“Hammerin Hank is back at 135 and he’s stronger than ever” says an animated Hank Lundy. When the man from Philadelphia is pressed for his future ambitions, there is only one goal, a lightweight world title.
It was in an encounter with the high school bully, when an uppercut left the other guy asleep, that Hank first realized that he could fight. Soon enough, his uncle had him down the boxing gym. And so Lundy embarked on what proved to be a successful amateur career. Highlights included a silver medal at the 2005 national golden gloves and representing the United States at the Pan-Am championships.
In 2006, Lundy turned pro signing with Jimmy Burchfield and Classic Entertainment sports. Fighting primarily out of New England, Lundy blitzed through his early fights which soon earned him a fearsome reputation. His brave and aggressive fighting style makes him incredibly entertaining to watch and it wasn’t long before the big time came calling.
After several defenses of his NABF title, he earned a fight with Raymundo Beltran. He acquitted himself well but lost a hard fought majority decision. This earned him a clash with the feared Viktor Postol. “When my promoter comes to me and asks if I want a hard fight or an easier option, I take the hard one every time” says Lundy. He took the unbeaten Postol the distance but lost on points on enemy turf.
The nearly man of the lightweight division, Lundy had his shot once before. In a relatively brief but exciting clash with Terrence Crawford, the ref jumped in in the 5th round and stopped the fight. It was a fight that Lundy feels was stopped too early “as soon as it looked like I was in trouble the ref stopped it” he explains , “they knew once hammerin Hank comes back it’s over, let me go out on my shield!”.
The loss was a tough pill to swallow for the fiercely competitive Lundy. However, soon enough he bounced back. He won the UBF world title in a unanimous decision victory over John Delperdang which he then backed up with a knockout victory over Daniel Evangalista Jr in his hometown of Philadelphia. Hank Hammerin Lundy is very much back and he means business.
His thoughts now turn to another world title shot. True to his fearless nature, Lundy doesn’t care who he fights, he just wants a world title. One option is Mikey Garcia, who is scheduled for a blockbuster clash with Adrien Broner at the end of the month. Lundy confidently says “I’ll beat them both, nobody wants it with hammerin Hank, everyone is running scared of me”.
One name that provoked a particularly impassioned response from Lundy was current WBO lightweight world champion Terry Flanagan. The unbeaten Englishmen won his title off Jose Zepeda and has subsequently defended it five times. “I love that fight” says Lundy “I’ve been calling for that fight for a long time”. He isn’t afraid to travel either and has no problem going to the UK to fight. Lundy has stern words for the relatively untested Brit, “Flanagan, I’ll come to fight you in your hometown and I guarantee that I’ll take your title back home with me”.
