By: Sean Crose

Showtime and Premiere Boxing Champions presented a WBC junior middleweight title eliminator Saturday evening with the 22-1 Erickson Lubin taking on the 21-1-1 Terrell Gausha at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena. Both men were looking to move on from their sole losses towards greener pastures. The first round was essentially a feeling out process for the two fighters. Lubin pursued his man in the second, but nothing significant was landed. Things remained slow in round three. Both fighters were too tight to make things interesting, though Lubin seemed to have an edge.

With Gausha not doing much, Lubin continued to look for shots in the fourth. Few clean punches appeared to land in the fifth. By the midway point of the fight, it was clear that it was thus far a battle of hesitation, excessive caution…and virtually no follow through on the part of either fighter. Without a crowd, there were moments of virtual silence. “Don’t get bored in here, bro,” Lubin was told by his corner.

The pace actually began to pick up in the eighth. By the ninth the combatants finally began to engage. There were still long seconds of inaction in the tenth, but Lubin was at least trying to land. Then – out of the blue – Gausha hurt Lubin with a left. Lubin, to his credit, didn’t go down. The eleventh was a close affair that showcased decent action. By the final round, it was clear that Gausha simply didn’t have the consistent sense of urgency required to be truly effective.

Lubin walked away with a UD win by scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 118-110.

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