By Cliff Rold

Philadelphia Jr. Welterweight Hank Lundy (25-3-1, 12 KO) is one of the more televised fighters in the US below the title level in recent years.  It’s easy to understand why.  The eighth-year professional has personality, displays a solid skill level, and typically makes good fights.

None of that has added up to a title opportunity yet. 

The 30-year old’s chance to move that direction comes this weekend.  On the undercard of David Lemieux-Gabriel Rosado, Lundy will face Puerto Rico’s Thomas Dulorme (21-1, 14 KO) in a bout with some notable sanctioning body ramifications.

Dulorme is rated #2 by the WBA, #4 by the WBC and IBF, and #5 by the WBO at 140.  Lundy is rated #6 by the IBF.  Sanctioning bodies being what they are, winning even over rated fighters doesn’t always assure a way up the ladder. 

They’re still the fastest route to getting a strap and changing one’s immediate economic outlook.

Getting to HBO could be seen as a win for Lundy in itself.  It would mean a lot more if he wins in the ring. 

He’s seen that winning alone isn’t always the key.  Lundy picked up a split nod over Richar Abril in 2010.  Lundy was stopped two fights later, for the first and so far only time in his career by John Molina.  Abril has gone on to win the WBA belt at 135 lbs.

When winning happens matters. Lundy hasn’t been that far from a shot in the past.  Opportunity can slip by quickly.  Abril isn’t the only former Lundy foe to find opportunity after sharing a ring with him. 

Lundy dropped a narrow decision to Ray Beltran, the start of a five-fight unbeaten streak for Beltran that resulted in two Lightweight title shots (a controversial draw against Ricky Burns and last weekend’s loss to Terrence Crawford.  Immediately after the Beltran defeat, Viktor Postol emerged as a contender by handing Lundy a second consecutive “L.”

Postol is now the WBC mandatory.

Now a fighter whose timing has been off meets another fighter who needs to win under the spotlight just as bad.  Dulorme was seen as a comer early in his career. Puerto Rico has struggled to find its next generation of stars.  Dulorme could still figure into that.  This fight is in New York and while Lundy has a big TV chance, Dulorme has a veritable home court. 

He might not elicit the reaction a Cotto does in New York, but at least the early rooting interest might be expected to favor him.

Dulorme has won five straight since his last trip to the Big Apple.  In October 2012, he was dropped twice before his corner saved him against veteran Luis Abregu.  This is his second appearance on HBO this year.

Hopefully this time is more memorable.

A win over Karim Mayfield on the March undercard of Sergey Kovalev-Cedric Agnew was almost as dull a things as HBO could put on the air.  The word is almost because this is the network that airs “Girls.” 

There is nothing worse than that.

Lundy can play a part in making for a more memorable outing.

He enters with a win streak of his own.

Since the Postol loss in March 2013, Lundy has won three in a row.  The best of the lot was an easy win over Ajose Olusegun.  Olusegun, who had been a flavor of the week when his time as a mandatory stretched prior to a game loss to Lucas Matthysse, was utterly undressed for ten rounds.  Lundy boxed him silly.

Dulorme will be a different set of problems.  He’s three inches taller than Lundy at 5’10 and has fought to just below the Welterweight limit.  The 24-year old is still settling into his frame.  Lundy has floated between 135-40 lbs. for the most part, his size ceiling long decided.

This isn’t a big fight outside the ring.  Inside, it doesn’t get much bigger.  A likely title shot in 2015 comes to the winner.  Of the two, Lundy has less time on his side.

For all his TV time, Lundy hasn’t proven yet that he can pull away and be more than just another guy.  He hasn’t firmly marked himself a contender.  This isn’t like the Abril fight, a clash between fighters on their way up before contention could be firmly settled.

Win over a man rated highly by all four major sanctioning bodies, and a world of possibility opens.

There won’t ever be a better chance. 

It took eight years to get this far.  It might be his only real chance. 

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com