Junior welterweight fringe contender Henry ‘Hank’ Lundy will return to action on Dec. 30, it was announced Thursday afternoon.

Lundy will face prospect John Delperdang in a 12-round bout at the B.O.O.M. Fitness Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Delperdang fight will be Lundy’s first since Feb. 27, when he was stopped by Terence Crawford in the fifth-round in New York City, failing in his attempt to win the WBO World junior welterweight title.

After the Crawford fight, Lundy had to spend several weeks on the mend after he had knee surgery to repair a torn ACL.

The 32-year-old Lundy has fought between 135 and 140 pounds over the years, and will fight at 135 pounds against Delperdang. While he was on the mend, Lundy admitted that watching fighters leapfrog him into contender status or world title fights ate at him.

“I couldn’t do anything,” said Lundy in a release. “I’m not going to lie to you. I almost went into depression mode. I kid you not, two to three weeks after the surgery, I was up and down the steps, walking around. I still had the staples in my leg when I was in the gym hitting the bag. I was in the gym working and people were like, ‘Man, you’re crazy!’

“I’m ready to make a statement at 135,” said the Philadelphia resident. “I’ve been chasing a title down there, but had to jump to 140 because no one will fight me at 135. They know I’m a monster there.”

Lundy makes for exciting fights, thanks to his boxer-puncher style.

Including his loss to Crawford, Lundy has lost three of his last four bouts. Two of his losses as a pro have been by a split and majority decision and some at ringside felt he did enough to defeat Mauricio Herrera in their July 2015 bout.

Promoter Jimmy Burchfield believes Lundy is still a legit contender as a lightweight.

“(Lundy) hasn’t backed down from anybody. Starting Dec. 30 and going into 2017, we will fight at 135 pounds and fight for a world title. Hank deserves it.”

Delperdang (10-1, 9 KOs), who resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Ontario, has won his last four bouts since suffering his only loss as a pro to Ricky Edwards on May 28.

While Lundy talks of world title belts, he is not overlooking Delperdang.

“Everybody may say, ‘What’s Hank doing fighting a guy who’s 10-1?’ At the end of the day, he’s the only guy willing to step up. I know he’ll bring everything into the ring to defeat ‘Hammerin’ Hank. A win over me puts his name on the radar. I’m hungry and he’s hungry, too. We’re ready for war.

“This year (2017), I will be a world champion at 135. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing