LAS VEGAS -- “He’s a good fighter, man,” said Ardreal Holmes, discussing his May 10 opponent Erickson Lubin. “He’s an excellent fighter. He’s at the top for a reason, so you can’t take that away from him. [I always followed him] because he’s in my division, so I had to keep an eye on him.”

The two fought as amateurs in Lubin’s last fight in the unpaid ranks. Lubin won over three rounds, and both have made strides in the pros towards their IBF title eliminator, a bout set to determine who will face champion Bakhram Murtazaliev. 

Time has moved on, of course, since they met in the final of the National Golden Gloves in Salt Lake City back in 2013. There is a great deal at stake in this fight as well at the Silver Spurs Casino in Kissimmee, Florida.

Holmes remembers Lubin as a good fighter from their previous encounter.

“Just being talented, strong, just an all-around good fighter,” Holmes recalled.

There was a significant buzz around Lubin when he turned over, and that would have created a pressure and expectation that Holmes, to a degree, sympathizes with.

“I would only imagine. I would only imagine. I think so,” said Holmes, who admits this represents a step up in opposition for him.

“This will be my biggest fight,” he added. “I feel like this will be the fight that puts me in a conversation [with the best at 154lbs].”

The 17-0 (6 KOs) southpaw from Flint, Michigan, is 30 and ready for his breakout opportunity. Lubin has had big nights before, not least in his last fight – back in September 2023 – when he won a controversial decision to outscore Jesus Ramos.

It was Lubin’s biggest win but also not his finest hour.

“I think he did what Ramos let him do, you know what I mean?” said Holmes. “Ramos is a good fighter. You can’t look great against every fighter. I feel like he’s just an all-around good fighter.”

Both boxers are not just hungry for a title fight, but they want to make their mark in one of boxing’s hottest divisions.

Lubin is a quality southpaw, a former amateur star who has been among the best in his division for a decade.

“Some of everything,” is what Holmes anticipates. “I feel like he’s in his hometown, pressure is going to be on, so he’s going to try to turn the pressure up early. He’s going to try to box his way in a little bit, so I’m expecting everything. May 10th, I'll be in a big conversation in there [as one of the best in the division].”

Holmes named Lubin, Ramos and Charles Conwell as some of the best at the weight, as well as the likes of Terence Crawford, Vergil Ortiz and Sebastian Fundora – and himself.

“We’ve got a lot of guys,” he said. “It’s a stacked division.”

But Holmes has identified an area where boxing has a problem, and that is where fighters can really fight and are good at what they do, but they aren’t seen as big names because they don’t have significant followings. 

“People know that you’re a good fighter in the sport, but you’re maybe not getting your dues on social media, your props aren’t there,” he admitted. “It’s kind of an issue in boxing in the sense that just because you haven’t got 500,000 followers, people think that you’re not the best fighter in the world. I definitely feel like that’s a big thing in boxing. The men on social media, they kind of overlook you. If you don’t have that many fights, they kind of overlook you. That’s why we’ve got fights like this. This will be my introduction to the bigger scene in boxing. This is a real fight, a real, legitimate fight.”

Because of Lubin’s long tenure at the top end of the division, his significant fight with Sebastian Fundora in 2022, Holmes does not believe that Lubin, still only 29, has underachieved. He rates Lubin’s lead hook highly, too.

“He can box. He’s got a good boxing IQ,” Holmes added. 

“I’m putting it all on the line, everything. I’m putting everything on the line, so I feel like we’re coming out victorious.”

It is a fight Holmes always believed might happen, that they would renew acquaintances as they progressed on different paths in the pros.

“Oh yeah, definitely, because I feel like I belong with the top guys, and he’s a top guy,” said Holmes, who believes he will leave Florida still undefeated and with a world title opportunity in the bag.

“I got to,” he said. “I can’t leave without it.”

Thomas Gerbasi is an award-winning boxing writer and member of the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame’s observer wing. Currently a senior editor at BoxingScene.com, Gerbasi is also a columnist for The Ring and Boxing News (UK), and the editorial director for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has authored six books and has contributed to the following publications: The Village Voice, Rolling Stone Australia, The Guardian, ESPN.com, The Daily Beast, The Independent (UK), Triathlete, King and the Boston Herald. His amateur boxing record was 0-1.