Philly's Lundy faces big fight Saturday in L.A.

Charles Ramey had grown weary of his former boxer sending emissaries to speak for him, so when "Hammerin' " Hank Lundy finally showed up at the Marion Anderson Recreational center at 740 S. 17th St. to speak to him, he was all ears.

"I needed to talk with him, I needed to clear the air," said Lundy, 31. "We were really good together."

That they were.

Lundy (25-4-1, 12 KOs) won his first 16 professional fights with Ramey as his trainer before they parted ways. They'll reunite this weekend as Lundy takes on Mauricio Herrera (21-5, 7 KOs) at 11 p.m. Saturday night (HBO Latino) for the vacant NABF super-lightweight title in the final event at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

It is a huge fight for both. Lundy (ranked 10th by the WBC) has split his last six fights. Herrera, of Riverside, Calif., is ranked No. 6 by the WBA and is 1-2 over his last three. That includes a controversial majority decision loss to Danny Garcia last March in Puerto Rico. Both fighters need the win to stay in the hunt for potentially lucrative fights at 140 and 147 pounds.

"This is the most important fight of his career," Ramey said. "Some people have labeled [Herrera] the uncrowned champion because he didn't get the decision against Garcia. So if Hank can win this fight it will open the door of opportunity for him."

Herrera, 35, is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Jose Benavidez last December. He, too, wants to position himself for a shot at guys like Tim Crawford, Garcia again, and Lamont Peterson.

"I believe I should be a champion right now," Herrera said. "I think when I beat Hank Lundy, people will see say that this guy is the real deal."

Ramey said he watched most of Lundy's fights after they split and noticed that Lundy, who can fight either orthodox or southpaw, had become more of a slugger than the technical boxer he trained to be more reliant on his jab.

Last winter, after Thomas Dulorme knocked Lundy down in the first round on the way to a split decision that ended Lundy's three-fight winning streak, Ramey and Lundy spent about two hours talking at the rec center. They spoke of the past and wondered what they could do together in the future.

"I always felt that he was a world championship fighter, and that I could have gotten him there at least three years ago," Ramey said.