good, but not spectacular wins over junior middleweight fringe contenders JoJo Dan, Frank Galarza, and Oscar Molina.
32 year old Austin Trout (30-3, 17 KOs) is most famous for beating Miguel Cotto in 2012 and then fighting well in a competitive loss to Canelo Alvarez the following year, but afterward Erislandy Lara dominated him in his first fight back from the Canelo contest. That night really took some of the shine off his star. The Las Cruces native rebounded with four straight wins against midlevel competition before dropping a title shot to Jermall Charlo last year. Much like the the Canelo fight, this was a close fight, but not really one Austin had much of an argument to have won. I’d slightly favor Austin Trout in this match, but Hurd’s pressure and youth will be an interesting test for a really inactive 32 year old fighter like Trout.
