Born on October 1, 1995 in Orlando, Florida, Erickson Lubin is a junior middleweight boxer who is known for being strong mentally and physically, along with possessing sharp technique. A fighter in the classic boxer-puncher mold, he can deliver powerful shots from both hands, and both technicians and analysts appreciate how he attacks the body, which can sometimes seem like a lost art.

Lubin went to boxing gyms with his older brother when he was only 3-years-old, and soon he too was training. He first fought as an amateur when he was 8, and when he started training under Jason Galarza at 13, he didn’t lose another amateur fight. He amassed an amateur record of 143-7 and won the junior Olympics twice, and his skill had many in the USA Boxing program picking him as a future Olympic gold medalist. He surprised USA Boxing when he instead decided to turn pro at just 18, signing with Iron Mike Promotions. USA Boxing president Charles Butler was so upset by this that he wrote Mike Tyson an open letter claiming that the former heavyweight champion interfered with Olympic process, although Tyson says that it was the young boxer’s own choice to turn professional.

His first fight came on November 26, 2013 against Eric De Jesus, and Lubin showed that he was definitely ready for the big leagues as he scored a KO in the very first round. His first three fights were all dominant first round stoppages. His fourth opponent, Tirobio Ball, made it to the third round before losing by TKO, while his fifth opponent, Jovan Ramirez, lost via second-round KO.

It wasn’t until fight number six that Erickson Lubin saw the scorecards for the first time, and he defeated Noe Bolanos by unanimous decision after eight rounds of action. He followed that up by beating down Francisco Javier Reza and stopping him after just one round.

While Lubin fought primarily lower-level opponents throughout the beginning of his career, the young fighter stayed very active, as he fought seven times in 2014, with one of those fights coming just 15 days after his previous fight. Most importantly, he won every fight and he did so in dominant fashion.

After running his record to 11-0, Erickson Lubin got one of the first tests of his young career when he fought Orlando Lora, a game fighter who had challenged several top-ranked boxers over the years, albeit in losing efforts. Lubin showed his star potential in that fight, as he easily dispatched Lora with a sixth-round TKO. He closed out 2015 with another TKO, this one over Alexis Camacho in the second round.

2016 was another big year for the boxer known as “The Hammer” for his punching power. He started off with a unanimous decision win over Jose De Jesus Macias on January 31, 2016. He scored a third-round TKO over Daniel Sandoval in June, then fought again in July and won a unanimous decision over Ivan Montero. He again finished the year with a bang, knocking out Juan Ubaldo Cabrera in the second round, which resulted in ESPN naming him its 2016 prospect of the year.