‘Hammerin’ Hank Lundy Interview on WBC ESPN Vegas Bout: I’m A Dangerous Fighter!
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
By his own words, Henry “Hammerin’ Hank” Lundy is still a dangerous fighter. This Saturday night, on May 22, 2022, in the televised preliminary to the main event on ESPN, a confident Lundy, 31-8-1 with 14 knockouts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, age 37, will challenge for the World Boxing Council Silver Super Lightweight title against top rated contender Jose Zepeda, 33-2 with 26 knockouts, La Puente, California, in a scheduled 10 rounder, at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In will be the first time in 41 professional bouts in a 15 years career which began with a first round stoppage of Steve Thomas in July 2006 in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, that Lundy has traveled to Las Vegas to fight a challenger in the center of the boxing storm. Zepeda holds wins over Ivan Baranchyk and Jose Pedraza, but is 0-2 with two no contests against other top flight opposition, raising questions. On the other hand, Lundy, who was already 10 weeks into a planned 12 weeks training camp to fight Mason Menard when his scheduled opponent withdrew, and who took this fight on only three weeks of notice at his own motivation, had to justify his preparations have been adequate for his bout Saturday night with Zepeda in this interview. Lundy, who also owns and operates a successful industrial cleaning business, also had to justify the merits of working the usual 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. schedule, and then training afterwards.
A former Universal Boxing Federation World Lightweight champion (a lesser title), the big time world titles have thus eluded Lundy in his career, which has fallen one big win short of greatness, talent aside. Lundy is currently managed by top promoter Diane Fischer Di Maio. Lundy is one of 12 fighters currently in the Di Maio stable, including light heavyweights David Murray of Delaware and Dhafir Smith of Pennsylvania.
Robert: “Is Henry’s age a factor at age 37 in this crossroads bout?”
Promoter Diane Di Maio: “Henry runs all the time. Henry is always working. You gotta have heart. Hank has heart. He knows what the (boxing) game is.”
Robert: Fifteen years into your career, if you win this fight, you could fight the winner of the Josh Taylor versus Juan Carlos Ramirez super lightweight world title unification bout. Taylor is 17-0, Ramirez is 23-0, and the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF world titles will be on the table, with the unified winner facing the winner of your bout with Zepeda. If that the real fight you are angling for by facing Zepeda?”
Hank Lundy: “That’s why I we’re in the sport for, to be the unified champion of the world.”
Robert: “You fought Terence Crawford in 2016 for the World Boxing Organization World Super lightweight title. Do you want a second crack at that belt?”
Hank Lundy: “Yes I do. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
Robert: “What will Hank Lundy do different now in the ring than 2016?”
Hank Lundy: “Stick to my game plan. Be Hank Lundy. Just box. I guarantee they will raise my hand as the new World Boxing Council Silver champion, and (later raise my hand) as the unified world champion.”
Robert: “You have fought for a World Boxing Council Silver title before. How do the WBC’s particular rules fit in?”
Hank Lundy: “it’s the same rules.”
Robert: “Josh Taylor and Juan Carlos Ramirez are fighting for it all. Which one would you rather fight if you beat Zepeda?”
Hank Lundy: “I would like to fight both of them. I have fought fighters with every kind of style. To keep from fighting Taylor in the United Kingdom, I would prefer to fight Ramirez over here (in the United States), because every time I crossed the road (the ocean to fight), I got robbed (of decisions I felt I won), like my fight in the Ukraine with Victor Postol.”
Robert B: “While Zepeda is 33-2, he did not make it out of the first round with Jose Alfaro, did not make it out of the second round against Terry Flanagan, and did not make it out of the third round with Eleazar Valenzuela. He won none of these three bouts. Is Zepeda a dirty fighter?”
Hank Lundy: “From what I have seen, yeah. Zepeda likes to hit behind the head. My hands will be up (in defense) to prevent that from happening. That’s what I saw him doing in his previous (recent) fights. I’ll make the referee aware of it. I’m going in (to Las Vegas) to fight my fight.”
Robert B: “Las Vegas is a promoter’s edge city, with ESPN serving as a showcase for the favored fighter. Can you win a decision in Las Vegas fighting on the ‘B’ side of the card?”
Hank Lundy: “Most definitely. I make it (the bout) all about Hank Lundy. I’m confident I can win if when I come in on the ‘B’ side. I’m coming out on the “A” side of the card.”
Robert B: “When was the Mason Menard bout supposed to take place?”
Hank Lundy: “I was supposed to fight Menard in February 2021. More so, the intended bout got pushed back, I guess because Menard got hurt. We were in the gym already, so we were looking for another opponent. When we heard Zepeda’s opponent fell out, we (my team) jumped on it.”
Robert: “How has the pandemic affected your training regimen?”
Hank Lundy: “Actually, it hasn’t. I have been training (all along) at a private gym where I have access 24/7.”
Robert B: “Did you lose time between the Menard bout falling off, and the Zepeda bout coming on?”
Hank Lundy: “No. I stayed in the gym, and I kept working.”
Robert B: “At 37, even Hank Lundy must know the fight bout in front of him represents a last shot of shots on the road to a world title. So what happened in the Avery Sparrow (lost majority decision 10) and Zaur Abdullaev (lost unanimous decision 12) fights, which (after 22 rounds of fight) you lost?”
Hank Lundy: “The Avery Sparrow, I think I got robbed in that fight. I had switched up my corner. Someone went over my trainer’s head, and it cost me. With Zaur Abdullaev, if I had fought him over here (instead of in the Russian Federation), I would have knocked him out. Then he comes over here, and gets stopped by Devin Haney on a jab (within four rounds). C’mon.”
Robert B: “Hank, you have a successful industrial cleaning business, a super important business providing a public service, especially during the Covid-19 Novel Coronavirus pandemic. How can you balance both worlds, business and professional boxing?”
Hank Lundy: “At the end of the day, I get my clients, I make big money. It’s work. I get off at 5 P.M., and I go train. My business helps me out, so I do not have to take petty fights.”
Robert B: “I want to go back to Atlantic City in 2012 when we were together for the Raymundo Beltran bout. Did you beat Beltran, yes or no?”
Hank Lundy: “I beat him (Beltran).” Lundy lost a majority decision over 10 rounds. Beltran was cut over the left eye by a Hank Lundy punch in the third round. The bout was an NABF regional lightweight title bout.
Robert B: “Did you beat Victor Postal in your next fight in March 2013?”
Hank Lundy: “I beat Postol, and they robbed me too.” (The Lundy versus Postol bout was in Kiev, Ukraine. At that point in 2013 Kiev was still considered to be a subcomponent of the Russian Federation despite declaring independence in 1991. Protests in November 2013 against then Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych escalated to violence in January 2014 due to anti-protest laws. Yanukovych was removed by the Ukrainian Parliament on February 22, 2014, and subsequently fled the country for asylum in the Russian Federation. Petro Poroshenko was elected the new Ukrainian president on May 25, 2014, on a Pro-European Union platform. The historical context in necessary, as the climate in Ukraine today is considerably more open than it was when Lundy fought Postol in the Ukrainian capital for the vacant World Boxing Council International Super Lightweight title).
Robert B: “So, is it really possible to beat a promoter’s fighter on the scorecards anywhere in the world?”
Hank Lundy: “Yes it is! Most definitely. However, you need to understand conditions make a big difference geographically. There is a big difference when you travel to fight a hometown fighter in the Russian Federation or overseas in Europe, then the conditions are when you fight someone in your home country, which for me, is the United States. Everybody forgets when I turned the lights out of former World Boxing Council World Lightweight champion David Diaz in Chicago to win the NABF Lightweight title in March 2011. Diaz had won the title from Erik Morales, and had fought Manny Pacquiao and Humberto Soto for the WBC World Lightweight title before he fought me.”
Robert B: “Is there anybody out there you always wanted to fight?”
Hank Lundy: “Great question! Yes. Former World Boxing Association World Welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse of Argentina (retired in 2018). His camp did not want to fight me. They were scared of me.”
Robert B: “What a fight between Hank Lundy and the late Edwin Valero when the two of you were both in your prime?”
Hank Lundy: “Wow! I wanted to fight him! He was running through everybody!”
Robert B: “How deep are your preparations by the calendar? What is your fight weight before heading out to Las Vegas?”
Hank Lundy: “Right now, I am at 140 pounds. I have been in camp for the Zepeda bout for three weeks. I have been in camp altogether eleven weeks.”
Robert B: “Let’s talk about two Joses now. Jose Zepeda beat Jose Pedraza. Is Jose Zepeda invincible as he sees it? Is Jose Zepeda invincible as you see it?”
Hank Lundy: “Jose Zepeda knows he’s in a fight with me! This fight is a totally different fight. This is a real fight with a skilled fighter who knows his way around the ring.”
Robert B: “What holes and flaws do you see in Zepeda’s style?”
Hank Lundy: “Zepeda runs too much. He’s not fast. He lacks hand speed, and gets hit with jabs.”
Robert B: “Can you change your game plan during the Zepeda bout midstream?”
Hank Lundy: “Yes. I am a versatile fighter. I have got all the tools to do what I need to do to get the win.”
Robert B: “Will Zepeda takes any chances during the bout with you?”
Hank Lundy: “Zepeda will, but he’s going to pay for them when he takes them.”
Robert B: Let’s discuss the length of the bout, t10 rounds, versus 12 rounds. Is the shorter length of 10 rounds an advantage to either fighter? Why or why not?”
Hank Lundy: “With me, I will win on the cards, whether it is 10 rounds or 12 rounds. I’m gonna fight (to the final bell) regardless. I will do whatever I have to in order to win.”
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