Henry Lundy vs. Karim Mayfield

There has been bad blood brewing between these two for some time now, on social media and in a series of internet radio interviews where each light welterweight has made & responded to calls outs and insults from the other.

They are tentatively scheduled to meet on January 25th on HBO, on the same Top Rank card as Garcia vs. Burgos and Szpilka vs. Jennings in a 10-rounder...or the night before, January 24th on NBC Sports on a Duva card with Curtis Stevens vs. Patrick Majewski headlining.

Both will be somewhat rusty, as it will have been a six-month layoff for Lundy since beating Ajose Olusegun on FNF while Mayfield will have only fought once in 2013. Both as notorious for being gym rats as for being loudmouth ****-talkers and squeaky wheels. Accordingly both have spent more time lately in the gym training and working as sparring partners (Mayfield being long sought after by the likes of Shane Mosley, Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao, while Lundy helped prep Adrien Broner ahead of his clash with Maidana...) - and of course talking **** online calling out every big name in the division and demanding lucrative opportunities they feel they deserve in spite of neither quite having the momentum to be asking for such chances - than actually competing.

Both are fast movers and even faster punches, with generally exciting styles. Going along with that reckless speed, both are prone to making a lot of ring IQ related mistakes - Lundy's usually more tactical in nature, and Mayfield's more technical. (which is to say, Lundy has the superior fundamentals and deeper set of skills - but Mayfield is better at picking and committing to a workable game plan within his style)

The criticisms levied at Mayfield by Lundy include accusations of being a wild puncher specializing in nothing but highly inaccurate flurries that are good enough to overwhelm slow & limited opponents but which are bound to fail when Mayfield takes a step up...which of course will be what Lundy considers himself, ready & eager to exploit that.

The criticisms the other way mostly center around Mayfield questioning & disparaging Lundy's chin, often in the form of backhanded compliments acknowledging that he possesses some talent but lamenting that it's wasted on someone with no punch resistance...which of course would spell doom at his own hands.

This will be a lot of fun should it happen. They have been scorching each other with increasingly frequent tweets all month, building to a head in the last week and intensifying after some negotiations were conducted on the phone last Monday.

 

Lundy on Mayfield:

• [yt]_U9bQIUst0Q[/yt]

Mayfield on Lundy:

• [yt]4EYQh_cViAc[/yt]

 

In addition to both having offenses based on quickness, both turned pro in summer of 2006, both are 5'7", both have a 68" reach, both have a common high-level opponent in Patrick Lopez. Game but outclassed against both, Lopez dropped ten-round unanimous decisions to both Mayfield and Lundy and was dropped himself in the process (once by Lundy and thrice by Mayfield)

 

A sampling of recent Tweets:

Karim Mayfield: im not wit the square ass twitbeef i told u I spoke 2 ur boss so another KO Loss may B N ur near future frog

Hank Lundy: lol he couldn't hit me with an hand full of rice

Hank Lundy: listen it's real with me in and out the ring . I'm not worried about y'all I'm going to **** him up bad


Karim Mayfield: Why did He get me and TeamMayfield started ! #HankThePrank http://instagram.com/p/ho8Q-wAAlu/

Hank Lundy: @KarimMayfield1 @HBOboxing u funny lol I'm going to beat the life out of u

Karim Mayfield: @hammerinhank30 @HBOboxing hope u did ur Chinups!

Hank Lundy: @KarimMayfield1 @HBOboxing don't worry about my workout ,you need to be worried about this ass beat n u about to get



Hank Lundy: Can't wait until I fight @KarimMayfield1 I'm going to **** him up bad really bad

Karim Mayfield: u sho got silent when we both got on the Phone 2gether!! But now u Tuff Again? I don't question ur Skill but ur Chin ..?????

Karim Mayfield: @hammerinhank30 getn beat up by broner in sparring everyday gotchu feeln sum Typaway now that he has been exposed.

Hank Lundy: lol never that ***** get that contract so I can beat your ***** ass

Hank Lundy: I'm going to beat ur ****** ass then watch u do ur Dumb ass dance when I knock u out

Hank Lundy: @KarimMayfield1 really lol I bet your ***** ass won't take the **** and come up with some bull****

Karim Mayfield: @hammerinhank30 I can tell u broke, I know Jprince aint giving u kno monthly Stipend, so u dont mind getn Whoop as Long as u get paid huh

Hank Lundy: @KarimMayfield1 ***** I just don't like u I'm cool on money *****

Karim Mayfield: @hammerinhank30 he gotchu for the rest of ur career huh? Lol u then signed ur Life away Dummy

Hank Lundy: @KarimMayfield1 it's on lil ***** I'm on ur head (pause)



(beef dating back to November, above just some of December's)

 

Lundy has recently called out the likes of Ruslan Provodnikov and Lucas Matthysse.

Mayfield has called out Danny Garcia and his own erstwhile sparring employer, Manny Pacquiao.

They are more on the level of having earned a match with each other than any of those luminaries. Of course, the victor will position themselves much closer to something like that...

 

Lundy would be KTFO by Matthysse, or Provodnikov.

Mayfield would be KTFO by Garcia or Pacquiao.

They really shouldn't be worrying about that caliber opponent until they get by someone like each other. Hell, both have struggled with - and have some unfinished business with - the ESPN2 FNF tier. Mayfield looked awful in his UD over Herrera, though I did score it for him - while Lundy has the defeats to Molina & Beltran. In all three cases stamina was a factor with Mayfield and Lundy gassing and growing more vulnerable late. With elite conditioned athletes who can drill you as hard in the 11th as in the 2nd, like Matthysse/Provodnikov/Garcia/Pacquiao either of them would be up ****'s creek.

 

:good

Ooh. :shock: No. :think That isn't bad at all.

The haters would be happy no matter what the outcome, with either the braggart Lundy or the "cheater" Peterson losing.