Mauricio Herrera-Hank Lundy a battle of throwback fighters

It's rare to find two old-school fighters like Mauricio Herrera and Hank Lundy in today's boxing world.

Two guys who didn't have an easy road to recognition, didn't fight hand-picked opponents and were never given any favors.

The junior welterweights don't have the glossy records to show for it, but they're two of the hardest-working fighters in boxing and are truly willing to fight anyone, a refreshing reality in a sport in which many are looking for an easy paycheck.

Herrera and Lundy are badly in need of a victory and will square off Saturday (11 p.m. ET, HBO Latino) in the final fight at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in a bout that may have flown under the radar but is sure to pack a lot of action.

"Everybody wanna pick and choose in the sport of boxing," Lundy (25-4-1, 12 KOs) told Paste BN Sports during a phone interview this week. "That's why you see these fighters, when it's time for them to step up, they get beat. You can't babysit all these fighters, you have to let them fight sometimes. And that's one thing both us have been doing."

Lundy is 3-3 over his last six fights and his once-promising career is in need of a boost. The switch-hitting Philadelphian dropped a split decision to Thomas Dulorme in his HBO debut, his most recent bout. He also lost close decisions to Ray Beltran and Viktor Postol in 2012-13. In between, the 31-year-old scored impressive victories over Angelo Santana and Ajose Olusegun, two respected boxers.

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Hammerin' Hank knows he needs a good showing here, and reunited with his former coach, Charles Ramey, in advance of the bout.

"With my old coach I'm undefeated, so you do the math," said Lundy, who got married Sunday. "I'm going to be the best Hank Lundy I can be. … I want you to sit back and see the new rebirth of Hank Lundy."

Herrera, too, needs to impress, but it shouldn't be this way. The 35-year-old enjoyed a breakout 2014, but only came away with one victory. That's because he was on the wrong end of two highly controversial decisions. Herrera (21-5, 7 KOs) battled lineal junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia to a split-decision loss in a fight most observers felt he won, and then didn't earn the nod in a title fight against Jose Benavidez in December.

Even though he didn't officially come away with those victories, the fights improved Herrera's stock, and now the Golden Boy-promoted fighter gets to fight in the main event near his hometown of Riverside, Calif.

"It was (bittersweet)," Herrera admitted to Paste BN Sports. "I just think of the positive things that came out of (the two decision losses) and not think about the negative parts. Some fighters wouldn't be able to handle it, some would have retired. But I struggled all the way to get there and I wasn't going to give up, the judgers weren't going to get me away from my gameplan of what I want to do and that's to fight the best."

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Herrera (21-5, 7 KOs) surprised observers with his performances last year, but "El Maestro" said he simply "improved a lot" after gaining experience in the pros. He didn't have a big amateur career, so he was learning on the job in the paid ranks.

"I know how to win rounds and Hank Lundy is going to be another victim," Herrera said. "Hopefully it doesn't go to the judges, hopefully I get a stoppage. I'm hungry, this is a great opportunity, it's an important fight and I'm going to get a world title fight after this. I just feel like the world champion already."

Herrera owns a win over Ruslan Provodnikov and always throws a lot of punches. He believes he can outwork Lundy, who likes to box, but respects his opponent. After all, they both didn't come up the easy way.

"Lundy is a tough fighter, we have both had tough careers," he said. "We have had it rough and this is the perfect fight for us. This fight will show who is hungrier, who has more heart."

"On July 11, Lundy will know who is the real monster is. Provodnikov couldn't drop me, Garcia couldn't drop me, Benavides couldn't drop me and Lundy will not take me down."