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Erickson Lubin Ardreal Holmes IBF Title Eliminator: Rights Secured at Purse Bid
NEWS
Jake Donovan
Jake Donovan
RingMagazine.com
Erickson Lubin-Ardreal Holmes IBF Title Eliminator: Rights Secured at Purse Bid
Erickson Lubin’s next fight was secured by one of his longest alliances in the sport.

ProBox TV outbid Salita Promotions by just $5,000 to win the rights to the IBF-ordered junior middleweight title fight with Ardreal Holmes Jr. The Garry Jonas-headed company submitted a $225,000 offer, while Salita Promotions—founded by former 140-pound contender Dmitry Salita, Holmes’ promoter—bid $220,000 during Tuesday’s hearing.

Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs) is due $135,000 from his entitled 60-percent share of the purse as the higher-ranked contender. The former title challenger from Orlando, Florida is IBF’s No. 3 junior middleweight. Holmes (17-0, 6 KOs)—a 6’2” southpaw from Flint, Michigan—is ranked No. 7 and will earn $90,000 from the remaining 40-percent.

A date and location were not immediately provided as this goes to publication. The fight must take place within 90 days of Tuesday's hearing, per the terms of the purse bid.

Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) and its affiliated promoters have represented Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs) since the company’s 2015 inception. Jonas’ involvement stems all the way back to his co-manager role in Lubin’s career ahead of his Nov. 2013 pro debut.

Salita has promoted each of Holmes’ fights since 2017 and has regularly showcased him on the company’s Big Time Boxing USA series on DAZN.

The winner of the ordered fight will become the mandatory challenger for Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs), The Ring’s No. 3 junior middleweight and current IBF titleholder. The unbeaten Russian is entitled to a voluntary title defense in the interim.

Lubin, 29, has not fought since a Sept. 2023 twelve-round, unanimous decision win over then-unbeaten Jesus Ramos Jr. in Las Vegas. The bout was sanctioned as a WBA title eliminator. However, Lubin was bumped out of contention, as well as The Ring’s top ten, due to inactivity.

Holmes has remained active but still faces a considerable step up in class against Lubin. The 30-year-old contender earned three victories in 2024. He went the full ten-round distance in each of his last two fights, both of which took place at Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan.

Lubin has won eight of his past nine starts since his lone career title fight. That moment ended in a stunning first-round knockout loss to then-unbeaten Jermell Charlo, who held the WBC 154-pound title at the time of their Oct. 2017 meeting at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The lone defeat over that seven-plus year period was an April 2022 ninth-round stoppage the hands of then=undefeated Sebastian Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) for the interim WBC 154-pound title. Fundora has since emerged as The Ring’s No. 4 junior middleweight and the current WBC/WBO titleholder.

Jake Donovan is part of the U.S. team for The Ring. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.

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