Erickson Lubin needed that.

Before getting into the ring with fellow southpaw Ardreal Holmes, the Orlando, Florida, native promised to show that he was on another level. It took a while, but mission accomplished.

Lubin, who defeated Holmes in his last fight as an amateur, got the job done Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, an Orlando suburb, winning via 11th-round stoppage in an IBF junior middleweight eliminator.

Holmes’ lack of aggression was painfully obvious from the first round. Lubin, similarly, started fairly listless. He walked to the center of the ring, feinted and mostly postured. The action between them was few and far between and that continued in the second.

Holmes (17-1, 6 KOs) pushed out a tenuous jab, but he didn’t really commit to any punches. Lubin allowed those innocuous blows to bounce off his gloves and continued to move forward. When he got close enough, he let his hands go against his taller foe.

The middle rounds didn’t produce much action, either. The fans booed loudly in the hopes of motivating them to do more. That didn’t work.

In the eighth, Holmes knew he was down on the scorecards. His efforts didn’t increase accordingly, but he continued to jab up and downstairs. He also did his best to counterpunch. None of his tactics worked as Lubin adjusted and moved forward with a high guard.

Once the 29-year-old realized that Holmes had nothing for him, he stepped up his attack in the championship rounds. In the 10th, Holmes looked sloppy. His jab was absent and Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) took full advantage.

The fight came to a head in the penultimate round. Lubin dropped Holmes with a flurry against the ropes, punctuated with a big left hand. Holmes managed to get to his feet, but the bout was stopped near the two-minute mark with him on the verge of falling again.

With the win under his belt, Lubin hopes that his next match will be a shot at current IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev.